From May to June 2024, the Policy Entrepreneur’s Platform (PEP) conducted a special four-part workshop (each 90 minutes long) on policy entrepreneurship for 32 middle and high school students at Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin.
When people hear the word “entrepreneurship” to solve societal or life issues, starting a business or social venture often comes to mind. However, one can also solve problems by changing government or municipal policies and rules—a process known as “policy entrepreneurship.” In recent years, books on policy entrepreneurship have started to appear even in Japan, bringing more attention to this area.
The aim of this workshop was to foster entrepreneurship through policy entrepreneurship. The primary goal was not policy education per se, but entrepreneurship education.
Traditional entrepreneurship education focused on business can be challenging for students, as they end up competing with adults in real markets, making positive experiences and self-efficacy harder to attain. Social entrepreneurship often leads students to tackle very broad issues, which can be difficult to address as a business. Both approaches share the problem of being difficult to sustain after class ends.
By focusing on policy entrepreneurship, students can tackle local-specific issues and potentially achieve actual solutions, witnessing real happiness brought to people around them. If the policy is good, even if students don’t continue the initiative, the government may adopt and sustain it.
Additionally, many of the skills needed in policy entrepreneurship—like problem analysis, hypothesis testing, and customer interviews—are also vital in business. This approach helps achieve the goals of entrepreneurship education, allows students to apply knowledge from 'Public' (the official civics/social studies subject in Japanese high schools), and connects them to local communities.
Schedule: May 17 (Fri), June 7, 14, 21 (Fri) 2024. All sessions 16:00–17:30
Curriculum:
The first class began by asking students about their image of “policy” and why they chose to take the class. While some saw it as “rigid” or “difficult,” others were curious and interested in tackling social issues via policy.
The lesson explained “social issue resolution,” including what society is, what social issues are, and what it means to solve problems, using concrete examples. At the end, students were introduced to tools to search local government policy examples, and were assigned to research policies that interested them for the next class.
The second class began with students sharing the policies they researched. This was followed by an explanation of how to analyze and validate social issues, and how they can be resolved through policy. Particular emphasis was placed on defining “issues” as gaps between ideals and reality, and having students discuss their vision for an ideal society in groups.
Moreover, when analyzing issues, it is also important to understand their structure. To that end, we introduced the “Problem Structure Map”*1, and had students try making a map of the social issues they were tackling as an exercise.
*1 Problem Structure Map: This mapping tool was created to provide an overview of how various elements are intricately intertwined within each issue, during the production of vision papers for three themes—“opportunity gaps,” “regional revitalization,” and “healthcare”—published in the spring of 2023 by SIIF (Social Innovation and Investment Foundation). These vision papers illustrate perspectives on problem-solving, expected changes, and the organization’s strategic direction.
The third class highlighted that hypotheses are often wrong and that it's crucial to quickly discard invalid ones. Students reflected on whether to pursue or reject their current proposals (“Go/No-Go”). They learned points for pitching policy ideas, referring to case studies from prior student projects supported by PEP, then prepared their group presentations for the final session.
On the final day, each group pitched their policy ideas. Guests included Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members, government officials, and representatives of educational foundations, who provided feedback. Social issues tackled included "food loss," "declining birthrate and aging," "youth engagement in elections," "street smoking," and "employment of people with disabilities." Solutions were unique and varied. Participants used Google Docs for real-time comments and feedback from fellow students and guests.
After presentations, each group received more in-depth feedback in breakout sessions. The final session saw lively discussion and Q&A right up to the end.
*2 CBL (Challenge Based Learning): A problem-solving based learning method where you identify familiar issues, investigate and analyze them, think of solutions, and put them into action.
“Policy” was a new and unfamiliar concept for students, but they remained engaged throughout. Although the school already offers business-focused entrepreneurship education, there were concerns about issues becoming fixed and insufficient analysis before moving to business ideas. This workshop began from fundamental questions—what is society, what are issues, what are social issues—using ample time for deep reflection. As such, some groups addressed issues they had never considered previously. Participation by assembly members, officials, and education foundation staff helped students feel closer to public administration and policy. Many students actively questioned guests until the last minute, and their interest in policy appeared to increase.
The workshop’s main goal, fostering entrepreneurship, was also achieved through a series of practices: problem analysis, hypothesis generation and validation (interviews), decision to pivot/quit, and pitching, giving participants essential skills and knowledge.
The workshop was structured so that students would develop universal competencies for entrepreneurship: problem analysis, hypothesis generation and validation (interviewing), withdrawal judgment, and pitching, all applied in policy-making. Each 90-minute class used this framework over four sessions.
PEP for Youth is open to inquiries about conducting similar policy entrepreneurship workshops. Depending on grants and resources, not all requests can be accepted, but interested parties are encouraged to contact us.