Shared Platforms: Creating Sustainable Social Enterprise

The shared platform model is emerging as an innovative organizational structure. The proposed research aims to gain a deeper understanding of shared platforms strengths, barriers to success, and their potential impact on the social enterprise sector in a rural area. The shared platform organizational model provides two distinctive features for both business supports and mentorship through an administrative hub, and the opportunity to collaborate, create Communities of Practice to drive innovation. The research for a shared platform model to grow the social enterprise sector in Peterborough will be provided to the partner organization with the objective to provide a model to help new, and existing enterprise succeed. The benefit to the partner organization, the Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster (GPIC), will be to provide an innovative emergent approach and support model for social entrepreneurs. The research has the potential to directly move forward GPICs mission by providing a framework that utilizes a platform built to create both solid business (organizational/ administrative) foundations, and an ecosystem for innovation.

Faculty Supervisor:

Raymond Dart

Student:

Katie Allen

Partner:

Greater Peterborough Innovation Cluster

Discipline:

Resources and environmental management

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

Trent University