Support the adoption of credible business structures, (including appropriate, transparent legal and management structures) for social enterprise to verify their social purpose and business ethos. Increase the availability and training of trustees and directors from diverse backgrounds and improve the quality of research on the accountability of a citywide social enterprise culture.

Rationale:

The purpose of this priority is to enable social enterprises to build management structures that are effective and inviting to a range of individuals from more diverse backgrounds. This does not only include beneficiaries and service users, but also technical capacity from the business, public sector and academic communities. Stronger legal and management structures will help to build an improved consensus around social and environmental missions and help to attract more resources to the social enterprise sector. The sector as a whole needs to be credible and legitimised by stakeholders from private, public and Third sector organisations.

Engaging stakeholders and beneficiaries in the management and running of social enterprises is a difficult challenge for both large and small social enterprises. Greater understanding of the management models available, including their strengths, weaknesses and impacts will help social enterprises to investigate and apply these models. Many organisations in Brighton and Hove already have considerable experience with innovative management structures. Understanding these organisations and using their experience to improve the rest of the sector will be an outcome of activities under this priority.

Key issues:

• Ensuring that it is easy for social enterprise to develop appropriate legal and management forms. It is important to provide guidance that enables legal and constitutional arrangements to be transparent, arranged around a clear social purpose, and with trading profits recycled to achieve their social purpose.
• Increasing the availability of trustees and directors with business and public sector skills to support the development of social enterprises.
• Improving research on accountability, beneficiary participation in management and organisational models and ensuring that this research is used within the sector locally and beyond.

Activities:

• Improve the quality and availability of legal and constitutional advice. This requires both technical and legal support, as well as improved training of trustees and directors and improved understanding of their roles and responsibilities.
• Regular trustee recruitment events, in order to help organisations seeking trustees meet informally with potential trustees, and to allow potential trustees to understand their possible responsibilities and roles.
• Increase research on accountability and management practices in the social enterprise sector.

Potential partners:

• Brighton and Hove Community Initiatives,
• Working Together Project
• Private Sector legal expers
• Community University Partnerships Programme Trustee Matching Project
• University of Brighton, University of Sussex

Indicators:

• Numbers of new organisations registering as Community Interest Companies (CICs).
• Participants on courses.
• Participants at Trustee Matching Events, evaluation and follow up with attendees.
• Research papers completed or published.

Potential Outcomes:

More social enterprises will adopt appropriate legal forms, such as the Community Interest Company (CIC). More trustees and directors will be engaged from public and private sectors. More service users and beneficiaries will participate in Social Enterprise management boards.

For example: a programme to raise standards for skills and equalise opportunities for participation by beneficiary groups can be established by 2013.