Inside this issue

Welcome

Welcome to the very first newsletter from the Social Enterprise Business Support Programme. Compiled by the Social Enterprise Coalition, with contributions from key project partners, this newsletter will be published on a quarterly basis and will keep you updated on the progress and achievements of all component projects as well as the collaborative achievements of the programme.

This newsletter will initially serve as a reminder on projects and developments, but will later include case studies and increasing content on project news and events.

The Social Enterprise Business Support Programme

Social Enterprises, like any businesses, need the right support. However, as social enterprises place a social or environmental mission at the heart of their work, mainstream business support cannot always meet their specific needs. But we know that expertise exists within the sector, so we need to capture and transform this into accessible business support for all.

The Social Enterprise Business Support Programme comprises the work managed by the Social Enterprise Coalition in two existing business support projects: the Capacitybuilders funded National Knowledge Management Programme and the Big Lottery (BASIS) funded Investing in Social Enterprise Expansion (I-SEE) Programme.

The component programmes still exist singularly, but as there is significant potential for shared learning across the two, the Social Enterprise Coalition has taken the move to refer to them collectively as the Social Enterprise Business Support Programme and will actively promote the sharing of information across the two to create synergy.

The overarching aim of the Social Enterprise Business Support Programme is 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. This will involve the Social Enterprise Coalition and social enterprise support bodies working closely to improve the level of and access to business support services in the sector.

The National Knowledge Management Programme and the I-SEE Programme have been running since 2008 and 2009 respectively. Therefore, by means of a refresher, a summary of each programme has been provided with the sub-project updates.

National Knowledge Management Programme

Capacitybuilders

As part of the Capacitybuilders Social Enterprise programme, a portfolio of business support projects is being delivered in each region by the support bodies and other partners. These projects work to develop existing business tools in the nine English regions.

The Coalition is also contributing to this Capacitybuilders project by running the innovative National Knowledge Management Programme.

Primarily, Knowledge Management is about learning from what we know by effectively sharing information and best practice. The National Knowledge Management Programme aims to promote this concept in the social enterprise sector; making it aware of, and able to make good use of, the collective knowledge that exists.

At the heart of the National Knowledge Management Programme is the Social Enterprise Knowledge Exchange; a community of practice where a network of regional support bodies share good practice and insight.

As well as facilitating the Social Enterprise Knowledge Exchange, the National Knowledge Management Programme also aims to collect and disseminate learning from a selection of the business support projects; referred to as the National Learning Projects.

To summarise, the National Knowledge Management Programme will help to improve social enterprise business support by facilitating and promoting the value of sharing business information and best practice through the sector.

The National Learning Projects

Trading Know-how

Trading Know-how

Sharing knowledge and good practise is fundamentally important for the development of the social enterprise sector as it allows social enterprises to learn from each other; transferring valuable expertise through the movement as they do so.

Social Enterprise West Midlands are managing a project called Trading Know-how which aims to gather and share good practice from the region. As well as gathering and disseminating information, the project also involves a number of activity strands which promote and facilitate the sharing of this information. These include a summer school, structured study visits, good practice forums, and the identification and promotion of five ‘flagship' social enterprises as examples of social enterprise success.

The knowledge sharing activity strands have been taking place throughout the region and more are planned for 2010. There has been significant uptake for the activities and they are proving highly successful.

For more information visit Social Enterprise West Midlands.

The Social Enterprise Mark

Social Enterprise Mark

The Social Enterprise Mark was successfully piloted in the South West by RISE as a social enterprise identifier and this national learning project initially worked to further develop the Mark in the South West.

However it was soon realised that the Mark had much wider potential and this project began contributing to the development of a Social Enterprise Mark with national reach.

The Social Enterprise Mark was developed by RISE, the Social Enterprise Coalition and the Office of the Third Sector, with funding from the Big Lottery and Capacitybuilders. As a direct consequence of this innovative partnership work, RISE and the Social Enterprise Coalition have established a new joint venture, the Social Enterprise Mark CIC, to manage the new Social Enterprise Mark.

After much research and planning, the Social Enterprise Mark was launched at the Social Enterprise Coalition's annual conference, Voice10, earlier this week. It is about driving awareness of social enterprise and setting a new standard for business. It is more than just a logo; it is the brand for social enterprise and will work to transform the sector.

For more information visit the Social Enterprise Mark, RISE or the Social Enterprise Coalition.

Micro Coaches

Peer-to-peer business skills transfer is a valuable tool in the social enterprise sector and frequently occurs informally. However, by this nature, it can often lack clear processes and boundaries which prevent it from being as beneficial a process as it could be. Standardisation therefore greatly benefits this valuable tool.

Social Enterprise East of England are managing a project called Micro Coaches; a tested and structured programme of peer-to-peer business skills transfer. The project has formalised the skills transfer process so that support is available to both parties and the service becomes more readily available. Training has been provided for coaches and a directory is available online.

Through this project, Micro Coaches will be developed further in the East of England so that increasing numbers of social entrepreneurs can benefit.

For more information visit SocialEnterprise East of England.

Catalyzing Consortia

Being able to access procurement and tender opportunities is essential for social enterprises if they are to compete in the open market. But as social enterprises are typically smaller than privately owned companies, it can be difficult to compete. As a result of this situation, a study was carried out in the North West which identified that developing consortia was a key strategy that enabled social enterprises to access procurement and tender opportunities.

Social Enterprise North West is therefore managing a project called Catalyzing Consortia which aims to help social enterprises in the region form these consortium. It then helps these consortium secure contracts.

The project has carefully selected a panel of five experts, known as the Consortia Advice Team (CAT), who are there to advise and support social enterprises through the various stages of consortium creation and contract tendering; from legal advice to sales and marketing. The project has also enabled the creation of the Opportunities North West website. This is a valuable tool for the emerging consortium as it provides regular updates on tenders, opportunities to join existing partnerships and case studies on successful bids.

For more information visit Social Enterprise North West.

Selling Added Value

As a social enterprise, being able to measure and communicate the social and/or environmental impact of your work is highly beneficial, if not essential, if you wish to access procurement and tender opportunities. By providing social enterprises with the tools and skills to do this, they can position themselves more competitively in today's market.

In light of this, Social Enterprise Yorkshire and Humber are managing a project called Selling Added Value. Selling Added Value is a 2-day course where training is providing on the SROI (Social Return on Investment) social auditing tool. This tool enables social enterprises to map the added value and impact they achieve, in relation to target services in tendering opportunities. The aim of the project is to develop the programme in Yorkshire and Humber so that a greater bank of SROI accredited trainers is built up and more social enterprises can access and benefit from the course.

So far on the project, a number of coaches have been trained in the region and courses have been running successfully. The programme has also been developed into a franchiseable model that has the potential to be rolled-out nationally. Further training courses are planned for 2010.

For more information visit Social Enterprise Yorkshire and Humber.

Outcome Assessment for Social Enterprises (OASES)

OASES logo

A number of tools exist that enable social enterprises to carry out the valuable task of measuring and communicating the social and/or environmental impact of their work. But it can sometimes be difficult for social enterprises to determine which tool is the most suitable for them.

Social Enterprise London is managing the OASES project which aims to help social enterprises make this decision through the development of a systematic, decision-making framework. The project also aims to provide social enterprises with the specific skills they need to successfully communicate the results of their impact assessment.

So far, Social Enterprise London has held a series of free, interactive workshops as part of the project. These involved discussions on the range of social impact tools available; an introduction to the new decision-making framework; and the opportunity to sign-up for additional support. The latest workshop was on the 25 January and more are planned for 2010.

For more information visit Social Enterprise London.

The SEASON Project

SEASON logo

Many support organisations and advisors exist in the social enterprise sector and they provide a very valuable service. However, they can often be isolated from each other. By connecting them, the level and consistency of support available can be improved.

The SE² Partnership are managing a project which aims to improve support in the region through the creation, establishment and development of a regional network for social advisors, where knowledge and best practise can be shared. The project also aims to attract more support providers in the area and increase the level of accreditation.

So far in the project, a topical seminar programme has been launched for social enterprise business advisers in the South East. This includes sessions on Community Shares, Companies Act 2006 and Social Accounting. So far the programme has been a great success and feedback has been very positive.

For more information visit SE² Partnership.

Multiplying Social Change

Regional infrastructure bodies play a valuable role in supporting and developing social enterprises and enabling them to compete in the marketplace. Developing these support services will be beneficial to the movement and will also provide an opportunity for regional infrastructure bodies to be more entrepreneurial themselves; generating profits that can be invested back into the provision of support.

Through the Multiplying Social Change project, Social Enterprise East Midlands aim to establish a model and processes for regional infrastructure bodies, so that they can play a profitable role in taking social enterprises to the marketplace. So far great progress has been made on the project. During 2010, the model for support organisations will be developed further and learning from the creation of new social enterprises will be shared with the sector.

For more information visit Social Enterprise East Midlands.

Developing Social Enterprises

The Developing Social Enterprises project is being managed by the North East Social Enterprise Partnership and bases its learning on opportunities for developing and growing social enterprises.

There are two main aspects to the project. Firstly, linking into the I-SEE Social Franchising Support project, the North East Social Enterprise Partnership is looking at further developments and potential markets for social enterprises wishing to expand through replication or social franchising. The project aims to clarify the process and provide consistent and easily accessible knowledge and information. The North East is piloting and expanding training for business advisors, potential franchises and expanding new areas for replication opportunities.

Secondly, in response to the barriers to accessing public sector contract opportunities, the North East Social Enterprise Partnership is working to further develop a pilot database. The database holds information on third sector suppliers in the region, to allow the public sector to search locally or regionally for suppliers for quotes or advertisement of contracts. The database provides a matching service for contract opportunities and private partner/supply chain consortium development areas.

For more information visit the North East Social Enterprise Partnership .

Investing in Social Enterprise Expansion (I-SEE) Programme

Big Lottery

The Big Lottery's BASIS programme is funding projects across England to improve access to infrastructure support in the third sector.

The Social Enterprise Coalition and five support organisations across England have been awarded funding for a collaborative project called Investing in Social Enterprise Expansion (I-SEE).

The I-SEE project develops a collection of new and existing business support services so that the reach can be extended nationally: redevelopment of the Social Enterprise Training and Support (SETAS) website; rural retail skills; consortia building; expansion of the School for Social Entrepreneurs; roll out of Micro Coaches; social franchising; and leadership training.

The delivery partners are Coin Street Community Builders; the Plunkett Foundation, REalliance CIC, the School for Social Entrepreneurs and Social Enterprise East of England. As well as managing two projects directly, the Coalition will also coordinate the partnership and disseminate progress and achievements.

In essence, the I-SEE Programme will develop business support services in the social enterprise sector and will also facilitate and promote the value of sharing business information and best practice.

The I-SEE Projects

Leadership Development

Providing emerging social enterprise leaders with training, advice and support is crucial if start-up and existing social enterprises are to succeed.

The Social Enterprise Coalition is therefore managing a project that aims to develop a leadership training programme and a network of social enterprise leaders (leaders of infrastructure organisations and social enterprises and social entrepreneurs). It is hoped that through this, social enterprise leaders will be able to improve their capacity and capability to support the development of their organisation; something which will enable growth and sustainability in the sector.

The project is in its early planning and research stage, but key partnerships and developments will be made over the coming months: the curriculum for the programme will be designed; the programme piloted; and time invested in planning the potential roll out of the programme nationally.

More information on this project will follow soon.

Expansion of the School for Social Entrepreneurs

The School for Social Entrepreneurs provides training and opportunities for people wanting to make that transition into the social enterprise sector. The School is an existing, innovative ‘social franchise'; running programmes across the UK. Expanding the School would enable more upcoming social entrepreneurs to benefit.

This project aims to support the School for Social Entrepreneurs to scale-up its proven model for developing social entrepreneurs and their organisations. This would involve the School becoming viable at a national scale by opening new schools in five more English regions: the North East, West Midlands, South East, East of England and Yorkshire and Humber.

Significant progress has been made on the project so far. Not only were two School of Social Entrepreneurs licenses signed last year (in Yorkshire and Hampshire), but both schools have now officially been launched and are already training their first intake of students.

Overall, the funding has allowed the School of Social Entrepreneurs to hit the ground running with this project and the future looks very positive. The School are looking forward to developing relationships in relevant regions that will lead to the opening of further schools. Hot in the pipeline are potential schools in the East of England, the North-East of England and in the West Midlands. The strategy is to have at least one school in every region of the UK by 2012.

For more information visit the School for Social Entrepreneurs.

Strengthening Social Enterprise Retail Skills in Rural Areas

Rural shop

In today's commercial environment, many rural services such as shops and post-offices face closure. In reaction to this, many communities are turning to cooperative ownership as a way of saving these valuable services.

Providing more people with the necessary support to set-up cooperatives, as well as the skills required to run the businesses, not only benefits the rural communities but also the third sector as a whole.

The Plunkett Foundation, an organisation which promotes and supports co-operatives and social enterprises in rural communities worldwide, is therefore managing a project which aims to strengthen new and existing rural social enterprise infrastructure. They plan to do this by supplementing the Plunkett Foundation's existing support package with a retail toolkit and up-skilling their advisory network to meet growing demand.

So far on the project, an initial training event on the profitability of community-owned shops has taken place. This involved training on the Plunkett Foundation's online shop-networking website; a site which helps shops and advisers network between themselves, share resources and support each other with issues and problems. As a result of the training event, a need was identified for a diagnostic tool to help the Plunkett Foundation's advisers identify the problems or weaknesses that affect the profitability of the shops in their regions. This tool is now being developed as part of the larger toolkit development.

More training events are planned for the remainder of the project and the Plunkett Foundation is continuing to develop their tools and advisory service.

For more information visit the Plunkett Foundation.

Third Sector Consortia Development

Furniture

Forming consortia is a successful way for social enterprises to secure key contracts in public sector services. This is especially true in the field of sustainable resource management (including reuse, recycling, composting and waste minimisation).

REalliance CIC is a joint venture between the four main community resource and recycling networks in England. They are managing a project which aims to enable social enterprises working in the field to secure public sector contracts through the formation of successful consortiums.

The project is initially working with social enterprises in Manchester and London to help them provide services that collect and re-use bulky items (e.g. furniture or white goods). This will not only reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill, but will also provide low cost items to disadvantaged families and opportunities for individuals working within the social enterprises themselves.

The project is in the early planning stages, but it is hoped that six delivery partnerships will soon be formed and that the project will demonstrate the practical value of partnership-working to the third sector and show commissioners the real power of third sector delivery.

For more information visit REalliance CIC.

Redevelopment of the Social Enterprise Training and Support (SETAS) Website

The internet is a highly valuable tool that connects social enterprises with support providers. The SETAS website helps social enterprises find the most appropriate training and support, but since it was first launched in 2002, the social enterprise world has changed beyond recognition.

Coin Street Community Builders, a London based social enterprise and development trust, is therefore managing a project which aims to redevelop the SETAS site in line with today's social enterprise environment.

So far on the project, a Steering and Advisory Group has been created to guide the development of the new site and to ensure that as well as meeting today's needs, it has sustainability beyond the life of the project. A survey has also been circulated to gather views of both support seekers and providers; the results of which have fed into the initial redevelopment stage. The site is currently under development, but the ‘beta' site will be launched in February and the completed site will be launched in April.

Once the site is up-and-running, the project focus will move onto encouraging use and building delivery relationships with regional bodies, sector-specific support networks and business support agencies. There will also be ongoing work to improve the functioning of the site, including feedback, search abilities, extra tools and resources and links to other resources.

For more information visit Coin Street Community Builders or SETAS.

Social Franchising Support

Once a social enterprise is established and running successfully, franchising can be a way to develop and expand the business further. Within the sector, this is often referred to as ‘social franchising'. Mainstream business advice can be found on this subject, but due to the specialism of social enterprises, this advice in not always appropriate and it can be difficult for social enterprises to pursue this route.

The Social Enterprise Coalition is therefore coordinating the Social Franchising Support project which aims to create a comprehensive social franchising model; resources that guide and support social enterprises and support organisations through all aspects of replication and purchasing of franchise and licensed businesses; and a membership network to promote social franchising and provide support.

The project is in its early planning and consultancy stages, however key partnerships are being initiated and key developments are planned for early 2010.

More information on this project will follow soon.

Roll-out of Micro Coaches

With Capacitybuilders funding, Social Enterprise East of England has developed the Micro Coaches project; a tested and structured programme of peer-to-peer business skills transfer. The project has formalised the skills transfer process so that support is available to both parties and the service becomes more readily available. Training has been provided for coaches and a directory is available online.

With Big Lottery funding, Social Enterprise East of England now aim to roll-out the project nationally through a social franchise model. Interest has been high and it is hoped that Micro Coaches will soon be available in other English regions.

For more information visit Social Enterprise East of England.

News

Social Enterprise Mark Launched at Voice10

After much research and planning, the Social Enterprise Mark was launched at this year's Voice under a spectacular show of music, lights and acrobatics.

The Mark is about driving awareness of social enterprise and setting a new standard for business. It is more than just a logo; it is the brand for social enterprise and will work to transform the sector.

For more information visit the Social Enterprise Mark, RISE or the Social Enterprise Coalition

Plunkett Foundation advices the Archers

The Plunkett Foundation has worked with producers of the longstanding radio soap to highlight how real communities are combating village shop closures.

The Archers storyline sees the villagers of Ambridge deciding to set up a community-owned shop when faced with the news that their essential facility was to close and the Plunkett Foundation worked with the show to deliver a realistic account of such action.

Enquiries to the Plunkett Foundation have risen dramatically since the story aired and Peter Couchman, Chief Executive Officer of the Plunkett Foundation, says "Community-ownership is often the only viable way of saving or reintroducing vital rural services like a village shop. The Plunkett Foundation is the first place that rural communities turn to when looking to save or reintroduce a vital service through community-ownership and we can provide the specialist advice and support needed to save or reopen a shop. We hope The Archers storyline will encourage more people in rural areas to take action."

Further coverage of the story can be found here.

For more information visit the Plunkett Foundation.