Hong Lan

The role and characteristics of social entrepreneurs in contemporary rural cooperative development in China: case studies of rural social entrepreneurship

Rural communities in China have experienced rapid changes in recent years under the governments policy of ‘new countryside development’. Remarkably, there has been an increase in social entrepreneurship led by village leaders and capable individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit. This research is based on in-depth interviews with several of these social entrepreneurs in multiple villages in Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces in China. It aims to explore the key issues related to the role of social entrepreneurship and leadership in developing rural cooperatives. The findings suggest that there are multiple key characteristics of social entrepreneurship in the process of rural cooperative development. The research findings have implications for rural community development in transitional economies in terms of developing social entrepreneurship capabilities.

Towards an Integrated Model

This chapter highlights the key elements for stronger rural communities, drawing together the themes and proposals from the preceding chapters and constructing an integrated model. With stronger communities at its core, the model recognises the key role of social enterprises in job creation and community transformation, supported by various actors working together, combining their capabilities and sharing their assets in a synergistic, effective and efficient manner. Set within the community’s political, cultural, socio-economic and environmental context, the model also highlights the importance of community empowerment, equitable development and cross-organisation governance. The chapter also sets out a direction for further research, including on the ground application and testing of the integrated model, and the extension of the approach to other communities in China and beyond.

Transforming Rural Communities in China and Beyond

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Carbon Trade, Forestry Land Rights, and Farmers’ Livelihood in Rural Communities in China

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Rural Community Development and the Role of Social Entrepreneurs

This chapter focuses on carbon trade, forestry land rights, and farmers’ livelihoods in rural Chinese communities. At present, China is establishing and developing a voluntary forest carbon sinks market, a process associated with forestry property transactions, as part of the domestic portfolio of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction activities through market-based mechanisms. With the land property right reforms in China, the use rights of forestland were assigned to households. While forestry carbon trading is suitable for large- or middle-scale forest farms, households with a small piece of forestland find it difficult to participate in this carbon trade. Thus, China’s government has combined the forest carbon trade policy and forest rights reform in order to realise the goal of climate change adoption, mitigation and poverty reduction. The implementation of these policies has had a great impact on rural communities in China. This chapter introduces the background and development process of China’s forest carbon trade, analyses the impacts of forest carbon trade and forestland rights exchange on local households, based on the case studies in Guangxi and Zhejiang province, and provides some policy suggestions on how to facilitate the carbon trade and gain more benefit for local rural communities.

Alternative Energy Development in Rural Chinese Communities

This chapter explores the key issues related to the role of social entrepreneurship and leadership in rural community development. In recent years, one of the important elements leading the changes in rural China is the role of social entrepreneurs amongst the newly established rural cooperatives managed by village leaders (nongcun daitouren) and capable individuals (nengren). These social entrepreneurs display both the entrepreneurship spirit and shared values of common prosperity for all villagers. These individuals lead and manage the rural communities with a clear social mission through the development of villagers’ cooperatives as collectively-owned enterprises. Given the challenging political, social and economic environments in rural China, it is important for us to understand their role in the process of rural community development. Therefore, in this chapter, we provide six case studies of social entrepreneurs in rural communities in China. Based on these evidences, a number of implications for policy and practices are generated at the end of the chapter.

Transforming Rural Communities by Synergistic, Integrated and Inclusive Planning of Services and Infrastructure

This chapter explores alternative energy development in rural Chinese communities. Access to energy has been a critical issue for rural communities and local industry development, especially in remote mountainous regions due to inconsistent power supply, lack of modern energy services and supporting infrastructures. The rural poor are often disproportionately dependent on fuel wood and solid biomass, causing environmental degradation, reduced productivity and the eventual discount of income generating opportunities. While the United Nations declared 2012 to be the ‘International Year of Sustainable Energy for All’, previous case studies reveal that socio-economic growth is driven by the bundle of useful energy works and service systems rather than by simple raw energy input. The chapter provides the backdrop of world energy access and Chinese renewable energy situations, with a literature review concerning the inter-relationship of energy, poverty and development. The fieldwork in China’s mountainous regions exposed practical challenges for rural development starting from basic energy service delivery to poverty alleviation. Finally, the chapter proposes to deepen the current framework for energy development in the rural context, addressing energy, poverty, and development issues with synergistic green entrepreneurship and business models to improve community livelihood and social capitals.

Key Characteristics of Rural ICT Service Innovation: A Case Analysis of ICT-Enabled Rural Financial Services in China

This chapter examines and tests the proposition that stronger communities, with social entrepreneurs, enterprises and improved livelihoods and prosperity, will result from ‘connected up’, holistic, synergistic and inclusive planning of services and supporting infrastructure. Previously published methods for synergistic community transformation are adapted to the various contexts, beginning by understanding the challenges, unique characteristics of local culture, demographics and natural environment and resources. Various community actors may then seek to accommodate their world-views so they may work in unison towards a shared goal of transformation. Capabilities of the partners, together with local resources, assets, infrastructure and networks, may be marshalled to form ‘solution oriented partnerships’. Connections and synergies may then be found between services and infrastructures so they are coordinated across sectors and are mutually reinforcing. The application of the method illustrates that more outputs in terms of community services, enterprises and jobs may be delivered with less inputs such as resources, infrastructure and cost, while conserving and respecting local culture, heritage and natural settings. Inclusive community and infrastructure planning, construction and management, employing local skills, resources and materials, may also boost local economic participation and result in more equitable, affordable and innovative solutions.

Market-Based Financing Mechanism and Design of Voluntary Trading Platform for China Forest Carbon Sinks

This chapter analyses information and communications technology (ICT) based service innovations for supporting rural community enterprises. Despite much research and practical effort having been devoted to ICT-enabled services for rural development, a major limitation in such rural applications is the lack of a clear and systematic analysis to capture the characteristics of rural ICTs and to guide the development of collaborative partnership and systems solutions for ICT-based service innovation. Through a detailed analysis of an ICT-enabled rural financial service case in Lishui, China, it is identified that ICT-enabled rural services demonstrate a strong element of multi-stakeholder collaborative innovation. Rural ICT solutions are developed as a result of synergy-based partnership among different organisations with shared goals, interests, capabilities and resources. In addition, ICTs are not only outcomes of collaboration, but also the platform to facilitate collaborative service innovation and to help integration of different services for holistic solutions. Furthermore, ICT devices, applications, and infrastructures are embodiment or carriers of rural services. Such characteristics of ICT-enabled service innovation are essentially in line with the Product-Service System (PSS) concept and paradigm. Based on the case analysis, it is argued that a synergy-based PSS model for community transformation can be adopted to provide a systematic process to guide the rural ICTs and ICT services development.

Transforming rural communities in China and beyond : community entrepreneurship and enterprises, infrastructure development and investment modes

This chapter analyses a green platform for a pilot transaction of China forest carbon sinks led by the Huadong Forestry Exchange in the context of a platform, demand, supply, pricing mechanism, purchase agreements and transaction products with the focus on its financing mechanism, known as China Green Carbon Fund. The chapter highlights key areas of challenges and implications that need to be addressed to continue program development of forest carbon sink projects with the support of financing mechanisms. This study provides possible implications for other provinces or municipalities at a local level in China and other developing countries preparing for, or in the process of, facilitating trading platforms for forest carbon sinks at a national level. This chapter also provides a comparison of the development of voluntary forestry carbon sinks in Yunnan and Zhejiang Provinces. It draws comparisons from four viewpoints: regional financial support, development of organisations, talent development, and exchange of experience. Finally, it concludes that capabilities of forestry resources appraisal should be improved, financial support and experience exchange strengthened, and carbon credit trading strongly promoted.