How SAGE Passes the “Knockout” Test

For a social enterprise like SAGE to have an impact at the national and international levels, it must pass the “knockout test.” This is the test that Ashoka Foundation founder, Mr. Bill Drayton, says that a prospective Ashoka Fellow must pass in order to become a fellow, as explained to author David Bornstein in his book, How to Change the World.

SAGE passes the test, because our innovation is both new and pattern-changing. High school students learn more by becoming active participants in their communities by creating business and social ventures. Relative to prior attempts at education reform, the SAGE idea is practical, scalable, cost-effective and better-rooted politically.

SAGE’s founder and coordinators are obsessive. They see youth unemployment as a problem and an education system that does not do nearly what it can to address the problem. They envision a new solution that builds a framework of social and economic supports to multiply the number and the effectiveness of the world’s business and social entrepreneurs—by starting with next generation.

How SAGE Meets the Knockout Test

To have social impact, the idea must be:	Attributes of the SAGE Program	Explanation
*Practical*	Improved Education	The formula used by SAGE for education and economic reform has proven successful. Now in the fifth year, we are showing real results in how we have changed the lives of high school students, both for “star” high school students and mid-tier students; SAGE is a new and “potentially-pattern setting idea” and is now in the take-off stage in the life of a social entrepreneur.
*Practical*	Creatively Meets 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: “teenagers are the single most influential group in a low-income community” (p. Bornstein, pp. 176-177).
*Practical*	Flexible and Responsive	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.
*Scalable*	Scalable Education	SAGE relies on universities and NGOs to act as country, regional, and state coordinators. It has the seeds for scale because it doesn’t need to rent office space, set up legal entities or pay salaries to staff. The “blueprint” has been successfully transmitted from one society to another (e.g., Nigeria, South Africa, China, Russia, etc); the SAGE model and processes are being widely copied.
*Scalable*	Partner Organizations	SAGE constantly includes new partners (e.g., Youth Venture, NFTE, YES Campaign, GEXSI).
*Cost-effective*	High Impact, Low Cost	SAGE has a very lean cost structure. It has grown to include eight 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, while new partner donors have come on board to expand the program’s reach.
*Better-rooted politically*	Institutional Support	SAGE is structured as a 501 (c) (3) legal entity, i.e. a non-profit organization. It 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.
*Better-rooted politically*	Compelling and Experienced Leadership	SAGE’s founder is a “Macro Social Entrepreneur;” he 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.
*Better-rooted politically*	Social Networks of Experts	SAGE connects human resources efficiently and creatively (e.g., use of college mentors as consultants/coaches via service-learning; use of university offices, staff, overhead as part of a SE “research agenda”; leveraging the resources in each local community where to enhance the program’s visibility) to help children succeed in a world that is fundamentally different from their parents and grandparents.
*Better-rooted politically*	Connecting 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.