Transformative Entrepreneurship and Prosperity: Design

Module content

This module focuses on the design of transformative enterprise and entrepreneurial ecologies that span private, public and non-profit sectors. As part of this module you will learn about: the process of starting a transformative enterprise; the role of incubators, accelerators, funders and investors; problem-solution definition through an enterprise lens; community-based, decolonial and systems approaches to design thinking; inclusive and equitable design; transformative enterprise model design, implementation and commercialization; the role of advocacy and communication; market evaluation and measuring impact; as well as stakeholder management and value-based leadership. The learning process includes a range of online materials, classes,  interactionclasses, interaction with entrepreneurs, site visits or virtual tours, experiential learning, as well as individual and group work.

You will also learn about the world of London’s start-ups and undertake entrepreneurship site visits where you will benefit from personal insights of award-winning entrepreneurs. Instructors and speakers on this collaboratively taught module include entrepreneurial leaders and change-makers.

Illustrative module outline

1. Start-ups, incubators and accelerators
2. Community-based, decolonial, and systems approaches to design thinking
3. Inclusive design: Diversity, engagement and participation
4. Global challenges and local entrepreneurial action
5. Assessing and creating market opportunities
6. Launching an enterprise: Founding, funding and pitching
7. Navigating complex entrepreneurial ecosystems and initiating change
8. Measuring and communicating impact
9. Entrepreneur-led sessions
10. Entrepreneurial site visits or virtual tours

Indicative Reading

•Belz F.M. & Binder J.K. (2015) Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Convergent Process Model, Business Strategy and the Environment 26(1): 1-117.

•Escobar, A. (2018) Designs for the Pluriverse. Durham: Duke University Press.

•Janeway W.H. (2018) Doing Capitalism in the Innovation Economy: Reconfiguring the Three-Player Game between Markets, Speculators and the State (2nd Edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

•Klein P.G. (2008) Opportunity Discovery, Entrepreneurial Action, and Economic Organization, Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal 2(3): 175-190.

•Moore H. (2015) Global Prosperity and Sustainable Development Goals: Global Prosperity and SDGs, Journal of International Development 27(6): 801–15.

•Marmer M. (2012) ‘Transformational Entrepreneurship: Where Technology Meets Societal Impact’. Harvard Business Review, 23 April 2012, available at: https://hbr.org/2012/04/transformational-entrepreneurs   

•Mazzucato M. (2015) The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths (Revised Edition). New York: PublicAffairs.

•Mulgan G. (2006) The Process of Social Innovation, Innovations 1(2): 145–62.

•Osterwalder A. and Pigneur Y. (2010) Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

•Visser W. (2017) Innovation Pathways Towards Creating Integrated Value: A Conceptual Framework, International Humanistic Management Association, Research Paper Series No. 17-41.