General Information
Promotional Video
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Instructor Bio
Nouman Ashraf is an Associate Professor (with tenure) within the Organizational Behavior area at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
He possesses a broad range of professional, academic and research interests, with a specialized focus on enabling inclusive and innovative practices within teams, organizations and boards.
For the last decade and a half, he has held progressively senior roles at the University of Toronto, including most recently as the Director of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion the Rotman School of Management.
He is a recognized thought leader in governance and has taught thousands of directors in the national Rotman program on Not-for-Profit Governance in partnership with the Institute for Corporate Directors since its inception in 2007.
Nouman serves as Teaching Fellow at the Institute for Gender + the Economy. He is also an Associate at Trinity College within the University of Toronto and an Affiliated Faculty Member at the University of Toronto School of Cities, where he is the founder and Academic Director of the Leading Social Justice Collective.
In his free time, Nouman mentors exceptional post-graduate students in his capacity as Senior Fellow Emeritus at Massey College within the University of Toronto. Most recently, he developed an online course on inclusive leadership in partnership with GetSmarter which launches in Fall 2023.
Target Audience
Students interested in leadership, social innovation, the social economy, and sustainability will find this course valuable. Students who are interested in the application of core course concepts to real-life problems will also benefit from this course, as students will have the opportunity to work directly with not-for-profit organizations to solve unique business and social challenges.
Leading Social Innovation introduces students to the practice of deep learning and offers opportunities to engage with this concept in two ways. First, from having an open dialogue with diverse social entrepreneurs and leaders in the social economy and second, by working with and learning from existing not-for-profit organizations on current issues they are facing. This is an essential course for any second-year student who wishes to apply and integrate insights from various disciplines such as finance, strategy, organizational behavior and leadership to the social economy.
The most successful participants will be those curious about understanding emergent models of leadership, impact measurement, stakeholder engagement and systems-wide change. Previous experience in the not-for-profit and public sectors is not necessary; however, passion and curiosity for integrating across traditional silos to solve wicked problems a key asset. The course also emphasizes a business design orientation to thinking through these important issues.
Format
There will be 8 classes from 18:00-21:30 between January 8-19, 2024.
Please note that successful delivery of the final project will require meeting and collaborating with group members after the last classroom session.
Course Mission and Scope
In this course, students will explore conventional and emerging models of problem finding, framing and solving as it applies to the social economy. Students will hear from social entrepreneurs leading teams in the not-for-profit, public and private sectors. The course cumulates with a group project, where students will work with a partner organization on balancing a social disequilibrium.
This course is designed to broaden students’ ability to amplify organizational impact. Students will leave with an understanding of the unique challenges faced by organizations operating with a dual mandate of making a positive return on financial and social investments.
The focus of this course is on broadening your integrative abilities across disciplines by utilizing recent case studies, panel discussions with thought leaders and engaging in active reflection through peer-based learning. By the end of this course, participants will have the tools necessary to be able to effectively tackle the range of issues and opportunities that confront leaders daily and which impact society at large. Students will also leave with the skills that allow for continued learning outside of the classroom setting.
Evaluation and Grade Breakdown
| Component | Due Date* | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Class Participation | Ongoing | 10% |
| Learning Journals | Ongoing | 25% |
| Midterm Assignment | January 15, 2024 | 25% |
| Final Assignment (Group-Based Consulting Project) | Approximately February 5, 2024 | 40% |
Required Resources
Martin, Roger L and Osberg, Sally R. Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2015. Print. ISBN-10 1633690687. ISBN-13 978-1633690684.
Brown, Tim and Wyatt, Jocelyn. Design Thinking for Social Innovation. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Winter 2010.
Student Testimonials From Winter 2021 Term
- “Leading Social Innovation was a course that truly provided the opportunity to think deep, be rooted by meaning and purpose, and continuously reflect. Throughout the course we had the opportunity to hear from industry leaders, learn from case studies, and be guided by key insight from Prof Nouman Ashraf. Every opportunity presented a new perspective, on Social Innovation. This course reminds us the significance of passion and purpose coming together, giving valuable insight on how they can be applied in our work, and daily lives.
Social Innovation is found in every aspect of our life, and it is our responsibility to make an impact and advocate the change where we can – whether that is in a corporate setting, NGO, or volunteer. LSI gave me the opportunity to truly reflect, realign my goals, and redirect me on the path of passion and purpose. We can all make a difference daily, and Prof. Ashraf’s course continuously reminds us of that.
If you want to be inspired and make a difference – take this course!”
- “While signing up for the Leading Social Innovations course, I expected to learn established theoretical models on development and dissect case studies on social innovations. However, the course went far beyond my expectations as Professor Nouman tied in concepts from Business Design to help us build empathy for all stakeholders and address social problems more holistically. Almost every class introduced and provided us opportunities to have candid conversations with guest speakers who have made significant impact through their work and improved lives. The best part of this course was the fact that we got to partner and collaborate with local social innovators in helping them work through real problems their enterprises were facing.
Take this course if you want an elevated classroom learning experience coupled with out-of-class real-world applications of models and concepts. If you have ever wanted to stretch your mindset and wondered how you may use your power and privilege to do good in the world, this is the course for you.”
- “Leading Social Innovation illuminates Rotman’s core principles of diversity and inclusivity. It has allowed me to understand how together we can leverage our individual “uniqueness” to create something needed by society. As our world becomes more complex, it becomes critical to call on new perspectives, especially from those marginalized by the status quo. As a leader, it takes humility, empathy, and confidence to able to interact effectively with all of our stakeholders. This course allowed me to develop these behavioural qualities and put them into action to benefit a real client who is making real social change. It has been the perfect complement to my MBA education by providing a framework with which to create social value along with economic value.”