FAQs about CASE

General

What is CASE?
The Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) is a research and education center based at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, The Center for the Advancement of Social entrepreneurship (CASE) promotes the entrepreneurial pursuit of social impact through the thoughtful adaptation of business expertise.

What do you mean by "social entrepreneurship"?
Social entrepreneurship is the process of recognizing and relentlessly pursuing opportunities to create social value. Social entrepreneurs are innovative, resourceful, and results oriented. They draw upon the best thinking in both the business and nonprofit worlds to develop strategies that maximize their social impact. Social entrepreneurship is not about business ethics, corporate responsibility, or incorporating social and environmental impact into business management. Nor is it exclusively about nonprofits launching businesses and other earned income strategies. To learn more about social entrepreneurship, read What is Social Entrepreneurship?

Students

I am planning on visiting Fuqua and would like to set up a time to meet with CASE. Can I schedule an appointment?
While we wish we had the time to meet individually with every interested applicant, at times our schedules do not allow for such one-on-one meetings. We encourage you to review this website, and do feel free to contact any of the members of the Social Impact Club. If you are able to give us 2-3 weeks notice of a visit, that would likely ensure a meeting with one of the faculty or staff members of CASE. Please contact CASE with any questions or to set up a meeting.

What courses does CASE offer for students interested in social entrepreneurship or nonprofit management? Do you anticipate offering a special track, major, or certificate in this area?
The Curricular section of this website provides an overview of the courses relevant to CASE. CASE regularly seeks input from students regarding their interest in new courses and evaluates opportunities based on our capacity and student demand. At this time, CASE does not have plans for offering a special track, major, or certificate in this area.

I will be enrolling at Fuqua next fall and am interested in getting involved with CASE. What opportunities are there for student involvement with your research or other activities?
Congratulations on your acceptance! We look forward to meeting you. The best way to learn about opportunities for involvement with CASE is to spend some time checking out the various portions of the Students section of the CASE website. Here you will find an overview of the different CASE activities targeting MBAs as well as contact information for the current student leaders, who are the best resources for understanding the opportunities available to students. In terms of research, there are occasional opportunities for student involvement, such as through independent studies, but students are strongly encouraged first to become involved in CASE through the Social Impact Club.

I am considering looking for a nonprofit summer internship or entering the nonprofit sector after business school. Does CASE have any programs or resources to help me?
For an extensive overview of the resources available to students interested in social sector internships and careers, see the Careers section of the CASE website, which highlights programs designed to help students with the job search process as well as those focused on reducing the financial barriers to MBA employment in the social sector.

Do you have any courses, programs, or activities for Fuqua WEMBA, GEMBA, or Cross-Continent students?
Currently, all of our courses and programs are focused on serving the Daytime MBA students. However, if student demand exists and our capacity increases, we may expand our offering to the other MBA programs in the future. Additionally, CASE Events are open to non-Daytime MBA students when they are on campus, as are all of the alumni programs with the exception of the Class of 2001 Loan Forgiveness Fund. If any executive MBA students have a particular interest in CASE, please contact us and we will try to arrange a time to meet when you are in residence.

How can I contact a current student?
If you would like to get in touch with a student, please provide us with the following information via email--your name, contact information, status of your Duke MBA application, brief background, summary of career interests. We will pass this information on to a member of the Social Impact Club who will contact you as soon as possible. (Please note that the initial contact may take up to two weeks--our students need to balance the demands of rigourous coursework, extracurricular activities, and career planning.)

Alumni

What does CASE have to offer Fuqua Alumni interested in social entrepreneurship? What are your plans in this area?
CASE's plans for serving interested alumni are very much in the development stage. You can help us in this area by joining CASE--you will be added to the monthly electronic newsletter distribution list and you will be receive communications from the Social Impact Club's alumni development team.

Additionally, please review the alumni section of our website, tell your classmates about CASE and the opportunity to join CASE, and let us know if you are interested in getting involved by advertising a summer internship or full-time job in the social sector, hosting an event related to social entrepreneurship at your local alumni chapter, or serving as a mentor or advisor to current students.

Faculty

I am interested in social entrepreneurship and would like to do research in this area. Do you provide support for faculty/PhD research?
CASE currently only provides support for Fuqua faculty/PhD research through our Faculty Research Pool.

Do you have any opportunities for research partners or research associates to work with CASE?
CASE currently does not have any capacity for collaborating with others on research or for hiring research associates.

Can you recommend any course materials or cases on social entrepreneurship for MBA classes?
CASE produces a limited number of cases and conceptual notes, which may be downloaded for free from CASE Publications. The two other best resources for social entrepreneurship cases and materials are Harvard Business School Publishing's section on Social Enterprise and Ethics and Stanford Business School's Center for Social Innovation. While more focused on "social impact management" than "social entrepreneurship," Aspen Institute's Initiative for Social Innovation through Business (ISIB) manages a database of cases through CasePlace.org. The Faculty-Teaching section of our website also offers a selection of course descriptions and syllabi related to social entrepreneurship.

Do you know of any organizations that support social entrepreneurship research or outlets for publication on this topic?
While it is difficult to find organizations that support or publish about social entrepreneurship explicitly, the following organizations or initiatives might be worth exploring:
Aspen Institute's Nonprofit Sector Research Fund
The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA)
The National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise
Nonprofit Management and Leadership Journal
The Skoll Foundation
Stanford Social Innovation Review

Social Sector Leaders

What resources, programs, or activities does CASE have for nonprofit organizations?

For classes in nonprofit management, we encourage North Carolina nonprofits and individuals to consider the statewide Duke University Certificate Program in Nonprofit Management.

While most CASE Events are designed for our MBA students, there are some that are open to the public and may be of interest to local nonprofit leaders. Each spring, be sure to look out for the CASE Leadership in Social Entrepreneurship Award and Lecture.

CASE also disseminates it own work through CASE Publications that are available for free download and may be of interest to nonprofit organizations.