Seminars at Middlesex University

Middlesex University leads TSRC's social enterprise work. 

Seminars take place at Middlesex University, Hendon Campus, London NW1 4BT. See map/directions.

Refreshments will be provided.  If you would like to attend please notify Pamela Macaulay to confirm a place: p.macaulay@mdx.ac.uk. 

Doing Well by Doing Good: The case of Stephen’s ‘Ark’

Wednesday, 24 April 2013, 4.30pm – 6.30pm
Room C126, Hendon Campus

Professor Colette Henry, Tromsø University Business School, presents a case study based on the USPCA’s* novel social enterprise venture, the ‘Ark.’ Inspired by the USPCA’s entrepreneurial-minded CEO, Stephen Philpott, the Ark is an animal sanctuary and community training centre for adults with learning disabilities. The case provides a historical review of the Ark’s inception, creation and development, offering insights into the challenges involved in setting-up a social enterprise venture in “untried and untested territory.”

The case focuses on key entrepreneurship concepts relating to opportunity recognition, marketing and the development of collaborative partnerships within the social enterprise sector. Findings reveal that the nature of the opportunity, alongside recognition of its mutual problem-solving potential, led to the Ark’s success, and also yielded some unexpected benefits. The case suggests that a collaborative social enterprise partnership of this nature can be of particular value in economically deprived areas where resources are constrained and collaborative approaches are critical.

*The USPCA - Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – is a small animal charity based in Northern Ireland

Colette Henry is Editor of the International Journal of Gender & Entrepreneurship (IJGE) and Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at Tromsø University Business School, Norway. From 2009 to 2012 she held the Norbrook Chair in Business & Enterprise at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), University of London. Prior to this, Colette was Head of Department of Business Studies and Director of the centre for Entrepreneurship Research at Dundalk Institute of Technology, Ireland. A Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (RSA), Colette is also the former President of the Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship (ISBE). She has published widely on the topics relating to entrepreneurship education & training, programme evaluation, gender, the creative industries and women and veterinary business. Her recent research is based on social enterprise and collaborative partnerships, with her 2012 ISBE paper wining both “Best in Track” and “Best Overall Paper’ at the ISBE Dublin Conference last November.

Future CEEDR seminars

Determinants of innovation in Knowledge Intensive Business services (KIBS) SMEs; some implications for de-industrialised regions in the UK

29 May 2013, 4.30pm – 6.30pm
Dr Maja Savic
C219-C220 Board Room