Community-based participatory research as a driver of social enterprise development
a case study from a South African university
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21504/ajhece.v2i1.2551Keywords:
Community-based Participatory Research, community-university partnerships, service-learning and community engagement, social enterprise development, entrepreneurial education, Active Community Citizens through Engaged Scholarship for SustainabilityAbstract
In recent years, South African universities have been called upon to address socio-economic challenges through forms of engaged scholarship that integrate teaching, research, and community partnership. Using a case study approach, this paper explores how a community-oriented student organisation at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein approached the academic facilitator and students of an entrepreneurship module with a request to help them become a viable and sustainable social enterprise as a means to combat unemployment and improve the graduate employability of its members. This request necessitated the formation of a community-university partnership (CUP) that employed community-based participatory research (CBPR) and participatory action learning and action research (PALAR) to support the development of a social enterprise. The partnership formed part of an experiential learning initiative embedded within entrepreneurship education at UFS. Through the use of CBPR and PALAR, the student organisation was assisted in identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and an action plan, based on a social enterprise business model canvas (SEMC), was designed to help the organisation achieve its goals. Findings reveal that engaging students in CBPR and PALAR through their partnership with the student organisation facilitated deep, experiential learning. The paper also reveals how collaborative knowledge production can generate mutual benefits for students, communities, and the institution.
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