Ashoka's Venture Fund for Leading Social Entrepreneurs
Ashoka's Venture Fund for Leading Social Entrepreneurs
Ashoka's Venture Fund for Leading Social Entrepreneurs
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Ashoka Fellow Criteria<br />
A New idea:<br />
Is the person possessed by a truly new idea <strong>for</strong> solving a public need? Is it a truly trans<strong>for</strong>mational innovation,<br />
or just a tweaking of how things are now done?<br />
Ashoka only elects individuals who possess a new idea, a new solution to a social problem that will change the<br />
pattern in a field at the regional or national level. A new school or clinic does not meet Ashoka’s definition of a<br />
new idea; there must be a vision of a new pattern <strong>for</strong> education or health care that promises to change schools<br />
or clinics all across the candidate’s country or region.<br />
Creativity:<br />
Is this person creative both in vision and in problem solving?<br />
Successful social entrepreneurs must be creative not only in goal-setting but also in solving the problems that<br />
inevitably arise while pursuing their vision. They must use their creativity day after day in order to succeed. To<br />
evaluate whether or not someone possesses this essential creativity, Ashoka examines his or her track record<br />
of developing creative solutions from youth onward.<br />
Entrepreneurial Quality:<br />
Is it impossible <strong>for</strong> this person to rest until his or her vision is the new pattern across society, even if it involves<br />
years of grappling with “how-to” issues?<br />
Ashoka looks <strong>for</strong> people who are married to their idea and will keep developing it if need be <strong>for</strong> decades.<br />
<strong>Social</strong> entrepreneurs are practical and pragmatic. They know how to overcome obstacles, and are driven both<br />
by their idea and by the will to make that idea an institutionalized reality.<br />
<strong>Social</strong> impact of the New idea:<br />
Is the idea new, practical, and useful enough that others will adopt it once it has been demonstrated? If so,<br />
how many people will be affected by this idea, to what degree, and how beneficially?<br />
Ashoka is interested in ideas that will, over the long term, change the candidate’s field significantly and that<br />
will trigger widespread impact. <strong>Social</strong> entrepreneurship not only needs an extraordinary person to develop an<br />
idea but also a powerful, practical idea that will spread on its own merits.<br />
Ethical Fiber:<br />
If you were in danger, would you instinctively trust this person? Would you trust him or her in a position of<br />
power?<br />
There are three reasons why this criterion is critical to Ashoka. First, significant social entrepreneurs ask<br />
people to make major changes in behavior, which is highly unlikely without trust. Second, Ashoka’s greatest<br />
power, our community, does not work if even one person in the room is untrustworthy. Finally, we do not want<br />
to add to the supply of untrustworthy public leaders.