Cheng Lu

Cheng is working with Paulo Savaget, who holds a joint appointment at Saïd Business School and the Department of Engineering Science, on a project investigating the legitimation of social enterprises in China. A primary focus of this project is how the social entrepreneurship concept has been translated and adapted to the Chinese context over the past two decades, examining its institutional variations and regional developmental trajectories. Additionally, Cheng is set to explore deeper insights into the conceptual layers and subtleties inherent in systems change, building upon his earlier contributions to the Skoll Centre Systems Change Observatory initiative.

Cheng earned his master’s degree in Political Science from Peking University and completed his PhD in Management at the University of Edinburgh. Beyond his work at Oxford, Cheng has collaborated on a number of research initiatives with the Center for Civil Society Studies at Peking University, the Yunus Center for Social Business and Microfinance at the Renmin University of China, and the Nanyang Center for Emerging Markets at Nanyang Technological University.

Passionate about his field, Cheng seeks to bridge the gap between theory and practice, liaising with certifiers, funders, intermediaries and policymakers dedicated to cultivating a self-sustaining ecosystem for China’s social entrepreneurship and practice.