Social Enterprise Coalition activity 
Survey reveals nations attitudes to work in wake of the downturn Are you reassessing what you want to do for a living? Would you like to give back and change the world - or at least your community - through the job you do? If you’ve answered yes, you’re not alone. According to a new public attitudes survey published by the Social Enterprise Coalition last week, more than half of adults working in Britain would like to make a positive difference through their work (52%). Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition, said: “This poll shows that there is a huge disparity between the jobs people are in and the jobs they actually want to do. People spend a huge amount of their life at work so why not make your job something you enjoy that contributes to the greater good? Social enterprise has a lot of offer people whether they’re looking to start a business or seeking a career change. It’s an exciting and humbling field in which to have a career and you get to make a real difference.” The Social Enterprise Coalition has produced a free guide for people wanting to find out more about working in social enterprise, which includes the stories of people who have moved into the sector and lists helpful resources. ‘Enjoy what you do: Work in social enterprise' is available to download from the SEC website.
BuySe offer for SEC members extended The UK’s first ever national directory for social enterprises is now officially live and promising to help the sector take advantage of the growing desire to use its services. With the offer of free directory listings until the end of June, www.buyse.co.uk will make it easier than ever for customers to buy from and trade with businesses that exist to make a difference to communities and the environment. The cutting edge website has been designed to help social enterprises promote their products and services across the UK, breaking down geographical barriers and crucially enabling potential customers to find them in one simple to use location. It has already attracted over 200 listings within its first week of going live and has the backing of Peter Holbrook, the Chief Executive Officer of the Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC). “A national directory has been on many people’s wish list for a number of years and I am pleased that buySe.co.uk delivers a platform that social enterprises, public sector, private business and individual purchasers have been calling for to enable the market to grow. “This initiative offers social enterprises an invaluable chance to market themselves to people and organisations with an interest in working with our sector. I'm delighted that SEC can offer its members the chance to take advantage of this opportunity for free for a whole year.”
Social Enterprise Day 2011 – your views wanted The Social Enterprise Coalition is co-ordinating a campaign to mark Social Enterprise Day, which is taking place on 17 November 2011. This day in the calendar needs to work for our members - helping you to do business, to influence, to build key relationships and raise awareness of the work you do. Before we get started we want to know what you’d find most useful. It is our intention to deliver a creative campaign that is engaging and drives the social enterprise movement on. Please take a few minutes to complete a quick survey. Thank you in advance for your feedback.
SEC members invited to APPG The All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Enterprise is a cross party group of politicians who support the social enterprise movement. SEC hosts the secretariat for the group and has organised a seminar in the Houses of Parliament from 4 – 5.30pm on Tuesday 12 July on Social Enterprises Collaborating with Local Authorities. From proposals to embed social value in public sector procurement to the new community rights to bid and buy, there has never been a more important time to foster successful relationships between Local Authorities and social enterprises. The seminar will feature expert local government and social enterprise panellists who will share their recommendations on collaboration, and provide an opportunity to network with leading social enterprise practitioners from around the UK. We’re delighted to be able to invite SEC members along to this event. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. To reserve a place, please fill in the registration form on our website.
Help wanted for postgraduate research into social enterprise Postgraduate student Maja Debowska is looking for help from social enterprises to complete her dissertation research exploring the relationship between social enterprises and private sector companies. All answers will be anonymous and used only for the purpose of the research. Completion of the survey should take no more than 10 minutes. If you are interested in participating in an in-depth interview or would like to be emailed the results of this research, please leave your contact details at the end of the survey. If you have any questions, you can contact Maja on 0207 326 5979 or email maja.debowska.1@city.ac.uk. 
News 
SEC members need your votes to reach the next stage of The National Lottery Awards 2011 Two Social Enterprise Coalition members have reached the semi-finals of The National Lottery Awards 2011. Brighter Future Workshop and Ten Green Bottles, two fantastic social enterprises, are both in the running in the Best Environment Project and need your help to reach the finals. The National Lottery Awards are an annual search to find the UK's favourite Lottery-funded projects. Lottery players raise around £28 million each week for Good Causes. These range from large scale, multi-million pound investments to small community grants. Thousands of great projects get the cash they need to make a real difference to people and their local communities across the UK. Vote for Brighter Future Workshop by following this link. Vote for Ten Green Bottles by following this link. Voting for the semi-final closes at midday on 20 June. The three projects in each category with the most votes will progress to the final round of public voting, which will run from 5 September - 23 September.
Social enterprise leaders recognised in Queen’s Birthday honours The leaders of two of the UK’s top social enterprises have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2011. Jo Pritchard and Tricia McGregor, joint Managing Directors of leading healthcare social enterprise Central Surrey Health have each been awarded an MBE for services to social enterprise. And John McMullen (pictured above), Chief Executive of Bryson Charitable Group, has been awarded an OBE for his services to social enterprise in Northern Ireland. Jo Pritchard and Tricia McGregor jointly set up Central Surrey Health in 2006. Central Surrey Health provides therapy and community nursing services to the population of central Surrey and was the first social enterprise to come out of the NHS. It is employee-owned, and run on similar lines to the John Lewis Partnership but is not for profit. Every co-owner is involved in running the business giving them the power to improve how their services are delivered. Tricia McGregor commented “Jo and I are delighted to receive such a prestigious honour and would like to dedicate our MBEs to every co-owner at Central Surrey Health. We’ve worked in the health sector for over 25 years and the last five years setting up Central Surrey Health have been the greatest challenge.“ The Bryson Charitable Group is Northern Ireland’s leading social enterprise. Over the last ten years it has moved from a traditional charity to a social enterprise which now employs over 650 staff and 130 volunteers working across seven business areas to tackle some of the major social and economic challenges facing Northern Ireland. On hearing of his award John McMullen said, “I am both honoured and humbled to have been awarded the OBE, it is a lovely surprise. To have been recognised for social enterprise is really an acknowledgement for the hundreds of people who work and volunteer at Bryson and provide a service to the many vulnerable people we support.”
HCT Group announces record profit reinvestment in local community services for 2010/11 Transport social enterprise HCT Group recently announced that during 2010/11 it reinvested an impressive 37% of all profits earned in the previous year into local community services. This represents HCT’s best ever performance and far exceeds the Group’s 30% reinvestment target. Details of the Group’s remarkable performance were revealed at the launch of its latest Impact Report in central London last week. The report details how the group has delivered against its mission of social justice for all and creating community value. Chief Executive, Dai Powell, said: “Transport makes an amazing difference to people’s lives. It is the means by which the most marginalised in our society can access jobs, education, healthcare – or even the simple freedom of getting out and about. We are an indivisible part of the local communities where we operate and we have a clear role to play in supporting cohesion, employment and wealth creation in these areas. Our report shows that our mission to create a positive social impact beyond simply providing contracted transport services has a real, tangible benefit and this is something of which we should all be immensely proud.” Download the HCT Group 2010/11 Impact report here.
University of Northampton seeks to be UK’s leading university for social enterprise The University of Northampton is launching a new five-year institutional strategy - 'Raising the Bar' - stating its intention to be the UK's leading university for social enterprise. The strategy aims to put social enterprise at the heart of the student experience and ensure that the University becomes the number one university in the UK for social enterprise by 2015. From October 2011 all students will have the opportunity of working in a social enterprise as part of studying for their course. Under the leadership of a new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Petford, the University has already supported staff and students to set up ten social enterprises - including '3e', a social enterprise recruitment company which has helped over 300 people find work in its first year of operation; 'We Re Pc', which has delivered over 300 reused PCs to a variety of customers in the community; and the 'Northamptonshire Voluntary Youth Action', which has helped over 650 young people aged 13-25 get involved with volunteering. Read more on this story on the Social Enterprise network.
Events 
Community shares: the power of engaged equity 7 July London The Community Shares Programme is a two-year action research project investigating how members of the public can invest in enterprises that serve a community purpose. This Community Shares Policy Seminar will bring together the findings from the action research project into community shares led by Locality, Co-operatives UK and the SROI UK Network. The event is free but places are limited. Book your place and view the full event programme on the Locality website.
Make It Happen Summer Seminar Programme Make It Happen has announced it’s summer seminar programme, aimed at those organisations who want to develop income and account for their Social Value and Impact. The seminars are presented by Nicola and Richard Dickins, Directors of Make it Happen, and are designed to be interactive and practical. Unlocking your Profit Potential 3rd August Manchester The seminar is designed to provide practical advice and guidance surrounding income generation over four key areas; trading, commissioning, funding and fundraising. Seminar details. Understanding and developing your own Social Impact and Value 18th August Manchester This seminar aims to introduce delegates to Social Value and Impact, providing practical knowledge and outline skills to understand and communicate your value and impact to society. Seminar details.
Social Enterprise Summit: Bridging co-operation and competition in the NHS? 29 June London This summit is the first in a series of three from The King’s Fund considering reforms to local health systems and changes in power and alignments between local authorities, the third sector and the NHS. Keynote speakers include: - Lord Victor Adebowale CBE - Chief Executive, Turning Point
- Nigel Edwards - Acting Chief Executive, NHS Confederation
- Julian Le Grand - Richard Titmuss Professor of Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, Trustee, The King's Fund, and Head of Mutuals Taskforce at the Cabinet Office
- Bob Ricketts CBE - Director of Provider Policy, Department of Health
- Ali Parsa - Managing Partner, Circle Partnership
For more information and to book online, visit The King's Fund website.
Resources 
Big Venture Challenge There is now just a fortnight left to enter The Big Venture Challenge. The Big Venture Challenge is looking for the 25 most ambitious social entrepreneurs in England - exceptional people with radical ideas who have got what it takes to deliver social impact at scale. Winners will each get a £25,000 grant and the chance to apply for an additional £150,000 of co-investment finance. In addition, winners get access to an intensive programme of first class venture support, mentoring and connections designed to keep pace with the fastest growing social entrepreneurs. Find out more about how to apply at www.bigventurechallenge.com. Full applications close on 30 June 2011. The Big Venture Challenge is being run by UnLtd - the foundation for social entrepreneurs, together with the Big Lottery Fund.
LGC Business Partnership Awards The LGC Business Partnership Awards will recognise and champion service providers who have worked in close partnership with a council or group of councils to deliver quality services. If you are more than just a supplier, are helping shape organisational change and are delivering excellence through your relationship with a council or group of councils, you can enter the LGC Business Partnership Awards to have this contribution nationally recognised. Entries can be made across 22 categories in six distinct sectors: Construction, Environment, ICT, Professional Services, Social Services & Transport and Traffic Management. The deadline for entries is 24 June 2011.
 Guardian Public Services Awards 2011 Now in their eighth year, the Guardian Public Services Awards celebrate inspiring examples of innovative work being carried out by teams across the public services. Have you made an impact? If you're from a national or local organisation, a statutory, voluntary or for-profit body, then we want to hear about your achievements. As past winners testify, the awards are a great platform to gain recognition on a national scale. You can enter quickly and free of charge at guardian.co.uk/publicservicesawards. The deadline for entries is 15 July 2011.
Member profile 
The People’s Food Company The People’s Food Company was set up by husband and wife team, Tom and Angela Bonner, in early 2011. They believe that food can change lives and that social enterprise can create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to take control of their lives. In bringing the two together, The People’s Food Company seeks to provide a quality catering service with a valuable social legacy. To achieve this profit is spent on providing volunteering, training, work experience and employment opportunities for people facing barriers to work. Read a full profile on the Social Enterprise Coalition website www.thepeoplesfoodcompany.org.uk/
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