Course Guide: Influencing Mainstream Business



In January 2025, Social Enterprise Netherlands developed a Hybrid Course Guide for the course “Influencing Mainstream Business” as part of the European Social Innovation Alliance (ESIA). The guide describes how the existing online course on the Social Change Innovators platform can be complemented by a facilitated hybrid learning experience.

The hybrid course is designed for social enterprises that want to strengthen their ability to influence mainstream business. It supports participants in translating their impact ambitions into a concrete influencing strategy and roadmap. The course combines asynchronous self-directed online learning with synchronous learning formats such as face-to-face workshops, online group sessions, intervision and individual coaching.

The course was developed for professionals in social enterprises who have strategic and/or operational responsibilities. It is particularly relevant for scaling or mature social enterprises that want to reflect on their medium- to long-term strategic objectives and explore how they can influence businesses in their sector or wider market environment.

The core objective of the course is to help participating organisations develop an influencing mindset and then translate this mindset into practical action. Participants work on their own Theory of Change, identify the role mainstream business plays in achieving their impact goals, analyse their influencing potential, develop an influencing strategy and finally turn part of that strategy into an actionable roadmap.

The hybrid programme is structured over approximately three months. It starts with an intake call and a face-to-face kick-off session on the influencing mindset. Participants then continue with online modules, coaching and intervision sessions focused on influencing potential and influencing strategy. The programme concludes with a face-to-face closing session in which participants translate their strategy into an influencing roadmap.

The guide provides detailed information for course coordinators and facilitators. It covers logistical requirements, timing, participant recruitment, communication, course materials, monitoring, evaluation and learning, as well as the structure and content of each session. It also includes facilitator notes, exercises and reflections from the first edition of the course.



Key elements of the course include:

• Participants formulate a “Guiding Star” and “Near Star” to clarify the long-term vision of their organisation and the change they want to see in mainstream business.

• Participants explore different influencing activities and assess how these relate to their own organisation, stakeholders, impact strategy and context.

• Through coaching and intervision, participants identify their influencing potential and reflect on opportunities, obstacles, similarities and differences with other organisations.

• Participants develop an influencing strategy that connects their impact strategy with concrete opportunities to influence mainstream business.

• In the final stage, participants translate one part of their influencing strategy into an actionable roadmap, including activities, objectives, challenges, required resources and possible synergies.

The guide shows how capacity building for social innovation can move beyond generic training and become directly connected to the strategic needs of social enterprises. Rather than simply offering knowledge, the course helps organisations work on their own real-life influencing challenges and learn from peers facing similar questions.

For ESIA, the Hybrid Course Guide is an important example of how National Competence Centres and ecosystem actors can support social enterprises in becoming stronger change agents. It demonstrates how online learning, facilitation, peer exchange and coaching can be combined into a practical learning pathway that supports social innovators in shaping markets, business practices and wider systems.

By documenting the course structure, assumptions, facilitation approach and lessons from the first edition, D009.025 provides a useful resource for organisations that want to design similar hybrid capacity-building programmes for social innovation and social entrepreneurship.