FAQ: Student Consulting
A question from Mark Redmond <mredmond@spectrumvt.org> , about how to get local university students to help their nonprofit develop a social enterprise, elicited a large number of responses. Mark noted that his organization (Spectrum Youth and Family Services in Burlington VT) was in the beginning stages of developing an enterprise, as part of their program to serve at-risk and homeless teens, and that they were following the Venture Forth manual step by step.
From the moderators, Rolfe Larson and Andy Horsnell, www.RolfeLarson.com, 5/24/06
1) From Ken Harrington <harrington@wustl.edu>
Here are two links to things that are done out of Washington University in St.
Louis. The first is for academic credit and the second is not. Experiential
learning programs vary widely with individual schools and professors. This is
because learning goals differ and student capabilities/ages differ. The best
thing to do is just call the schools and find the right folks so they can
explain their goals to you. Hope this helps.
2) From Bruce Curtis <bcurtis@brailleink.org>
I was on the MBA student side of this a few years ago at Babson. Here's how it
worked for us:
- Students answered some questionnaire (background, career goals, etc.) before arriving at the beginning of the first year.
- Babson placed us in groups of 4-7 students with roughly similar career goals and matched us with a company/organization.
- The first half of the year, we worked on a project determined by the organization (in my case, a sort of strategic planning question).
- The second half of the year, we created a marketing plan for one component of the organization. Both projects involved presentations to org. representatives, faculty, etc.
All full-time 1st-year MBA students did that. In addition, 2nd-years could take a semester-long "class" that was a self-assembled group to work with an organization in a similar fashion. In both cases, there was no cost to the organization other than staff time for periodic meetings and some incidentals. I'm sure things vary from school to school, so I'd suggest just contacting the schools & asking how it works there. I suspect they are always looking for new possibilities to present to students (especially for something a little more unusual like working with a NP) & would be happy to talk things through with you. Tuck/Dartmouth has a Net Impact chapter (and perhaps more interest in NPs than average), but that may be too far away. There don't appear to be any chapters in VT yet.
3) From Jina Paik <jinapaik@yahoo.com>
I can't speak to the nonprofit's experience, but I have experience on the other
side of the fence. I'm a graduate student, and I've actually participated in
two different semester-long projects that involved a university and nonprofit
venture collaboration. In one case, the entire class worked on a single
project, and in the other, it was a team within the class. The number of
students working on the project was appropriate to the proposed scale. In both
instances, the team developed a business plan, including the product/project
description, market analysis, and financial projections. We never did market
testing, because it wasn't possible within the timeframe of a semester. From
what I saw, it seemed that the collaboration environment and open communication
between the nonprofit, the professor and the students was very, very important.
4) From John Yantis <jmoving@mindspring.com>
I recommend you look at the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry at Ball
State University, Muncie, Ind. Although not specifically connected to business
ventures, it is an example of how universities are envisioning the development
of an enterprise with undergraduates and the connection to project-based
learning.
A book that is really helpful in exploring models of
possibility especially around youth and the creative industry is
The Creative College: Building A Successful Learning Culture in the Arts
by Graham Jeffries. I think you will find it very inspiring as a model for
future partnerships between universities, cultural organizations and at-risk
youth. I have been a teaching artist for 30 yrs and have worked with many youth
organizations. The one I suggested you explore for some examples of engaging
youth through creativity and peer collaboration is The Power of Hope. They are
starting a program in Maine which might be of interest to you.
5) From Norris Krueger <norris.krueger@gmail.com>
Lots of options - I've done a ton of these. It's a great learning experience for
the students if it isn't grunt work and the students typically do a bang-up job.
Sometimes you have the whole class involved, sometimes there is a specific
(smaller) team will be dedicated to you. Often, the best strategy is to have the
first team devoted to figuring out what projects need to be done, then you have
a natural segue into future semesters. It's a ton of work for faculty, if it's
done right - but it's a natural fit for entrepreneurship classes or for the
senior capstone course. You can sometimes get a market research class to, well,
do market research, but I recommend more generalist classes (those just
mentioned).
http://mg.boisestate.edu/teams_krueger
You need to start with either the entrepreneurship faculty
(they are the experts at this) and/or the student entrepreneurship group/club.
Maybe volunteer to the social-entrepreneur-in-residence?
Simmons College is Boston is moving forward on this (they
have great faculty) & Dartmouth should be a good possibility. Ashoka, et al.
have created a university network (see
www.ashoka.org) that could
point you to other possibilities. Close by is good, but NOT necessary. My
students have worked with clients in other states, even overseas. Your key is to
find the RIGHT students (and faculty) who are psyched to help you. If all goes
well, you could get sufficiently 'adopted' that projects continue, then you
aren't stuck with a "cookbook" approach to starting (shuddering -ugh), instead
you'll get a richer planning experience. Take advantage of that expertise out
there that the students (and their passion) can connect you to. Finally, this
is a genuine startup, the best business plan contests out there are for social
ventures and your venture could become a contestant.
6) From Stacey Cox <staceyc@caasnm.org>
We have worked with New Mexico State University and they have done marketing
research for us through their master's program. I found the trick to be sitting
down with the professor and jointly developing something that works for their
curriculum and actually moves your project along. In my experience, the
professors really want your input.
7) From Terry Wiens <twiens@futurefocus.info>
As a former ED for a non-profit in Canada that went through this (and
successfully I thought) this can be a mutually beneficial exercise. What worked
for me was to develop an outline for the results I was looking to find. There
were double benefits here in that it put the board in a position where it really
took a hard look at what they were doing. After consulting with a number of
colleges and universities (in the area) we put together a "request for papers"
for local students (primarily grad students but in one case a second year
college class). The request asked for a solution(s) to an issue identified by
the Board. I found that the better the challenge the more interest we received.
This resulted in the development of a number of successful
revenue generated programs. In no circumstance did a complete program result of
"one" project. A number of classes (or students) could be involved from any
number of perspectives. The challenge to the agency was putting the various
components together. It was a great learning experience for the community and
the whole process certainly helped to develop a positive network of community
members. If done well this is a great approach. Good luck.
8) From Harriet
Stephenson <harriet@seattleu.edu>
This can be an excellent idea. I am a prof who runs such student teams as
teaching methodology for credit:
a) For the senior capstone course -- a quarter to a third of our projects are non profits and of those about half are start ups and half are plans for existing non profits,
b) As the required projects in an MBA course: Social Enterprise/Triple Bottom Line, and
c) As the business plan for the New Venture Creation -- Business Plan course at MBA level which also has the teams submitting the projects for business plan competition. (Our business plan competition has an award track specifically for social enterprise and one for Triple Bottom Line/Sustainability. Today several universities are engaged in competition specifically for social enterprise and they probably mean non profit though some include for profits in the social enterprise competition as well).
Other models may have
half the class or the entire class taking on one "enterprise" -- possibly half
the students do a feasibility study for a coffee cart, and half do a feasibility
study for a dog walking business or whatever combination the client, students,
and prof agree to. If we can't place the project in any given quarter, we
might also set up an internship --possibly with an Entrepreneurship student --
grad or undergrad. We can even create independent study credit. Great
experience. During the course, there are often outside mentors who also work
with the teams. If your project is one that goes for business plan competition,
there can be additional feedback from outside judges, exposure to potential
social investors.
In some classes there is little interaction with the client.
In others, the client/organization is totally involved with the client and the
client's clientele. This might be viewed as a capacity building opportunity in
which you would want as much involvement as possible with your people and the
student team. The "quick and dirty" way is usually more costly time and money
wise in the long run. Count on investing time helping dig out information and
giving feedback to help keep the team on line. You ultimately are the one that
has to make it work. Makes it much better to have been as involved as possible.
This is an in time to be looking to colleges and universities
for such partnering. Might start with a call to Entrepreneurship Center if the
college or university has one. The Dean's office could also direct you. We
view this experiential approach to learning as a valuable learning tool as well
as a definite contribution/give back/being a responsible business citizen ... a
mutually beneficial win-win situation. Glad you are thinking about it.