| ............................................................................................................................................. Leonard Cheshire Disability are supporting an EU funded project, Social Progress in Action, that aims to inform future EU-wide policy on the support available for disabled and disadvantaged people in setting up or creating businesses. The project is a partnership between several organisations in the UK, Portugal, Spain and Poland and there is a body of research being conducted alongside the project by two European universities, Sair da Casca (Portugal) and the Social Business Factory at HEC in Paris.
Leonard Cheshire will be holding a series seminars to explore the issues facing businesses and entrepreneurs, business support agencies and potential business investors and funders in the UK. For more information please email innovation@lcdisability.org. ............................................................................................................................................. Would you like to spend 13 weeks in an internship (expenses paid) in Seville, Spain? Red Ochre has won EU funding for The Skills for Green Jobs Project. We will be placing graduates in environmental business and organisations in Andalucía, Spain. Internship roles are hosted in local and regional government, charities, and businesses active within the energy efficiency, renewable energy, tourism, architecture, and translation. During the placement: Participants will stay in a (3 or 4 person) flat share with other interns in the heart of Seville. Participants will have your accommodation (including internet and bills), flights and travel to and from Spain, and travel insurance paid for. You will also receive a total of €500 towards travel and food. Participants will be supported during your placement by an English speaking mentor as well as project staff. Participants will have access to regular Spanish language classes and training.
Who are we looking for? We are interested in receiving applications from unemployed graduates and others with: Spanish language skills Interest in the environment and sustainability, international business, social enterprise or similar Applicants who are motivated to enjoy and contribute to their experience abroad.
The current round of placements is from September 23rd to December 22nd 2012, so you will need to be available then.
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Robert Foster, co-founder of Red Ochre, has recently come back from a three week trip to China (see Twitter @RedOchreUK for some snippets of the trip). Thanks go all involved, but especially Fang Ming and Hou Peng from the British Council ( www.britishcouncil.org/china.htm) and the whole team at CYDF ( www.cydf.org.cn/en/). The visit in numbers makes for interesting reading * Four cities - Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Hangzhou * Four, two day workshops for undergraduates on business skills and social enterprise * Address to the inaugural meeting of Guangzhou social entrepreneur's group * Presentation to Skills for Entrepreneurs summer camp at Beijing University * 370+ people trained or addressed * 150 projects or social enterprises trained * One set of eyes opened to the amazing opportunities and drive of the cival and social enterprise sector in China .............................................................................................................................................
News from the British Library Business and IP Centre
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No workshops during the Olympics For the main fortnight of the Olympic Games, we will not be hosting any workshops or one-to-ones.This is because, here at King’s Cross is expected to be a particularly busy traffic hub and we’re not placing any undue strain upon staffing or building logistics.The Business & IP Centre will however still be open should you wish to use the networking area for meetings or the reading room for research. The Writing Britain exhibition will also be able. .............................................................................................................................................
Government ‘Funding for lending’ scheme From a BBC article, 13 July 2012 A multi-billion pound scheme designed to make more - and cheaper - loans and mortgages available to businesses and individuals has been outlined. The scheme, called Funding for Lending, will see the Bank of England make low-cost funds available to banks and building societies. The aim is to tackle rising borrowing costs and a drop in lending. Lending has fallen 16% since its peak in 2008. However, some expressed concerns that not all savings would be passed on. "The banks may not pass on all that cost advantage they may just take it on wider margins," Graeme Leach, from the Institute of Directors, told the BBC. "And at the end of the day you know the elephant in the room is the euro crisis and companies and consumers need the confidence to borrow."
How the scheme will work: Banks and building societies can initially borrow up to 5% of the amount they currently lend They will be charged just 0.25% interest, much lower than the going rate They can borrow more than 5%, only if they increase their overall lending If they decrease lending, the interest rate will increase up to 1.5% Any losses on the loans will be borne by the banks, not the taxpayer or Bank of England Lending levels to be monitored by the BoE
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Nesta – another year for The Creative Business Mentor Network The Network - set up to nurture creative companies with an appetite for growth - gives creative companies the rare opportunity of one-to-one mentoring with some of the most successful business people in the creative sector. The Mentors are passionate about the sector and volunteer their time as a way of giving something back. They share practical advice on overcoming the challenges of running a creative business and have helped a variety of creative companies build business success. Participating businesses receive: One-to-one business mentoring in the form of 10 x 2hour sessions over a 6-12mth period. An induction workshop at the start of the programme to get the most out of your mentoring sessions. Workshops and events designed to meet other members of the Network Coaching support - in addition to mentoring support mentees will have access to an executive coach.
Participating businesses are working within: Advertising, Digital Media, Film, Games and TV. Closing date for applications 13 September 2012 (at 11am).
The mentoring sessions will begin in October 2012. | | .............................................................................................................................................
Hackney House Hackney House will during the Olympic and Paralympic Games offer a 1,000 SqM urban pop-up space in Hackney's Shoreditch district, showcasing the area's business and cultural offer. The collaboration is a unique partnership between London Borough of Hackney and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and is supported by private sponsorship and membership. During the day Hackney House will host a series of events based around themed days. These include tech, creative, tourism, fashion, food, investment and development expo style events and conferences. At night Hackney House will showcase performance. From the cool vibe of local artists singing and performing to the region's top comedians and cabaret artists. The aim is to show the world what Hackney, Tech City and East London has to offer and increase investment and jobs in the area. .............................................................................................................................................
Job vacancy – Project Manager, London Innovation Voucher Exchange LIVE (London Innovation Voucher Exchange) is a new project to provide scalable and growing enterprises in London with vouchers, worth between £5-10K, to use on purchasing innovation support services from London’s leading universities and specialist innovation experts. Previous experience of coordinating projects within the public sector A proven ability to prioritise work and deliver projects on time A process driven environment and will be highly adept at detailed reporting Be able to present the aims and progress of the project to key internal and external stakeholders Be able to demonstrate excellent organisational and interpersonal skills Previous experience of coordinating projects funded by the EU or the LDA would be advantageous but is not essential.
The post is on a fixed term contract until 31st March 2013.
Salary for this role is £33,646
Closing date for applications is 10th August 2012For further information please contact Carly Lloyd on 020 7679 4598 .............................................................................................................................................
Knowledge Peers – The Exchange 2012 Q: What’s it all about?
A: Over 250 business leaders together at Sadler's Wells Theatre for a morning of inspiration, innovation and experience sharing. With full run of the theatre, and from key note speakers on the theatre stage, to seminars in dance studios, it will be an entertaining, sociable and informative day. Covering four topics that will challenge you to think differently about the development of your business, we'll have experts, thought leaders and most importantly, other business directors who have 'been there and done it' on hand to share what they know. Q: | 
Ask any portfolio manager and they will likely tell you that tracking the impact of their investments is one of their greatest challenges. According to a recent report from J.P. Morgan, the impact investing industry’s biggest risk is around investment illiquidity and uncertainty of financial returns. For impact data to be useful to an organization, it needs to be collected and managed in an organized way.
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