UK: accelerate social entrepreneurship in health

The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship has launched its 2007 Health Accelerator programme for dynamic individuals who want to learn more about how socially entrepreneurial approaches can drive innovation and better health outcomes. The Skoll Centre, a part of Oxford University?s Saïd Business School and created in 2004 with a major gift from the first president of e-Bay, Jeff Skoll, is seeking some 30 nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, and other social entrepreneurs to undergo an intensive programme of learning grounded in the practical development of significant new initiatives. During four study sessions over the course of a year, participants will learn gain new knowledge and skills, access new networks and be encouraged to deepen the behaviour that will lead to entrepreneurial success. Encouraging innovative solutions in health and social care is a key part of reforms in the Health White Paper ?Our health, our care, our say: making it happen? (Oct. 2006) which describes social enterprise models as ?offering patients and users a greater choice from a wider selection of convenient, innovative and responsive services.? A Social Enterprise Fund will be established by the Department of Health in April 2007 to help with set-up costs. Health Accelerator participants are expected to experiment with a very wide range of objectives and models, from community based care under new GP-based commissioning arrangements, to borrowing ideas from social movements to tackle health inequalities and using new technologies to transform patients? ability to manage their health while reducing costs. See www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/Skoll