On 21st May, Ruth Daniel, CEO of In Place of War, gave a talk to our SUCCESS programme.
In Place of War is a global organisation that uses creativity in places of conflict as a tool for positive change. They enable grassroots change-makers in music, theatre and across the arts to transform a culture of violence and suffering into hope, opportunity and freedom. They were a spinout from the University of Manchester and have operated in over 26 countries.
The session provided many practical insights into how to start and grow a social enterprise. Here we share a few of the highlights from Ruth’s talk.
From university to an independent organisation
Ruth outlined the practical steps involved in taking a marketable idea, based within a university, to a standalone venture – from establishing a board and where to set up, to marketing and the benefits of having a good mentor.
Fundraising for social enterprises
Ruth then highlighted the different potential sources of funding that ventures might look to tap into.
Impact and social enterprises
Ruth also looked at the importance of evaluating and documenting the impact of your organisation.
The Social Venture Pathway offers a toolkit of resources to guide you through the process of creating a social venture. This self-guided pathway aims to fill the gaps missing from traditional innovation processes by providing a clear and comprehensive training resource for starting your first social venture.
This blog by the Methods for Change team, illustrated by Jack Brougham, asks if we should spend more time talking about the methods we use as researchers. Drawing on a recent paper, we suggest that researchers need to articulate why methods matter in creating change to global challenges. We share three creative techniques that we have experimented with across the Methods for Change project that can encourage playful, reflective conversation about methods and their role in galvanising change.
