We, the OBCD team in Finland, have been conducting a small research study this October about the experiences of using OBCD education and training materials. We interviewed a few teachers from Diak and Helsinki Business College who have been using the materials in their work. The interviews provided us with valuable and insightful feedback for further development.
The interview questions focused on which themes of the OBCD training program teachers have used, and why do they find teaching social entrepreneurship important. We were also interested to know what new knowledge they have gained about the theme, and their ideas for improving the materials.
Social entrepreneurship resolving social and environmental problems
When teaching social entrepreneurship, the interviewees used materials from the OBCD training modules covering topics such as governance and leadership practices, diversity, marketing and branding, innovations and open business models, as well as networks and ecosystems.
They believe it is important to teach social entrepreneurship because it provides a way for the social and healthcare sectors to respond to people’s service needs and help to produce services and innovations that can solve social and environmental problems. Also, it can benefit the public and third sectors, as active entrepreneurship can improve organizations’ ability to work effectively and innovatively.
Ideas for improvement
The interviewees themselves learned a lot about social enterprises and social entrepreneurship. Social enterprises’ ecosystem module provided insights about the crucial role of cooperation in the functioning and development of social enterprises. The diversity theme broadened the understanding and gave perspective about working more inclusively. The special characteristics of the internationalization of social enterprises were found to be useful as well. Also, fundraising and impact appeared as interesting and significant topics.
They believed that practicality and understandability could be improved in the materials by condensing the content, reducing repetition and providing more concrete examples and interviews instead of relying mainly on text-based materials. Since the materials were translated from English to Finnish, they still need some editing to be more accessible in Finnish. Also, most of the resources were in English, so having Finnish resources would provide more benefits and improve accessibility for using the materials.
Material utilization will continue in the future
All in all, the teachers found the theme and the materials useful, providing them with a valuable source of content. They also hope that as many people as possible would use the materials in their studies, everyday lives, and in the future, and that the materials will bring joy and benefit to as many social entrepreneurs as possible, as well as to those who will become one in the future.
It is great news that at least one of the teachers is planning to use the OBCD education and training materials, along with the learning assignments, in her upcoming courses. Additionally, the materials will be disseminated in other universities of applied sciences and through various channels, such as social media and events in the field.
Text: Sanni Isosaari
The writer is a student at Diaconia University of Applied Sciences and has her training in the OBCD project. She herself has discovered that social enterprises play an important role in promoting social inclusion and sustainable development. Also, she has gained an understanding of the importance of cooperative networks and their role in an international context as well.
