This project is a collaboration between social science academics (at the Universities of Sheffield and Liverpool) and external business partners (Mobilise – founded during ZINC mission 2) and their software providers.
Mobilise is currently offering a platform to support family and other informal carers as they adapt to caring under lockdown and other COVID-19 related restrictions.
This project will examine the challenges of caring during a global pandemic. It will also explore how, and to what extent, a virtual platform can help families cope with new ways of living and caring during an ongoing and evolving public health crisis. The team will finally consider how to promote the sustainability of the platform after the pandemic abates.
What does this project tell us about entrepreneurship offerings for the social sciences?
Whilst some SocSci specific offerings are not required as universities did report some level of engagement from social sciences students with existing offerings, they do however tend to engage with programmes and activities offering more generic entrepreneurship skills (e.g., traits needed to be a successful entrepreneur), not those designed to progress existing business or business ideas (e.g., lean canvas methodology, pitching training). One potential recommendation emerging from this work is that universities should consider how to make small changes to existing programmes, in order to attract in even more social sciences students. Examples of potential changes (that have been developed and trialled in other Aspect funded projects) include: 1) the addition of content about entrepreneurial skills and choosing different role models and speakers that resonate with social scientists (seen in the Podcast project); and 2) including more support for social enterprises and alternative business models (see ASAP project) and 3) using more inclusive language to market the support offerings that will resonate better with social scientists.
