Latin American Social Enterprise Symposium (LASES)

Latin American Social Enterprise Symposium
Simposio Latinoamericano De Actividades Empresariales Sociales (Spanish Version)
June 8 - 9, 2006
Santiago, Chile

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO FRIDAY, MARCH 3RD 2006 

Co-Sponosors:

The focus of the Latin American Social Enterprise Symposium (LASES) co-hosted by the William Davidson Institute (WDI) and Nonprofit Enterprise and Self-sustainability Team (NESsT) is to raise the profile of the valuable work of social enterprise[1] leaders across Latin America, to share best practices and cases of social enterprise, and to examine the current obstacles and opportunities for fostering social enterprise in the region. WDI and NESsT invite you to submit a paper for inclusion in the LASES focused on one of the following:

• Case studies on social enterprises operating in Latin America, highlighting key management issues, successes and challenges
• Proven strategies to build capacity for social enterprise
• Innovative models for financing social enterprise
• Social enterprise country assessments, including an overview of social enterprise experience nationwide, key challenges and successes, and an analysis of the country’s legal and regulatory environment for social enterprise.

Authors should be affiliated with a civil society organization (CSO) located in Latin America. To apply, please complete an application online here
(http://www.wdi.umich.edu/LacRegistration/registration.aspx).  Please include a 2-3 page abstract of the proposed paper. Final papers will be between 10 - 25 pages in length.

Deadline for applications: February 20, 2006
Notification of selection: March 10, 2006
Deadline for draft submissions: April 20, 2006
Deadline for final papers: May 20, 2006
Latin America Social Enterprise Symposium: June 8 - 9, 2006

Papers selected for LASES will be awarded:

• One-on-one feedback and editorial support by WDI and NESsT.
• Scholarships to cover travel expenses to attend the symposium in Santiago, Chile, accommodation and meals.
• Regional and international promotion by WDI and NESsT.
• Inclusion in the WDI Policy Brief series: http://www.wdi.umich.edu/Publications/PolicyBriefs/
  and the NESsT Learning Series: http://www.nesst.org/furthering_publication.asp

The Symposium will bring together leaders in the field to provide greater attention, definition and legitimacy to social enterprise in Latin America; to share practical lessons learned and encourage regional exchange of common experience among social enterprise practitioners and their supporters in Latin America; and to evaluate the policy and legal/regulatory environment for social enterprise in Latin America and formulate a regional strategy for fostering such activity more broadly.

The Symposium will include round-table paper presentations, panel discussions and technical assistance provided through training sessions on relevant social enterprise topics such as business plan development, strategic, financial and human resource management, marketing strategy, and social capital and networking led by the NESsT Venture Fund staff and top University of Michigan Business School faculty.

Questions can be directed to Jayne Morgan, Director of Operations at NESsT, jmorgan@nesst.org and Kelly Janiga, Manager of Research Programs at the William Davidson Institute, janigak@umich.edu

The William Davidson Institute is a non-profit, research and educational institute at the Michigan Ross School of Business. The Institute’s mission is to create, aggregate, and disseminate intellectual capital on business and policy issues in transition & emerging market economies.  To learn more about the Insitutute, please visit WDI's website at http://www.wdi.umich.edu/.

Since 1997, NESsT has been at the forefront of efforts to promote and develop social enterprises in Latin America and Central & Eastern Europe. NESsT is an international, nonprofit organization committed to strengthening the financial sustainability of civil society organizations (CSOs) working for social change and development in emerging market countries. NESsT supports the development of social enterprises through four main initiatives:

• NESsT Venture Fund: a philanthropic investment fund providing capital and capacity-building support to CSOs in Latin America and Central & Eastern Europe to plan for, start up and manage social enterprises;
• NESsT University: promoting accountability, innovation, leadership and professionalism in the social enterprise field through original research and publishing, events, internships and tools development;
• NESsT Consulting: providing professional training and consulting services in social enterprise development to clients worldwide;
• NESsT Marketplace: enabling social enterprises to reach a wider consumer market for their products and services through a global on-line shopping portal.

To learn more about the organization, please visit NESsT's website at http://www.nesst.org/.

All applications for participation in the symposium will be considered for the William Davidson Institute NGO Alliance in Latin America & the Caribbean. Members of the Alliance are innovative non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have adopted, or are creating strategies for adopting, commercial approaches through which their organization can become more sustainable and less dependent on donors. The aim of the NGO Alliance is to promote networking opportunities and the dissemination of best practices. Additional information, including membership benefits, is available at http://www.wdi.bus.umich.edu/research/ngo/

Those NGOs who are interested in joining the network, but who will not be applying for the Symposium should send a statement of interest and a brief description of your organization to Kelly Janiga, Manager of Research Programs at the William Davidson Institute, at janigak@umich.edu/.