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Lamrock’s call is not only timely for the non-profit sector, but also reflects how many university students want to contribute to society and build a career.

 

Last week, I saw the New Brunswick Advocate for Child, Youth, and Seniors Kelly Lamrock launch his office’s report at the . I was there speaking on a panel about social innovation research and ways to bridge community and academia.

 

I first encountered Lamrock at the Social Enterprise Symposium this spring, where he delivered a heart-wrenching speech on another report called “How It All Broke” which dissected systemic failures of social service programs.

 

In this recent speech, there was a focus both on problems facing social service delivery and solutions in the form of social innovation and entrepreneurship.

In my classes at St. Thomas University, I encourage students to think both about complex societal problems and how they could design new solutions to address them with an entrepreneurial mindset. That spirit carries throughout Lamrock’s report, which outlines a bold vision for the non-profit sector.

 

He acknowledged that the non-profit sector is crucial for meeting acute daily needs in the province while contributing over $3 billion to provincial GDP according to a and employing 15% of the province’s workforce. Despite these contributions, the Advocate’s report argues that the non-profit sector is in a constant position of having to justify its existence.

 

The report calls for a new relationship between government and non-profits based on genuine collaboration to enable and the innovation happening in the community sector. Entrepreneurial non-profits like the , with whom I’m currently working on a research project, need stable support and flexibility to test new solutions to complex problems. The Advocate’s report calls for a new form of governance in which non-profits and social enterprises help shape the agenda and funding mechanisms for addressing our wicked problems.

 

This call is not only timely for non-profits, it also captures where many university student are today, and  ���߲ݴ�ý’s represents a key partner in Mr. Lamrock’s vision. Lamrock argued that New Brunswick needs “an army of disruptors” to join the growing non-profit workforce, bring a culture of innovation, and co-design entrepreneurial solutions which the report’s proposed governance model would enable.

 

I was able to bring some students in the Business and Social Entrepreneurship program with me to the Social Impact Exchange. As our program grows, we can answer the call by inspiring the disruptors that New Brunswick needs to tackle its most stubborn challenges and create more just, sustainable, and prosperous communities.

 

Dr. Brennan Lowery is an Assistant Professor in Business and Social Entrepreneurship at St. Thomas University.