Part of the goal of the NESsT Furthering the Field Initiative is to integrate the study of social enterprise into the curricula of nonprofit management and business school programs. NESsT works toward this goal in several ways:

• practical internships: the NESsT Entrepreneur-in-Residence (NESsTER) program provides practical opportunities for students in the social enterprise field;
• class and research materials: the NESsT Publications Series provides analytical resources, case studies and training materials for classroom teaching and research in the social enterprise field;
• curriculum development: NESsT has developed a graduate-level course curriculum on social enterprise;
• student research: NESsT has also assisted students on classroom-, masters-, and doctoral-related research.

NESsT and the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University

From 1996-1999, NESsT and the Program on Social Change and Development (SC&D) at the Johns Hopkins University, Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC developed a unique partnership to further understanding of the increased "hybridization" of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors within the SC&D curriculum. The purpose of the SC&D and NESsT collaboration was to further understanding critical debate and evaluation of this issue among SAIS students, faculty and researchers as well as a broader audience of academics, practitioners and policy makers.

The strategic partnership between SC&D -- one of the leading programs for higher education on grassroots development -- and NESsT -- an organization dedicated specifically to the topic of social enterprise, generated considerable attention and interest. SC&D and NESsT were among the earliest pioneers in developing graduate-level curriculum on social entrepreneurship. Together NESsT and SC&D:

• published study of nonprofit enterprise: As a part of the SC&D initiative "New Directions in Grassroots Development," NESsT produced the much-acclaimed study - The NGO-Business Hybrid: Is the Private Sector the Answer? - which examines 15 innovative cases of nonprofit self-financing from 13 countries. Once completed, the study was presented to an international audience of SAIS students and faculty and leading development practitioners at the Arlie House in Arlington, Virginia and used as a part of an SC&D course curriculum.
• Launched graduate-level course on nonprofit enterprise: In the Spring semester of 1997-98, SC&D and NESsT launched a master's level course: "Sustainable Financing Strategies for Local Initiatives" for students in the SC&D graduate program at SAIS. The course, co-taught by Lee Davis, Co-Founder of NESsT and Dr. Grace Goodell, SC&D Professor and Director, allowed students to debate both philosophical and practical benefits and costs of nonprofit self-financing and learn first-hand the obstacles and issues nonprofits face in implementing these strategies. Outside experts, including venture capitalists, nonprofit legal and tax experts and practitioners conducted special sessions with students. Integral to the course where students' semester-long internships with local, inner-city Washington nonprofits using self-financing approaches - ranging from small community groups like the Community Trust Neighborhood Initiative (CTNI) to large institutions like Davis Goodwill Industries. The course culminated with the production of student presentations and "briefing books" with comprehensive analyses of their internship organization's self-financing ventures.
• Organized "Self-Financing Workshop": In February 1998, NESsT and SC&D organized a day-long workshop on nonprofit entrepreneurship at Johns Hopkins in Washington, DC with Richard Steckel of the AddVenture Network. Dr. Steckel is widely known for his social entrepreneurial approach at the Denver Children's Museum and as author of "Filthy Rich and Other Nonprofit Fantasies." The workshop brought together students, the DC inner-city nonprofits they worked with in the course, and other nonprofit practitioners from both large and small nonprofit organizations in Baltimore and Washington area (including: Greater DC Cares, Waldorf School of Baltimore, PEOPLink, Whitman Walker Clinic, Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, People Encouraging People, etc.)
• Brown Bag Lunch: In September 1997, SC&D students organized an informal session between NESsT, SC&D students and local community leaders to discuss NESsT's work in the US and abroad to facilitate debate and understanding of NGO self-financing strategies. A part of the SC&D "brown bag lunch series," the session included a presentations from TEDI-DC on their work to encourage entrepreneurship in inner-city Washington.