The Program on Social Entrepreneurship at Stanford's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) integrates the experience of social entrepreneurs from around the world with academic research at Stanford University.

Program History:

The Program on Social Entrepreneurship (PSE) is part of the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program at CDDRL. Launched in 2005, the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program is a highly competitive program that brings upwards of 25 leaders from developing democracies to Stanford each summer for a three-week academic training program.

In 2011, the PSE was launched as an extension of the Summer Fellows program to provide social entrepreneurs - creative and determined global leaders, human rights defenders, advocates for gender justice - the opportunity to spend a longer period of time at Stanford in residence for the academic quarter. The program also responded to the growing student interest on campus to engage with practitioners inside the classroom and with the field of social entrepreneurship more broadly.

The social entrepreneur fellows (SEERS Fellows) share similar profiles to the Summer Fellows as they lead institutions that advance social, economic and political change. SEERS Fellows hail from both the developed and developing world and are nominated through the program's Global Practitioner Council - an advisory board of 17 leaders who are actively working in the social entrepreneurship field - and the Summer Fellows alumni network. Some of our Summer Fellows also sit on the Program's Global Practitioner Council as a way to strengthen interaction between the two programs.

Building a tangible bridge between academia and practice, the Program exposes students to new models of social change through innovative courses and provides practitioners the opportunity to build their individual and personal capacities as social change leaders.

SEERS Fellows benefit from the rich alumni network supported by the Summer Fellows program by participating in shared activities, networking opportunities and capacity-building trainings. SEERS Fellows are encouraged to participate in the Summer Fellows training at Stanford and also connect to CDDRL's research programs. The SEERS Fellows also work closely with Stanford faculty to pursue joint research projects and serve as practitioner advisors to projects exploring refugee rights, resource concessions in post-conflict societies and human trafficking, among others.

The program also benefits from the guidance of the Faculty Advisory Council, which is comprised of 15 faculty leaders drawn from across the university who are exploring dimensions of social entrepreneurship in their research and practice.

The Fellowship:

SEERS Fellows spend the academic quarter - 10 weeks - in residence at Stanford to reflect on their own work, pursue research projects, broaden their professional networks, and co-teach a course on social entrepreneurship. The course is the foundation of the program and is offered to undergraduates in the winter quarter in the form of a service learning class where students work together with social entrepreneurs on specific projects to advance the fellows' organizational capacity.

In the fall, the course is offered to the graduate community at the Stanford Law School where social entrepreneurship is examined through the lens of legal change.

SEERS Fellows use the remaining time on campus to advance their own professional objectives, to contemplate their next steps as social change leaders and to connect to the broader Bay Area philanthropic community. SEERS Fellows leave the fellowship with tangible projects that advance their professional work and students gain the practical experience of working on projects for a non-profit organization.

In 2013, the program introduced an undergraduate student fellowship, providing an opportunity for a Stanford student to work with a global or local SEERS Fellow over the summer. SEERS Fellows have also worked with other units on campus to provide summer fellowship placements for exceptional Stanford undergraduates.

Our Social Entrepreneurs:                         

The program welcomed its first group of SEERS Fellows to Stanford in April 2012. Each class is composed of three talented social entrepreneurs working globally or locally to advance social change. Since that time the program has welcomed three additional classes of SEERS Fellows. The most recent class arrived in January 2014 and are all composed of locally based social entrepreneurs who are together working to raise literacy rates in public schools, hold international institutions accountable for their abuses, and defend the rights of women and girls across the state of California.

For full bios of SEERS Fellows and alumni, please click here.