University-Industry Collaboration (UIC) for social enterprise: A design thinking approach

Social enterprises are seeking to engage with external stakeholders to increase their innovation capabilities and accordingly strengthen their competitiveness. It has been suggested that involvement in university-industry collaboration (UIC) could be an effective approach to meet their needs, with several recent studies highlighting the role of design thinking in facilitating such projects. However, it remains unclear how design thinking is strategically fitting into the collaboration process. In the light of which, this study intends to investigate how design
thinking can be successfully employed in UIC projects to support social enterprises by conducting case study toward two university-industry collaboration projects between University of Manchester and two UK social enterprises (Plastic Shed and EMERGE). It is expected that key findings derived from this study would enable us to depict a theoretical and
practical framework of how design thinking can guide knowledge transfer or co-creation to achieve blended value (economic value and social value) and to create mutual benefits to these two dedicated sectors (universities and social enterprises). The study will also provide management insights concerning enabling factors and barriers in UIC projects dedicated to social enterprises.