Enterprise for Impact

Overview

Students explore three forms of enterprise—social, financial and cultural—and consider how each can create value for a local community. Working in teams, they develop and pitch a realistic enterprise idea that balances community need, cultural identity, environmental responsibility and financial viability.

Learning intentions

Students will:

• explain the purpose and characteristics of social, financial and cultural enterprise
• identify a local need or opportunity and propose an enterprise response
• consider how resources, finance, people, culture and the environment affect an enterprise
• collaborate to communicate and justify an enterprise idea clearly

Success criteria

• I can distinguish between social, financial and cultural enterprise.
• I can explain the need my enterprise addresses.
• I can describe how my idea creates social, financial or cultural value.
• I can identify at least one possible challenge and a sustainable response.

Curriculum links

• Environment and sustainable living: examining sustainable practices and actions in the local community.
• Environment and sustainable living: investigating and evaluating sustainable management of resources such as money, land, food and transport.
• Trade and development issues: considering production, distribution, fairness, inequality and the role of enterprise in communities.
• Money: making informed judgements about transactions and financial plans.
• People and other lands: recognising interdependence among local people, communities and people in other parts of Ireland and the world.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Hook: What counts as success? Teacher displays a photograph of a busy local café, a community repair project and a traditional music festival using the opening visual slides, then asks: “Which creates the greatest value, and how could we measure it?” Students write an initial response and discuss it with a partner. Invite a few contrasting answers, emphasising that value may be financial, social, cultural or environmental.

2. 7–17 min · Direct teach: Three enterprise purposes. Teacher uses the enterprise definitions slides to introduce:

• financial enterprise: primarily aims to generate income or profit by meeting customer needs
• social enterprise: trades or operates to address a social or environmental issue, reinvesting much of its surplus in its mission
• cultural enterprise: creates, protects or shares cultural expression, heritage, language, arts or traditions while operating sustainably Students complete the three-column section of the enterprise comparison and planning worksheet, recording one purpose, example and possible challenge for each type.

3. 17–25 min · Class sorting and evaluation. Teacher presents four examples on the enterprise examples slides: a local bakery, a clothing-repair initiative, a traditional craft cooperative and a community transport scheme. For each, ask: “Who benefits? How does it earn or use money? What cultural or environmental value might it create?” Students vote on the dominant enterprise type, recognising that one organisation may combine all three. Check understanding through targeted questioning and correct the misconception that social enterprise cannot make money.

4. 25–40 min · Team challenge: Design an enterprise. Teacher forms five groups of five and displays the brief on the team challenge slides: “Create an enterprise for your locality that responds to a real need and creates more than one kind of value.” Each group chooses a need such as food waste, transport, loneliness, local tourism, youth employment, access to arts or protection of heritage. Students complete the planning section of the enterprise design worksheet, including:

• enterprise name and type or combination of types
• local need and target customers or beneficiaries
• product or service
• how it will earn, manage or distribute money
• people, materials and transport required
• social, cultural and environmental benefits
• one risk and a practical response Assign roles: facilitator, researcher, finance lead, sustainability lead and spokesperson.

5. 40–53 min · Enterprise pitches. Teacher reminds groups of the pitch structure on the pitch guidance slides: need, idea, value, money plan and challenge. Each group gives a two-minute pitch followed by one question from the class. List ideas under the headings “financial value”, “social value”, “cultural value” and “environmental value”. Students listen actively and note one strength and one question for another group on their worksheet.

6. 53–60 min · Judgement and exit ticket. Teacher leads a final discussion: “Can an enterprise be financially successful and still be fair and sustainable?” Students complete the final section of the reflection and exit-ticket section with: “The strongest enterprise was… because…”, “It creates value by…”, and “One improvement would be…”. Collect worksheets to assess understanding and use responses to plan the next lesson on feasibility, budgeting or marketing.

Resources

• the enterprise lesson deck
• the enterprise comparison and planning worksheet
• Projector or interactive whiteboard
• A4 paper and markers
• Timer
• Board or flip-chart paper for recording value created
• Access to brief local examples of enterprises, if available

Assessment

• Questioning during the direct teach and example-sorting activity checks whether students can distinguish the three forms of enterprise.
• Review group planning sheets for a clearly identified need, realistic use of resources, consideration of money and at least two types of value.
• Assess pitches and exit tickets for accurate vocabulary, justification, collaboration and awareness of sustainability or fairness.

Differentiation

• Provide sentence starters on the worksheet: “Our enterprise meets the need of…”, “It creates social value by…” and “A financial challenge could be…”.
• Support students who need it with a choice of suggested local needs, mixed-ability groups, a word bank and permission to present with a partner.
• Offer EAL support through visuals, repeated definitions and key terms displayed throughout the lesson.
• Challenge confident students to explain how their enterprise would measure impact, compare two possible income sources or consider whether a profit-making partner would create a conflict with the enterprise mission.