- individuals creating community-engaged, community-shaped organisations

- rooted in personal and particular:for sustainable, real, radical, long lasting change

- hardwiring diversity in leadership- generating robust, responsive and sustainable

solutions- combining resourcefulness, opportunity and

innovation in practical action- developing business and skills for life

through practical learning- outcomes, not process

Social entrepreneurship:

Long Tail theory

“The theory of the Long Tail is that our culture and economy is increasingly shifting away from a focus on a relatively small number of "hits" [or stars] at the head of the demand curve and toward a huge number of niches in the tail.”

Long Tail numbers

“The potential aggregate size of the many small markets in goods…may rival that of the existing large market in goods”

Sales / £

Long Tail of social entrepreneurs

The debate around social entrepreneurship is increasingly focused on the “Head”, on scaling up particular ‘star’ organisations or initiatives, whilst the Long Tail’s potential aggregate impact is relatively ignored.

Scal

e

Social Entrepreneurs / Enterprises

Social Impact

The Social Marketplace?

Benefits of the Tail• Local, niche and fit-to-purpose solutions• Empowering many people: a movement• Additional benefits beyond direct impact • ‘1000 flowers’: new innovations, entrants and ‘stars’

• Inefficient use of resources: funding and expertise• Duplication of activity, rather than multiplication• Slower in delivering desired impact?• More expensive in the long term• Inappropriate to the scale of problems/needs?

Risks / critiques of the Tail

Risks / critiques of the Head• Generic solutions imposed from above/outside• Smaller numbers involved: risk of elitism?• Additional benefits not multiplied • Fewer new innovations and leaders emerging• Pressure to scale (model unproven / org’n unready)

• Avoidance of duplication / reinvention of wheel• Promotion of the movement through stars/hits• Effective maximisation of social impact…•...and through accelerated development (efficient)

Benefits of the Head

How far can we apply the theory?

• internet: democratised production & distribution

• access and architecture/infrastructure

• what are the bottlenecks and barriers?

• filters: how to find quality or “who are the tastemakers” (pre and post)

• amplification of gap between winners and others

• can’t be only Long Tail

Responses and questions• How can we effectively support the long tail?

• How can the Head and Tail co-operate, interact and bridge the gap?

• How big a problem is duplicated effort and delivery (and how do we tackle it)?

• What is your 2020 vision of the long tail effect? How far can we mainstream the mavericks?

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