Successful Social Enterprises navigate the complexity of collaboration

Working together with different partners and participation mechanisms for strategy setting and strategy execution

Emma Lok, Oneworld: 
‘We do not use the word stakeholders, we see everyone as potential partners.’

Working together with partners and making them part of the transformation journey is essential for the success of a Social Enterprise. However, not all partners in the ecosystem are equal. To make a real impact, a Social Enterprise must carefully choose who to work with, and for what activities. With this publication, which is the result of the joint research between Nyenrode Business University and PwC, we want to help Social Enterprises make sense of the world of partner collaboration and use if effectively to move further towards realising their purpose.

Strategic planning asks of Social Enterprises that they make a distinction between an ‘inner circle’ of co-creators who directly work together intensively (high level of engagement) and an ‘outer circle’ of other partners who work together on a lower level of engagement. Our research shows that the collaboration with co-creators should primarily focus on the strategic goals for the coming years.

Our research also shows that to execute the strategy, a Social Enterprise should include a broad range of partners in the decision-making processes. Different strategic goals (social, financial, trust) require different participation mechanisms. Key partners should be invited to participate directly in relevant decisions. A good example of this is Triodos Bank, which regularly holds stakeholder meetings to align all parties on the bank’s objectives. The social mission is what connects them. Maintaining an open and transparent relationship with many stakeholders will improve social success.