5) Description of initiative: Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship is a transnational social movement organization directed at youth. It has the following mission: to advance youth entrepreneurship and community service around the world, emphasizing ethical business practices, social responsibility, civic engagement and environmental awareness. SAGE envisions a world where high school students, working together with the business, civic and education communities, strive to create better futures through business entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship and community service. It is currently operating in eight U.S. states and 12 countries.

SAGE addresses conflict management by linking youth, ages 12-20, to people from other cultures and countries, through interscholastic competitions similar to sporting events. We have built a successful model where social capital is created locally through the creative and innovative projects completed by youth, and nationally and globally through the SAGE network. SAGE was recently featured as a model program of the premier international accrediting agency for colleges of business, the AACSB, who recently created a Peace through Commerce initiative.

How does this contribute to peace and lessen conflict? In the words of Thomas Friedman (2005): “Give young people a context where they can translate a positive imagination into reality, give them a context in which someone with a grievance can have it adjudicated in a court of law without having to bribe the judge with a goat, give them a context in which they can pursue an entrepreneurial idea and become the richest or the most creative or most respected people in their own country, no matter what their background, give them a context in which any complaint or idea can be published in the newspaper, give them a context in which anyone can run for office—and guess what? They usually don’t want to blow up the world. They usually want to be part of it.”

6) Description of innovation: SAGE is unique. It has: 1. Improved Education –Now in the fourth year, SAGE has shown tremendous results in the area of education reform and youth empowerment; in 2005-2006, SAGE directly impacted 4,000 students. 2. High Impact, Low Cost – SAGE has a very lean cost structure. It has grown to include 8 U.S. states and 12 countries and it has thrived on a very tight budget. Zero funds have been spent on salary, wages and benefits. 3. Institutional Support – SAGE is housed within the California State University system, the largest system of undergraduate education in the United States, which provides SAGE with stability and access to resources. 4. Creatively Met Society’s Needs - SAGE introduces social entrepreneurship and business entrepreneurship to high school youth. As such, SAGE puts youths and children in charge of problem-solving and decision making and increases capacity where it is needed. 5. Compelling and Experienced Leadership – SAGE’s founder is a social entrepreneur who has been working for 13 years to continuously refine, update and revise the model. SAGE is an example of a person moving an idea, not an idea moving a person. 6. Social Networks of Experts – SAGE connects human resources efficiently and creatively to bridge age, cultural and geographical differences. 7. Flexiblity & Responsiveness – SAGE is flexible and changes over time based on the needs of its stakeholders. Updates and revisions to the program, such as judging criteria and the SAGE Bank, are continually being made based on feedback from stakeholders. 8. Connected Education, Business and Government – SAGE has engaged secondary education, higher education, the business community and the government to work with youth for the betterment of the community. 9. Partner Organizations – SAGE constantly includes new partners such as Youth Venture and NFTE. 10. Scalability – SAGE relies on universities and NGOs to act as coordinators.

7) Delivery model: We reach our target populations by entering into strategic partnerships with education, business and civic organizations in states and countries that express an interest in SAGE. To accommodate growth, we also identify new state, regional and country SAGE coordinators. Most of these people are business professors and lecturers at universities who teach in such fields as business entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, and who subscribe to community service-learning as a teaching strategy. Also, the SAGE website recently received a complete facelift, and largely as a result of a November 1, 2006 front page article about SAGE in the business section of the Los Angeles Times, we have received a tremendous number of inquiries about the program.

It is important to note how the SAGE network was initially established. SAGE’s founder was introduced to many of the current SAGE Country and State Coordinators in his role as faculty adviser to the Chico State Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team from 1993-2005. SIFE is an organization whose mission is to help university students gain skills by teaching others about free enterprise. The Chico State team gained recognition in the late 1990s and early 2000s based largely on the success of its community outreach projects, the most noteworthy being the progenitor to SAGE, “Cal-High SIFE” (in 1999, Chico State was the International SIFE Champion team). In 2003, the name Cal-High SIFE was changed to SAGE for several reasons, two of which were: (1) to brand SAGE as an organization that targets high school students, and (2) to link the formal name of the program to the SAGE acronym; “sage” means “of wisdom” or “to proceed cautiously and with wisdom.” Also, a “sage” is someone who is wise. Audience members of Chico State SIFE presentations were impressed with the high school program and sought out Dr. DeBerg to learn how they might implement the SAGE program in their communities. Since 1999 he has traveled to 20 countries.

8) Key operational partnerships: SAGE has enlisted partners from the corporate sector, private foundations, and international agencies. Our partners include a global advisory board (GAB) and financial sponsors that include such companies and organizations as Walgreens, Allstate, the Harold and Louis Price Foundation, Wells Fargo, Bank of the West, NUMMI, and several individual donors. The SAGE GAB is comprised of service providers, academics, entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, community leaders, and public officials. Each GAB member considers it a priority that that entrepreneurship education in the classroom and the field needs to be accelerated and extended. Among the advisers are: a member of the ILO, the editor of Entrepreneur Magazine, a former finance minister from Nigeria, a member of the Business for Social Responsibility, and several successful business and civic leaders.

Other partners include education organizations that support youth entrepreneurship, including Youth Venture, Virtual Enterprise, and National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). The partnership with Youth Venture is especially exciting.

On November 3, 2006, an agreement was reached by Dr. Willie Hopkins, Dean of the Chico State College of Business, and Ms. Gretchen Zucker, Executive Director of YV. The agreement invites high school SAGE teams to submit business plans (called “Action Plans”) to the SAGE staff at Chico State. If approved, the SAGE team will receive up to $1,000 in SAGE-Youth Venture capital.

9) Financial model: We have created and disseminated a “detailed blueprint model” containing documents and processes that are readily adaptable by others. For example, from the SAGE website users can download handbooks, manuals, sample annual reports, sample grant proposal templates, and marketing materials such as PowerPoint presentations introducing SAGE to prospective university hosts and new member high schools. Furthermore, three listservs are operational for SAGE: SAGEMAIL, for anyone interested in SAGE; SAGEGAB, for Global Advisory Board members, and SAGEUSAB, for United States Advisory Board members. SAGE tournaments also provide venues for conferences with SAGE coordinators to seek feedback for continuous improvement, and some members of the network have begun publishing their SAGE work in journals.

          • Costs as percentage of income: 0

          • Financing: To date, SAGE cash contributors have come primarily from the private sector. Based on our successful track record, we are confident we can maintain our annual fund raising efforts indefinitely. However, it is important to note that we are currently in discussions with two philanthropists (one in the San Francisco Bay Area, another in Kansas City, Missouri) who are each considering SAGE contributions to start a SAGE Endowment. With this endowment, we will begin our first effort to earn operating revenues from interest on endowed funds. One of the distinguishing features of SAGE is that local support for youth from the business and civic communities is absolutely essential.

10) Effectiveness

          • Project outcomes: One of the most unique aspects of SAGE is the manner in which local business, civic and education leaders participate in the assessment process. For each competition, a SAGE panel is recruited by the coordinator, and this panel becomes the “jury” by which each high school SAGE team is evaluated. Starting this year, we are implementing a formal assessment policy, which will include collecting such data as: number of new or improved business ventures created by high school students, number and quality of new social ventures created by high school, number and quality of annual written reports, summarizing each team’s activities, number of business and community leaders directly involved with SAGE.

          • Number of clients in past year: Since SAGE started, we have impacted approximately 7,000 students. In 2006-2007, SAGE reached approximately 175 high schools in nine countries. With SAGE teams averaging about 20-25 students per team, this means we impacted 3,500-4,000 high school students worldwide. In 2006-2007, with the addition of three more countries and two more states, along with growth in existing SAGE states and countries, we expect to reach at least 250 high schools and 5,000-6,000 students. Countries include China, Philippines, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. It is now ready to expand to more states.

11) Scaling up strategy

          • Stage of the initiative: Scaling Up stage.

          • Expansion plan: Our three-year strategy is to expand the SAGE network to include 20 U.S. states and 30 countries. We can do so by (1) recruiting more universities to encourage business students to become SAGE consultants through the “community service-learning” pedagogy and (2) involving more corporations and private foundations to be involved in SAGE as part of their efforts to become more actively engaged in the education of the youth in their communities. Our ultimate goal is to see the SAGE World Cup become as popular and successful at the World Cup in soccer, which currently boasts 208 participating countries. SAGE’s model has been successful so far, and its growing macro- and micro-networks provide a new avenue of intra-scholastic collaboration (because students can work together on SAGE projects as part of an existing curriculum or after school) and a new avenue of inter- scholastic competition.

12) Origin of the initiative: My “aha moment” for SAGE as an educational “pattern- changing idea” came in May 1994 when the rookie Chico State SIFE team advanced to nationals. I saw the power of combining experiential learning with such skills as problem solving, teamwork, communication, project management and leadership by giving students the power to create their own projects and then to have them assessed by an independent jury, in a competitive format. Here, students don’t compete for grades; they compete for the things that entrepreneurs compete for: “desire to found a private dynasty, the will to conquer battle, and the joy of creating.” (Schumpeter: 238). But social entrepreneurs don’t want to found a private dynasty. Their ethics are not based on self. Their ethics are centered on the idea. SAGE provides youth an opportunity to arrive at the belief that they can change the world.

Contact Information:
Curtis  DeBerg
Founder and Director
Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship
(Academic program)
College of Business, CSU, Chico, CA 95929-0011
United States
Tel: 530-898-4824
Fax: 530-898-4970
Email: cdeberg@csuchico.edu
Website: http://www.csuchico.edu/sage