Social Enterprise Coalition activity  Excitement building in run up to Voice10 in Cardiff Voice10 is now less than two weeks away and excitement is building in anticipation of what is set to be a landmark event for social enterprise. Now in its sixth year, Voice is taking place in Wales for the very first time and is sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government. It will draw together delegates from the worlds of social enterprise, business and politics to discuss, debate and network. This year’s conference will also see the launch of the national Social Enterprise Mark which will take place on day one of the event. Social enterprises are working to make a difference across the UK and beyond, but not enough people know what they are or how they work. The Social Enterprise Mark, as the brand for social enterprises, will raise awareness of what social enterprises do in order to get more people to buy from, engage with, start up and work for social enterprises. A pilot for the Mark was first created in the south west by the region's social enterprise network, Rise. Their CEO Lucy Findlay is a champion for the new national Mark and has posted a blog outlining her hopes for the initiative which you can read here - http://semarkblog.com/ Keynote speakers at Voice10 include Phillip Blond, Director of the ResPublica thinktank, Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, Nigel Annett of Welsh Water and the Coalition's new CEO, Peter Holbrook. To view the full programme and register for your place to attend visit the Voice10 website http://www.voice10.org/
  The Social Enterprise Business Support Programme: working in partnership to transform business support The Social Enterprise Coalition is pleased to announce the creation of the Social Enterprise Business Support Programme. The programme comprises the work managed by the Social Enterprise Coalition in two existing projects: the Capacitybuilders funded National Knowledge Management Programme and the Big Lottery (BASIS) funded Improving Social Enterprise Expansion (I-SEE) Programme. Both of these projects aim to improve business support in the third sector and there is potential for a lot of shared learning between the two. The Coalition has therefore decided to unite the projects and will refer to them collectively as the Social Enterprise Business Support Programme. The component projects will still exist as they always have, but the Coalition will actively share the information across the two projects and create synergy between the two. We will also share the ongoing development of the projects with the wider sector. By doing this, we aim to work in partnership for the creation of effective sector products, services and knowledge-sharing networks, which stimulate and encourage the growth, development and sustainability of social enterprises in England. Further information on the individual projects involved will soon be available on the SEC website.
 Post Office research Are you a social enterprise that has introduced, taken over or been set up to run post office or mail services? We are working in partnership with the Plunkett Foundation to produce an inventory for Consumer Focus and your input would be appreciated. Please email Jon Woolfson jon.woolfson@socialenterprise.org.uk, leaving your email address and telephone number and a brief overview of your organisation to contribute to this piece of work.
 Reducing re-offending through social enterprise - report released The Coalition has published a report which maps social enterprise activity in the field of prisons and probation services. The report, which was commissioned by the National Offender Management Service and written by Consilium, highlights the breadth of social enterprise work in this field, as well as the considerable room for growth. Examples such as The Clink Restaurant demonstrate how enterprises deliver in reducing reoffending. The Clink is run by Eco-Actif CIC and is based in HMP High Down, where it offers culinary training to prisoners and employment to former prisoners in order to support both groups to break the cycle of offending. In addition to the social value of reducing reoffending, as pressure on both prison space and public spending continue to rise, there are ever greater financial reasons for making the most of social enterprises’ strong track record in this area. The report also identifies ways in which the National Offender Management Service and the sector can develop further productive partnerships, both locally and nationally. It was produced as part of an action research programme funded by the Office of the Third Sector and the European Social Fund. The report is available to read at the Coalition website. For more information on our work on criminal justice, please contact Olof Jonsdottir at olof.jonsdottir@socialenterprise.org.uk.
 Consultation response for the Department of Children, Schools and Families The Department for Children, Schools and Families are consulting on the New Statutory Children's Trust Guidance and New Children and Young People's Plan Regulations. This document brings together guidance on Children's Trusts and Children and Young People's Plans into one piece of statutory guidance. It also includes the draft new Children and Young People's Plan regulations. The Coalition will be submitting a response to this consultation. If your social enterprise has worked with your local Children’s Trust or fed in to your area’s Children and Young People’s plan, we’d like to hear about your experiences. Please contact Olof Jonsdottir at olof.jonsdottir@socialenterprise.org.uk – the deadline for our submission to DCSF is Friday 29th January, so we’d be grateful to hear from you by Wednesday 27th.  News  Local community buildings will be transformed through Government grants worth £2.27 million Ninety-six charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises will today receive over £2.27 million in grants to improve vital facilities they provide for their communities. The grants, worth up to £30,000 each, are part of the Capital Investment Programme delivered by Capacitybuilders. They support small scale improvements to resource centres that can make a big difference for charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises whose services are suffering in tough economic times. Last year nearly £1.4million was awarded in the first round of grants under the programme, allowing over 61 local resource centres to make improvements to their premises. Minister for the Third Sector, Angela Smith said: "I am pleased to announce today that we are awarding over £2.27 million of grants to transform local resource centres. "Small organisations can really benefit by not only improving the accessibility or quality of their accommodation, but by pooling their resources and sharing facilities they can also reduce their overheads and concentrate their resources on delivering the services that people and communities desperately need." To find out more click here.
 Wales to vote again for favourite Fair Trade Cuppa People across Wales are being asked to vote for their favourite café, which offers Fair Trade hot drinks. So will it be tea in Tonteg, latte in Llandudno or cappuccino in Carmarthen? The search for Wales’ favourite Fair Trade Cuppa runs from today until 25th February when the winner will be announced during Fairtrade Fortnight. The theme of this year’s Fortnight is tea, which we drink 165 million cups of everyday in the UK. Elizabeth Hudson from the Wales Co-operative Centre, organiser of the vote, says “The poll is a great way to bring together loyal customers, Fair Trade supporters and the brilliant hard working cafés across Wales. We had a great response last year and hope even more cafés will enter this year. We encourage businesses who want to switch to Fair Trade but haven’t yet to start now and enter.” Environment Minister, Jane Davidson said: “I was very proud when Wales became the world’s first Fair Trade Nation in June 2008. By buying Fair Trade tea and coffee, we can all play our part in supporting some of the poorest farmers and producers in the world to trade their way out of poverty. This on-line vote is a great opportunity to bring all Fair Trade enthusiasts together and I hope it will encourage more Welsh businesses to switch to Fair Trade." To vote for your favourite café, bar, pub or community centre go to http://www.walescoop.com/favourite-fair-trade-cuppa/
 Good start to New Year for village shops The Co-operative Loan Fund has made a successful start to 2010 by offering loans to two village shops in Ashton Hayes, Cheshire, and The Seavingtons, Somerset. The loans will be used to help the two rural villages establish a community-owned shop and join the 220 communities currently benefiting from the community-ownership model. In Ashton Hayes the money will be used to take over its current village shop, while The Seavingtons will use the loan to build a brand new shop to meet the needs of its 500 residents. Ian Rothwell at The Co-operative Loan Fund said: “We are delighted to be able to support these village shops in their move to community ownership. There were many community-owned shops opened last year and all are making excellent progress despite the current economic climate. We anticipate that The Seavingtons and Ashton Hayes will be the first of many village shops to open in 2010 and we wish them the best of luck in this exciting new venture.” Events  Plunkett Foundation Conference: Rural Communities - The Right To Try January 27 London The UK is faced with declining or threatened local services, limited job opportunities, not enough affordable housing and looming public expenditure cuts. Plunkett wants to explore new ways to sustain the quality of life in rural communities. This conference will explore what rural community-owned enterprises are doing across the world to take control of the issues affecting rural people. It will highlight barriers which need to be removed in developed and regulated societies like the UK, and the types of support needed to make the right to try a reality. The event will engage practitioners, politicians, policy makers and shapers, funders and support organisations - those with the ability to make change happen. Reduced rates are available for rural, social enterprise and co-operative support organisations. There are also a limited number of free places available to rural community-owned enterprises. Delegate Booking Form Exhibitor Booking Form For further information on this event, please email info@plunkett.co.uk or call 01993 810730.
 Successful Commissioning: an introduction to developing your health tender February 2, London
February 23, Manchester
March 2, Taunton
March 18, Leicester This one-day training course will provide an introduction to health commissioning for third sector organisations working with children and young people. This course is aimed for those who want to bid for tenders, are unclear about the commissioning landscape and are looking for an introduction to what commissioners want and how to put together your tender.
The training is designed for organisations that offer (or are looking to offer) services for children and young people and wish to explore new opportunities within health and social care.
Training is suitable for voluntary and community organisations of all sizes.
The course is free to voluntary organisations and £299.57 per delegate for statutory organisations. To book your place please click on a date below and register online. For further details, please email training@ncb.org.uk or telephone 020 7843 6084. This training course is part of the Department of Health's Strategic Partner Programme.
 NCVO Innovation Action Training February 11-12 London Innovation can improve an organisation's effectiveness and provide a competitive edge where resources are finite. Led by industry experts, these two individual days of intensive interactive training look at new methods of ideas generation and will give you the practical dkills to make your organisation truly innovative. Programme 11 February 2010 - Diagnostics: How innovative is your organisation and where could you make changes?
- Learn how to make more of your users, participate in an interactive challenge, pitch solutions
12 February 2010 - Service innovation - Inspiration and learning from other sectors
- Crowd sourcing and how to set up your own innovation network
- Fees start at £180 for a single day or £288 for both days and include:
- Free half hour telephone advice for first 18 bookings - Free copy of NCVO's Innovation Matters guide for all participants - Online ‘Ask the Expert' For more information and booking contact Emma Clements emma.clements@ncvo-vol.org.uk, 020 7520 2519. Member Profile  Ten Green Bottles Powys CIC Ten Green Bottles are a research and development company in Powys set up to working with the local community to find new and interesting ways to recycle glass and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. As well as working for the benefit of the environment Ten Green Bottles also aim to help those who have been excluded from the workplace including people with mental health issues, learning difficulties, and the long term unemployed. The compnay provide work placements and volunteering opportunities to offer these groups practical work experience in a supportive environment. http://www.greenglassmountain.com/ Website of the fortnight  The Big Swap Fairtrade Fortnight takes place next month and this year the Fairtrade Foundation is asking the nation to get involved with The Big Swap. For two whole weeks they'll be asking you to swap your usual stuff for Fairtrade stuff. Your usual bananas for Fairtrade bananas, your usual cotton socks for Fairtrade cotton socks, and your usual cuppa for a Fairtrade cuppa. This means that every time you go shopping, you can use your wallet to make a stand. Visit the website to find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved. http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/thebigswap/ Jobs We have no new jobs to advertise this week. If you have any vacancies which you would like us to feature in the next edition of this newsletter please contact James Hughesdon - james.hughesdon@socialenterprise.org.uk Back to the top
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