In Colombia, a war-torn country with a civil society attempting to address the economic and social marginalization of many of its citizens, one is continually faced with unanswered questions. How does one create or revitalize programs that strike an adequate balance between the social and the economic? How does one ensure that social initiatives have economic viability, and that economic projects obtain positive social impact?

Everyone agrees that Colombia is in a crisis. But the perceptions of this crisis often include negative opinions about several sectors. The private sector is said to be indifferent; the social sector is called opportunistic, and the public sector is accused of being corrupt. Yet these images do not take into account the efforts of many organizations to transform the conditions of exclusion and marginality of a large part of the population. We must urgently support those struggling to alleviate these conditions or face the challenge of opening open new spaces for transformation.

In the context of awakened social awareness, universities can collaborate in several ways. For example, teachers can offer students work opportunities through which they gain valuable practical training and further their personal development. The university also benefits society’s overall transformation by strengthening the contributions from leaders and organizations in its immediate environment. Teaching and service are indeed two faces of the same coin—a coin minted by research in different areas of knowledge.

In contemporary societies, where organizations play such an important role, the contributions of business schools, nonprofit management education and public administration schools are increasingly important. In the School of Administration at the Universidad de los Andes, we tackled the aforementioned crucial questions through the creation of the Program on Social Initiatives, known by its Spanish acronym as IESO. The following is the story of how this program is being institutionalized in the Universidad de los Andes.

REDIRECTING AND CREATING NEW CAPACITIES

The catalyst that triggered IESO’s creation was an invitation to join the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network (SEKN), a coalition consisting of the Harvard Business School and other leading business schools in Latin America. Its mission is “to advance the frontiers of knowledge and practice in social enterprise through collaborative research, shared learning, enhanced teaching, and the strengthening of management education institutions’ capabilities to serve their communities.” Another partner in SEKN is the AVINA Foundation, which provides matching funds as well as field experience in social enterprise to member schools. All SEKN members are engaged in a process of creating and strengthening their institutions’ engagement in the social sector. Placing a new initiative within an already existing agenda required the redirection of faculty attention. We started off with the support of the university rector and with the participation of the Andes Administration School Dean in the Initiative’s newly formed Advisory Committee consisting of business and nonprofit sector leaders. We started searching for faculty involvement with the understanding that social concerns are common throughout many disciplines and need to be tackled from different perspectives. It was much more than a matter of creating a new group of specialists. For example, we were looking at the need to study the social impact of specific financial decisions. We had to figure out the transformations influenced by social marketing, and we needed to investigate the effect of innovative strategies that experiment products or services with underprivileged sectors of society. We had to ask ourselves all these questions and many more.

We then faced the challenge of arousing interest among faculty and getting their commitments to participate in a socially-oriented program. Because it’s very easy for one to continue with routine and simply disregard any unnecessary changes, we sought to establish an emotional connection and foment intellectual interest in our program. For example, we invited outstanding business and social leaders to the university. We took a close look at what the leaders needed, and tried to match them with faculty interests to determine our research and service projects. During the two first years of the program, we undertook four case studies of collaboration between companies in the private sector and social sector organizations. Furthermore, we defined nine service projects in which we could work with both business and social leaders.

Once the plan for the first two years of the Program on Social Initiatives was elaborated, work began with each one of our stakeholders. We informed several professors about our work, and we invited them to participate in the Program’s research or service projects. We gave some professors pedagogical cases, academic articles, or syllabi for certain courses that we believed could be of interest to them, extracted from material we had received from Harvard Business School’s Initiative on Social Enterprise. Although we were invited a few times to discuss cases like Habitat for Humanity or The Cleveland Turnaround in the courses coordinated by these professors, the North American material awoke little enthusiasm. However, there was great enthusiasm for visits by twenty-one Colombian social leaders from every corner of the country. They have visited more than sixty courses during the past year and a half.

Collaboration between business and social leaders has been central to the IESO program because we believe in the balance between the economic and the social: economic projects with a positive social impact and social projects with economic viability. Many of these leaders have shown us corporate social responsibility practices and social undertakings that were so valuable that we have begun to document them. We have also created spaces for dialogue about these important experiences. These include informal afternoon conversations (tertulias), as well as more formal continuing education programs for executives. In the University’s programs for continuing education for executives, we have participated in the program for company presidents, in a corporate program and in the program for development of export capacity for small- and medium-sized businesses. In these three programs, more than sixty high-level executives have focused on observing some of the practices of corporate social responsibility. We have also had the opportunity to make joint presentations with business leaders to different audiences.

Beginning the first semester of 2002, undergraduate students had the opportunity to participate in a course on “Innovative and Responsible Management” or to become involved in a project on “Consulting for Social Enterprises.” In the latter, we created groups in which a social enterprise representative and one or two students worked together with a professional consultant. Twenty-five such consultancy groups have been created during the last three semesters. In addition, during the second semester of 2002, Masters of Business Administration (MBA) students had the opportunity to take the elective “Business Contributions in Society.” At the same time, nine undergraduate and graduate students decided to write their theses on social undertakings, and three alumni volunteered as advisors to participate in the “Consulting for Social Enterprises” project. We have been able to generate certain interest among students by creating new courses and using participant-centered learning approaches throughout.

Professors, students, leaders, organizations and trade associations have been intimately involved with the process of constructing IESO. The prestige of the Universidad de los Andes in the Colombian milieu, and academic and financial endorsement from abroad helped the Initiative get off the ground. From thereof, we have been able to bring the academic environment closer to enlightening practical experiences and to accept interesting projects. In the university setting, the talent and energy of students to carry out such projects is as important—or even more important—than the ideas themselves. When a necessity exists, and leaders approach the university, we look to the students to collaborate in the context of classwork or thesis projects. The relative success of the invitation for commitment by the students creates pressure on professors to participate.

Over time, we have begun creating an identity within and outside the university. Publicizing our initiative accomplishes at least two purposes: (1) It communicates our accomplishments to attract an organization in need of help, and (2), it motivates the participation of those who can provide that help. Until now, an online bi-monthly newsletter and a website have laid the groundwork for future publications and videos. Collaboration with mass media should also widen the scope of these communications.

Outside interest groups can become involved in a variety of ways, ranging from membership in the IESO Advisory Committee to the consideration of which type of products and services we should offer to ensure the inclusion of diverse groups. In addition to the research and service projects mentioned above , our support of social leaders has included the elaboration of business plans for promising ideas and workshops to strengthen the boards of directors of non-profit organizations. Between three and six members of the boards of directors from twenty-one organizations in two Colombian cities have attended these workshops. In addition to working with leaders and their organizations, we have also worked with the public sector and with a couple of trade associations. The exceptional examples of sustainability of some of the social organizations contrast with the great administrative necessities of the majority. The petitions for support that come to the university are increasing proportionally to the degree that the cost of service is defrayed by Colombian and international foundations.

Our participation in SEKN’s joint research project served to engage us deeply in the study of collaborations between nonprofit organizations and business in Colombia. But it also extended our borders, allowing us to share experiences with other SEKN member countries—Argentina, Brazil, Central America, Chile, and Mexico. This deepened our learning and ability to share with other institutions and networks in Colombia.

How can we go beyond our limited resources? Several networks have been providing us with support and validation for our work. In addition to our initial participation in the Social Enterprise Knowledge Network, we have collaborated in the creation of three Colombian networks. One is a network of universities committed to ethics and social responsibility. A second network is made up of different organizations interested in social development leadership. Yet another network brings together peace and development initiatives. Thus far, only the university network has a project that makes all the nodes work together. The other two networks also aim to do this.

TOWARDS INSTITUTIONALIZATION

In Colombian society, there are countless opportunities to make a contribution. We have just described the way in which the Administration School at the Universidad de los Andes faced the challenges of constructing a strategy that increases the impact of efforts to confront certain social problems.

When some professors redirected their energy toward social issues, a distinct organizational structure evolved, followed by the development of new abilities in several of our interest groups. The SEKN network has facilitated the entrepreneurial activity of the Colombian Program on Social Initiatives. IESO’s creation and its diverse working groups guarantee, in the near future, the collaboration of researchers and students with dedicated business and social leaders. The products and services generated by the Program already have had a positive impact on the work of dozens of social entrepreneurs and in the life of their communities. Moreover, these efforts are a fountain of knowledge for others. Is this not the vocation of a university?