Breaking the Binary

The document outlines a 'Framework for Government Action' consisting of six policy drivers to support social innovation: engaging market stakeholders, developing government capacity, building market infrastructure, preparing enterprises for growth, directing private capital, and refining policy. It illustrates these drivers through 12 policy case studies from countries including Senegal, India, Colombia, the US, the UK, Ghana, Peru, Canada, Australia, and China. Additionally, it profiles 20 social enterprise models across sectors such as education, health, and rural development to demonstrate how mission-driven businesses operate in the 'grey space' between public and private sectors.

• Social enterprises are defined as entities that balance a social mission with financial viability, applying "innovative, practical, sustainable, business-like approaches that achieve positive social and/or environmental change, with an emphasis on low-income or underserved populations."
• Social enterprises often struggle to scale because they "fall through the cracks" of existing policy frameworks, as corporate legal forms often fail to recognize dual-purpose models and tax systems rarely distinguish between companies that benefit or damage society.
• The 'Framework for Government Action' identifies six key policy drivers: engaging market stakeholders, developing government capacity for action, building market infrastructure and capacity, preparing enterprises for growth, growing and directing private capital, and reviewing and refining policy.
• In Senegal, the Presidential Investment Council (CPI) established an Impact Investing Working Group to propose reforms to "strengthen the social impact of private investment," including recommendations for a national charter defining impact investment and a national fund.
• India's National Innovation Council (NInC) created Cluster Innovation Centres (CICs) to connect small and medium-sized enterprise associations with R&D and financing; seven pilot CICs involved 85,000 SMEs and generated over US$ 4 billion in business revenue in poor communities.
• Colombia's Department for Social Prosperity (DPS), created in 2011, serves as a central hub for poverty reduction and peacekeeping, utilizing a private-sector approach to manage public services and addressing macro problems through micro strategies.
• The US Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation (SICP) acts as a policy advisor to the President, promoting cross-sector partnerships and supporting initiatives like the US$ 50 million Social Innovation Fund, which leveraged US$ 350 million in private funds.
• The UK's Big Society Capital (BSC) operates as a "wholesaler" of capital, deploying assets—including £400 million from dormant bank accounts—to social investment intermediaries to increase the supply of finance for social-sector organizations.
• The UK's Investment and Contract Readiness Fund (ICRF) is a £10 million grant programme that provides technical assistance to social ventures to help them raise over £500,000 in private capital or bid on government contracts over £1 million.
• Peru's Mi Chacra Emprendedora initiative develops the capacity of rural entrepreneurs in extreme poverty by implementing low-cost technology innovations and helping farmers organize into business associations.
• Nova Scotia's Community Economic Development Investment Funds (CEDIFs) provide individual investors a 35% tax credit for investing in local businesses and social enterprises, directing over CAD 49 million to the province.
• Australia's Social Benefit Bonds (SBBs) in New South Wales use a partnership model where private investors fund non-profits to achieve social outcomes, and the government repays investors only if targets are met.
• China's Micro-Credit Company (MCC) Pilot Programme, started in 2005, expanded to nearly 6,000 companies by 2012, providing flexible loans to rural entrepreneurs without requiring collateral.

APA

World Economic Forum (2013). Breaking the Binary. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Breaking_Binary_Policy_Guide_Scaling_Social_Innovation_2013_2604.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Breaking the Binary. 2013. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Breaking_Binary_Policy_Guide_Scaling_Social_Innovation_2013_2604.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Breaking the Binary |date=April 2013 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Breaking_Binary_Policy_Guide_Scaling_Social_Innovation_2013_2604.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2013breaking, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Breaking the Binary}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Breaking_Binary_Policy_Guide_Scaling_Social_Innovation_2013_2604.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }