Centre for Social Purpose Organisations
Melbourne Business School’s Centre for Social Purpose Organisations supports not-for-profit (NFP) and other social purpose organisations to be strategic, sustainable and impactful.
The Centre for Social Purpose Organisations brings to life Melbourne Business School’s own social purpose of unleashing leaders and ideas for a sustainable future by growing the impact of social purpose organisations and strengthening the social purpose ecosystem.
The Centre is the culmination of a shared vision and long-standing relationship between MBS and the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust (HMST).
By establishing the Centre with HMST, MBS is committed to strengthening NFP and other social purpose organisations by providing access to world-class education and research in business management and leadership – resources the social purpose sector has long lacked.
Our goal is to support NFP and other social purpose organisations to thrive – addressing their business and management challenges, amplifying their impact, and building meaningful collaborations with each other, business and government.
Our Objectives
The Centre for Social Purpose Organisations bridges the access gap in business management knowledge and education for not-for-profit and other social purpose organisations. Our aim is to create and share knowledge that generates real-world impact for social purpose organisations, and the communities they serve.
We have three key objectives:
Creating practice-relevant, evidence-based knowledge
Through engaged and embedded research, we develop practical insights, tools, and resources that support social purpose organisations and the broader social purpose ecosystem.
We provide access to word-leading business management education that strengthens individual leadership and builds organisational capability for long-term impact.
Connecting MBS and the broader social purpose ecosystem
The MBS Social purpose network brings together MBS students, alumni and faculty with members of the social purpose ecosystem to collaborate, learn, and create impact - uniting business expertise with purpose.
Social Purpose Organisations in Australia
There is no agreed or regulated definition of a ‘social purpose organisation’ or the ‘social purpose sector’. However, these terms are generally conceptualised in practice and in the academic literature as organisations that exist to advance a social cause or charitable purpose irrespective of their business model, tax, and legal status. A large proportion of Australia’s social-purpose organisations are not-for-profit entities, but a growing number of for-profit entities also fit within the ‘for purpose’ or ‘social purpose’ sector.