Social Enterprise Strategy - Recently Updated Pages

Overview

Olmaxwell — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:13:31 CDT

The purpose of the Social Enterprise Strategy is to capture the potential of the social enterprise sector, and focus the energies of the many resources available to impact on our economy, society and environment.

We have made this webspace because we would like you to share your input with us - so that the final strategy can build on as many ideas from as many different perspectives as possible.

We have started some conversations to help stimulate response and engagement. Please feel free to write openly, honestly and as much or as little as you wish. Don’t worry too much about the wording - it’s the ideas that matter and every contribution is as valuable as the next.

You can use this Overview page to navigate around the site and study the detail around each Strategic Priority before joining the relevant conversation.Within these conversations you can also see what other people are saying from other organisations and sectors citywide. Start by using the bullet points to click on the buttons that are most interesting and relevant to you.

Read the Invitation and Summary first • Click here for Background and Research• Make a general comment at the bottom of this page

Your contribution can help to build a lasting culture of social enterprise in Brighton and Hove.


All the buttons below take you to social enterprise characteristics to help you understand the business model.	Each button below will take you to the background behind the Strategic Priorities	Each button below will take you to a short summary and the conversations about each Strategic Priority
	Shared Knowledge Mapping and research Impact measurement
	Business planning and development Access to funding Public sector coaching
	Corporate Social Responsibility Partnership planning Cross-sector networks
	Award schemes Scaling up innovation Local reputation
	Legal and management structures Diversity and standards Research
	Contacts and referrals Procurement and contracting Policies and strategies

• Do you have any general comments about the Strategic Summary and Invitation to Contribute? Start or join a conversation below.

How to Post Your Contribution

1. To post your thoughts and ideas to these questions, simply click on 'Start a new thread' below. This thread is your response to our ideas, but can turn into a conversation of its own, as other visitors can reply to it.
2. You can also look at the threads of other visitors [all listed below], reply to them if you wish and click 'yes' or 'no' to let us know if you have found other threads valuable.
3. When you have finished adding your comments please continue to explore the site. You can return to this conversation at any time in the future and make additions by using the Navigation list in the top left of this window, or returning to the Overview page.

Home

Olmaxwell — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:13:08 CDT

Welcome to the Brighton and Hove Social Enterprise Strategy Wiki

This Wiki webspace is here to help you contribute to creating a Social Enterprise Strategy for the city of Brighton and Hove. The purpose of this strategy is to improve the social, economic and environmental impact of social enterprise in Brighton and Hove and so create a city that is better for people, planet and profit.

The wiki has been devised so that anyone with an interest in social enterprise and a more sustainable future can get involved, and to make sure that this strategy captures all the ideas, initiatives and perspectives the city has to offer.

We invite you to explore our thinking behind the development of the strategy and contribute your own thoughts about what is needed, what you might contribute and what we might achieve together by answering the questions set out in the ‘join the conversation’ sections. To help you find the priority area most appropriate to your interest and experience, key words have been set out to guide you in the overview page at 3.

Please join the conversations we have started by following the steps below.


Signing in makes it possible for you to join a conversation about the Social Enterprise Strategy. If you're already signed in, you will come back to the home page.	If you haven’t already read the strategic summary and invitation document, you can download it here in PDF format, or find out about the background research and the history of the project.	Click this link to go to an Overview page which plots out key points and links to their relevant conversations on this Wiki. You can also use the Overview page to link through to background information and research to help inform your contribution.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

This projected is funded by Brighton and Hove City Council l

and delivered by Brighton and Hove Business CommunityPartnership.

Background and Research

Olmaxwell — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:12:26 CDT

This area will make it possible for you to find out more about the background and research that supports the Brighton and Hove Social Enterprise Strategy. Click on the buttons below to enter each page

Research library

Olmaxwell — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 16:11:53 CDT

This area houses the developmental research documents which support the strategic approach.
This research has been broken down into 5 parts :

1 What is Social Enterprise? Click Here
This outlines our definition of social enterprise, as used in this Strategy.

2 Social Enterprise Mapping in Brighton and Hove:
A profile of the sector with implications for future support and development Click Here

The first comprehensive mapping of social enterprises in the city took place in 2006/7 and was a collaboration between the Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership and the University of Brighton. See also this on-line directory

3 How good co-operative thinking could fuel the growth of the social enterprise sector
Click Here
This academic paper was prepared to justify an approach that envisions using the un-tapped resources of the public and private sectors to support the growth of social enterprises and improve their impact on the city. Established benefits include improved social impacts, business growth and improved access to innovation for all parties.

4 Economic Feasibility Study

A feasibility toolkit that shows how to create and sustain a framework to resource social enterprises through improved co-operative thinking, while offering clear benefits to a range of stakeholders and support agencies. This is currently under final review and will be shared when completed.

5 Strategic Summary and Invitation to contribute Click Here

Contact details

Oliver Maxwell, Research and Development Consultant: oliver.maxwell@mac.com

Simon Bottrell, Communications Consultant: simon@7creative.co.uk

___________________________________________________________________________________________

References and links:

Social Enterprise Action Plan: Scaling New Heights

Social Enterprise in Brighton and Hove: A profile of the sector with implications for future support and development

How good co-operative thinking can fuel the growth of the social enterprise sector

Strategic Summary and Invitation to Contribute

Conversation 6

Theaallison — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:42:59 CST

We have proposed support to help increase the number of social enterprises in a position to forge new contacts and win contracts from both public and private sector clients. Social enterprise policies will be represented in more public and private sector strategies. This will result in more money staying locally, contributing to local prosperity.

• This could involve your organisation helping to build the reputation of authentic, viable and effective social enterprises by sharing business contacts and recommendations.

• All organisations could consider procuring more goods and services from social enterprises - provided they could demonstrate high standards and business viability.

• Larger organisations, including public sector bodies, can consider social enterprise policies or strategies, helping to support the growth of the sector and achieving benefits for their organisations in terms of people, planet and profits.

As well as joint seminars and training workshops for procurement officers and social enterprises, we have suggested the development of a Brighton and Hove Social Enterprise trade directory.

Click here to read more background information on Strategic Priority 6.

We have prepared some questions around this Strategic Priority to help you consider your contribution to this conversation:

•What in your opinion is needed locally to help a) start up or b) growing social enterprises to improve their economic impact and use of available resources?

•What would you like to see us all achieve in this priority area as a result of this strategy?

•What does your organisation currently do and what might it do in the future to support social enterprise business growth? This might include services as a support organisation, or for example procuring goods or services from social enterprises.

•What in particular do you think we need to put in place to help social enterprises access procurement opportunities both from public bodies and private businesses?

•Do you have any ideas or observations around this strategic priority we have not yet covered?

How to Post Your Contribution

1. To post your thoughts and ideas to these questions, simply click on 'Start a new thread' below. This thread is your response to our ideas, but can turn into a conversation of its own, as other visitors can reply to it.
2. You can also look at the threads of other visitors [all listed below], reply to them if you wish and click 'yes' or 'no' to let us know if you have found other threads valuable.
3. When you have finished adding your comments please proceed to the next Conversation by clicking the button below. You can return to this conversation at any time in the future and make additions by using the Navigation list in the top left of this window, or returning to the Overview page.

Conversation 5

Theaallison — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:40:51 CST

We have proposed interventions to help more social enterprises adopt appropriate legal forms, such as the Community Interest Company (CIC). We would like to see more trustees and directors engaged in social enterprises from public and private sectors and more users and beneficiaries involved in Social Enterprise management boards.

• For businesses or public sector employees, this may involve becoming a trustee or director on a Social Enterprise management board.

• For social enterprises this may mean working together to establish new standards and find new ways of involving users, beneficiaries or staff in management.

• For research institutions, this could mean exploring democratic structures and their influence on people, planet and profits.

This will involve improving the quality and availability of advice, increasing availability of new management support and better research to test and share management models.

Click here to read more background information on Strategic Priority 5.

We have prepared some questions around this Strategic Priority to help you consider your contribution to this conversation:

•What in your opinion is needed locally to help social enterprises develop appropriate and accountable legal, governance and management structures?

•What would you like to see this strategy achieve in this priority area?

•How does your organisation support activity in this area or what might you undertake?

•What might you personally be able to contribute to developing social enterprises, either as a trustee or director or in any other supporting role?

•What further ideas do you have around this strategic priority that we have not covered?

How to Post Your Contribution

1. To post your thoughts and ideas to these questions, simply click on 'Start a new thread' below. This thread is your response to our ideas, but can turn into a conversation of its own, as other visitors can reply to it.
2. You can also look at the threads of other visitors [all listed below], reply to them if you wish and click 'yes' or 'no' to let us know if you have found other threads valuable.
3. When you have finished adding your comments please proceed to the next Conversation by clicking the button below. You can return to this conversation at any time in the future and make additions by using the Navigation list in the top left of this window, or returning to the Overview page.

Converation 4

Theaallison — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:38:59 CST

We have proposed interventions to help an increased number of local social enterprises gain recognition in national and regional award schemes, along with new, local schemes introduced to celebrate and promote brave, new, effective ideas.

• We have suggested it is particularly important to share good ideas beyond the social enterprise sector, and would like to engage more public and private sector staff on a programme of case study visits to local social enterprises. It is particularly important to create easy routes of engagement for public sector employees, including commissioners, practitioners and organisations currently delivering public services.

• This will contribute to Brighton and Hove's reputation as a pioneering center for social enterprise development, attracting regional and national inward investment to the local economy.

Click here to read more background information on Strategic Priority 4.

We have prepared some questions around this Strategic Priority to help you consider your contribution to this conversation:

•What ideas do you have for ways of encouraging and recognising social entrepreneurs and innovative, successful ideas?

•What activities does or could your organisation undertake to encourage recognition of a) social enterprises in Brighton and Hove b) organisations that support social enterprises c) Brighton and Hove as a pioneering centre for social enterprise development?

•What would you like to see us all achieve in this priority area as a result of this strategy?

•Do you have any ideas or observations around this strategic priority we have not covered?

How to Post Your Contribution

1. To post your thoughts and ideas to these questions, simply click on 'Start a new thread' below. This thread is your response to our ideas, but can turn into a conversation of its own, as other visitors can reply to it.
2. You can also look at the threads of other visitors [all listed below], reply to them if you wish and click 'yes' or 'no' to let us know if you have found other threads valuable.
3. When you have finished adding your comments please proceed to the next Conversation by clicking the button below. You can return to this conversation at any time in the future and make additions by using the Navigation list in the top left of this window, or returning to the Overview page.

Conversation 3

Theaallison — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:36:50 CST

Many people would like to satisfy their social, environmental or ethical concerns in everyday life, whether at work or at home. Ways to do so can include supporting a social enterprise, buying goods or services from a social enterprise, or even starting one up. This kind of activity might interest employees who want to 'put something back' into the community through volunteering, health workers with new ideas about how to better serve their communities or individual professionals who would prefer to use their skills to better social purpose.

To harness this wave of social awareness, we have proposed the develop of a new Social Enterprise Framework that will offer brokerage of skills and support to and from the social enterprise sector, training in partnership planning, more cross-sectoral networking opportunities and a structure for promoting co-operative success. The framework will add value to existing support providers, focusing on ‘partnership planning’ to complement support for business planning.

• For businesses, supporting social enterprises with staff release time or expertise can bring benefits including higher retention rates of staff who are better motivated from experiencing collaborative working, or marketing opportunities from improved local reputation and recognition.

• Public sector bodies can benefit in similar ways to the private sector. In return for management, administration or volunteer time, they can benefit from improved motivation and communications.

• Social enterprises, can attract resources ranging from volunteer support to free professional skills and advice and spare equipment.

• This can lead to a self-sustaining culture of social enterprise – fuelled by lasting co-operative relationships built on the trust established by needs being met on both sides.

We envisage that this Framework could eventually become financially sustainable in its own right.

Click here to read more background information on Strategic Priority 3

We have prepared some questions around this Strategic Priority to help you consider your contribution to this conversation:

• What do you think are the advantages of co-operative partnerships for a) start up social enterprises b) established and growing social enterprises c) organisations that want to support social enterprises?

• What do you feel is needed within the framework to support partnerships and networking between social enterprises and other organisations?

• What role does or might your organisation play in such a framework?

• What benefit might such a framework bring to your organisation?

• What would you like to see us achieve in this priority area as a result of this strategy?

• What other observations or ideas do you have about this strategic priority that we have not covered?

How to Post Your Contribution

1. To post your thoughts and ideas to these questions, simply click on 'Start a new thread' below. This thread is your response to our ideas, but can turn into a conversation of its own, as other visitors can reply to it.
2. You can also look at the threads of other visitors [all listed below], reply to them if you wish and click 'yes' or 'no' to let us know if you have found other threads valuable.
3. When you have finished adding your comments please proceed to the next Conversation by clicking the button below. You can return to this conversation at any time in the future and make additions by using the Navigation list in the top left of this window, or returning to the Overview page.

Conversation 2

Theaallison — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:35:04 CST

We have proposed integrating a range of training and skills development options for social enterprises delivered across multiple support agencies. Support will be sensitive to the varying needs of organisations approaching social enterprise from public, private and voluntary sectors – emphasising both business planning and partnership planning so that new and existing organisations can easily approach viability from different directions.

• For small and start-up social enterprise, we propose easy access to good business planning skills and courses.
• For established and trading social enterprises proposals include include peer support, joint learning, support on inter-trading and help with specific needs and queries.
• For all organisations interested in social enterprise business models, proposals include support to improve access to funding and improve understanding of complex social enterprise financing models.

Also:

• Help to improve the technical capacity of Third sector organisations to work together on bidding for public sector contracts.
• Help to improve the capacity of public sector managers and other partners currently delivering public services. These managers are already accustomed to controlling large budgets and large numbers of staff. A 1:1 coaching based approach may need to be considered.

Click here to read more background information on Strategic Priority 2

We have prepared some questions around this Strategic Priority to help you consider your contribution to this conversation:

•What in your opinion are the essential training and support services needed by a) start up social enterprises b) established and growing social enterprises c) organisations supporting social enterprises?

•What training and support services does your organisation currently provide, or might it provide in the future to help developing social enterprises or the organisations that support them?

•In your opinion what skills needs are not being met for a) start up social enterprises b) established and growing social enterprises c) organisations supporting social enterprises?

•What would you like us all to achieve as a result of this strategy within this priority area?

•What other services and activities do you think would be helpful to move forward this priority area?

How to Post Your Contribution

1. To post your thoughts and ideas to these questions, simply click on 'Start a new thread' below. This thread is your response to our ideas, but can turn into a conversation of its own, as other visitors can reply to it.
2. You can also look at the threads of other visitors [all listed below], reply to them if you wish and click 'yes' or 'no' to let us know if you have found other threads valuable.
3. When you have finished adding your comments please proceed to the next Conversation by clicking the button below. You can return to this conversation at any time in the future and make additions by using the Navigation list in the top left of this window, or returning to the Overview page.

Conversation 1

Theaallison — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:32:51 CST

We have proposed an on going research exercise to track the growth, current impact and potential of social enterprise and social enterprise activity in the city. This would produce a clear picture of what social enterprises do, whom they work with, what goods and services they trade and what benefits they offer to the city.

• For businesses, this could help to identify commercial partners and inspire ways of measuring their own impacts on people and the environment.

• For public sector bodies, this can provide a clear picture of public benefits, for example available work placements that can improve employment and skills levels in groups disadvantaged in the labour market.

• For social enterprises, the research would provide vital market information and help to identify new partners, by making new opportunities more accessible.

Co-operation between research institutions and an increasing number of major stakeholders will help to match opportunities with beneficiary groups.

Click here to read more background information on Strategic Priority 1.

We have prepared some questions around this Strategic Priority to help you consider your contribution to this conversation:

•What information and research do you think we need to a) better understand the activity and impact of social enterprise b) to help developing social enterprises and the organisations that support them?

•What part does your organisation currently play, or might play in the future to in improve the research base for social enterprise activity and impact in the city?

•How could your organisation benefit from better information on social enterprise activity in Brighton and Hove?

•What would you like us all to achieve as a result of this strategy in this priority area?
Do you have any ideas or observations around this strategic priority we have not covered?

How to Post Your Contribution

1. To post your thoughts and ideas to these questions, simply click on 'Start a new thread' below. This thread is your response to our ideas, but can turn into a conversation of its own, as other visitors can reply to it.
2. You can also look at the threads of other visitors [all listed below], reply to them if you wish and click 'yes' or 'no' to let us know if you have found other threads valuable.
3. When you have finished adding your comments please proceed to the next Conversation by clicking the button below. You can return to this conversation at any time in the future and make additions by using the Navigation list in the top left of this window, or returning to the Overview page.

What is Social Enterprise?

Theaallison — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:25:16 CST

The text below is the definition of social enterprise used in this project. The definition is drawn from the key characteristics of a social enterprise that were identified by a group of social entrepreneurs in a workshop at the University of Brighton held in 2006.

While other definitions exist, it is useful to recognise that a solid consensus has yet to emerge around a definition of social enterprise. Social Enterprises can have many different organisational forms and work in many areas, with varying dependence on grant income.

Examples of social enterprises include the Eden Project in Cornwall, Brighton’s Wood Recycling Project, the Big Issue Magazine and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurants.

The characteristics below help to paint a picture of an ‘ideal’ social enterprise. They can act as benchmarks against which a social enterprise can measure its positive impact in relation to people, planet and profit – and are also the qualities which attract and inspire wider social enterprise activity from other sectors.

You can join a Conversation about these characteristics at the bottom of this page

An authentic social enterprise has a clear social purpose.

Social enterprises are mainly set up to meet a social or environmental need. The social purpose may be to support a specific community or group of people. Social values and beneficiaries need to be clearly stated and shared by stakeholders both internally and externally.

A viable social enterprise draws income from trading

Most social enterprises draw income from a variety of sources. However, a continuous level of trading is a shared characteristic of all social enterprises. Trading income may include selling goods in a shop, producing goods in a factory, providing paid-for services, or securing funds from contracts with the public sector.

A smart social enterprise gets free and in-kind support from stakeholders

Many social enterprises survive because they are able to develop creative and often non-financial partnerships with private and public sector organisations. This might involve using volunteers, getting free equipment donated by supporters, and getting free or heavily discounted professional services from local supporters.

A dynamic social enterprise is enterprise orientated

A successful social enterprise requires determination and creativity to achieve a social objective in an innovative way. This might mean finding ways to involve staff, volunteers and supporters in developing new ways of raising revenue to meet the organisation’s social purpose.

A transparent social enterprise re-invests its profits to meet its social objectives

Social enterprises are ‘asset locked’ so that profits can not be distributed to private individuals or shareholders. There are several legal forms that support this, but at a basic level, the social enterprise will need to have a constitution that demonstrates how profits are going to be used in support of the social aims and values. This underwrites the credibility of the social purpose.

An accountable social enterprise works locally first, so that its impacts can be measured within its own community

“Seeing is believing” is an adage that has particular potency in the context of social enterprises. Many of the best social enterprises have their staff, social beneficiaries and customers in the same geographical area. This makes it easier for more people from a greater range of organisations and stakeholder groups to participate in running a social enterprise.

We have developed the following questions to encourage debate and to enable the broader community to help us decide the priorities for this strategy. Please join or start a conversation below

•What comments or thoughts do you have regarding these six characteristics?

•How helpful are these characteristics in understanding Social Enterprise business models?

•How might these definitions support your work as a developing social enterprise or an organisation supporting social enterprise?

How to Post Your Contribution

1. To post your thoughts and ideas to these questions, simply click on 'Start a new thread' below. This thread is your response to our ideas, but can turn into a conversation of its own, as other visitors can reply to it.
2. You can also look at the threads of other visitors [all listed below], reply to them if you wish and click 'yes' or 'no' to let us know if you have found other threads valuable.
3. When you have finished adding your comments please continue to explore the site. You can return to this conversation at any time in the future and make additions by using the Navigation list in the top left of this window, or returning to the Overview page.

6 Maximise Accountability and Local Economic Impact

Olmaxwell — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:28:51 CST

Enhance reputation by efficient engagement with local resources from all sectors and links with other citywide strategies. Increase local opportunities for contacts, procurement contracts and policies to boost the local economy and demonstrate success on a regional level.

Rationale:

The purpose of this priority is to ensure that existing resources and opportunities are fully exploited, and that any new resources have the maximum possible positive impact for Brighton and Hove.

Social enterprises can be very good at reaching out to local private companies and public sector bodies but more could be done to ensure that these different kinds of organisations know about each other and understand how they could work together. Acting locally also helps to improve the accountability of social enterprises because it makes it easier to focus on established, local needs. Partners, supporters, clients and customers can more easily see the benefits of social enterprise activity for themselves. Social Enterprises need to maintain high standards of conduct in order to sustain a good local reputation.

Increasing the use of local resources means creating a context for social enterprises to work locally on several levels. This includes increasing the political capital directed towards social enterprises, increasing the total number of organisations interested in engaging with social enterprises, and increasing commercial opportunities for social enterprises to trade with public sector and private sector businesses, as well as networks of local customers.

Key issues:

Increasing range and number of organisations actively enhancing the impact of social enterprises on the city. This entails developing easy routes of engagement to improve the contact between social enterprises, public and private sector bodies and other Third sector organisations.
Increasing the number of procurement and contracting opportunities available to the social enterprise sector from both the public sector and the private sector.
Ensuring that the needs of the social enterprise sector are reflected in other citywide strategies and plans so that new funding opportunities are exploited and directed to key support issues and needs.

Activities:

Increase the range and number of organisations engaging with social enterprise. It is particularly important to engage more public sector bodies in cross-sectoral events and discussions. Improve brokerage to ensure more public sector groups and individuals are engaged in discussions that are already taking place between Third sector organisations and businesses.
Hold joint events and seminars on procurement and contracting. Increase opportunities for procurement officers to meet and talk to social enterprises.
Development of a social enterprise trade directory.

Potential partners:

Brighton and Hove City Council
Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership
Working Together Project
Brighton and Hove Community Initiatives
Brighton and Hove PCT / NHS
University of Brighton
Community Universities Partnership Programme (CUPP)

Indicators

Business growth in the social enterprise sector, measured by collective turnover of social enterprises.
Seminars and events conducted
Trade directory developed and launched
Social enterprise addressed in strategies (Business infrastructure improved, social enterprises used to achieve social, economic and environmental targets).

Potential Outcomes:

The 2007 mapping exercises estimated the total worth of Brighton and Hove's social enterprise sector at £21 Million. Accounting for an increase in the size of the sector, growth within existing organisations and a greater breadth of coverage for future mapping exercises results in a projected value of the sector of over £60 Million by 2013.

5 Improve Transparency

Olmaxwell — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:27:59 CST

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.

Project History

Olmaxwell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:20:02 CST

The Brighton and Hove Social Enterprise Strategy has been commissioned by Brighton and Hove City Council in order to offer guidance on the growth and development of the social enterprise sector in the city of Brighton and Hove. It is a wide brief with a wide range of organisations from the public, private and third sectors involved. The City Council are keen to recognise that all these sectors can both contribute to, and benefit from, a Social Enterprise Strategy that delivers social, economic and environmental benefits to the city.

Strategic development is being led by the Business Community Partnership (BCP). This is because BCP has extensive experience supporting social enterprises in the city, growing out of Routes to Social Enterprise, a collaboration with the University of Brighton which began in 2005.

BCP and the City Council established a Steering Group to be a catalyst for mobilising the involvement of different groups of stakeholders from different sectors. The role of the Steering Group is to endorse the strategic approach and nurture ideas amongst the wider networks of stakeholders.

Minutes of steering group meetings, consultations and project documents can be downloaded here

Four stages of project development

1 Background research, feasibility and first round of stakeholder consultation (June to December 2007)
Background research, concept development and initial stakeholder consultation
Click here to read the background reports

2 Creating Momentum (January – March 2008)
Creation and distribution of strategic summary and Wiki invitation to a wider network of stakeholders. Thestrategic summary outlines the approach and also invites stakeholders to contribute to an on-line wiki website. The website offers a framework for contributions, a structure for recommendations that for the City Council, and a home for the background research that has informed the strategy.

3 Completing an effective final proposal (March 2008)
This will capture opportunities and activities, primarily for Brighton and Hove City Council, but in a format that makes it easy for connections to take place between other groups of stakeholders as well.

4 Hitting the ground.
From April 2008, the proposals in the strategy will be delivered to theCity Council and activities can begin to be put in to action.

3 Encourage Co-operative Thinking

Olmaxwell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:09:01 CST

Introduce more considered partnership planning to increase the opportunities for effective, need-driven partnerships between social enterprises and private/public sector organisations. Create better regional/national links and improve networking opportunities

Rationale

The purpose of this priority is to improve co-operative thinking city wide as a means of increasing social enterprise activity and therefore access to the resources needed for development and growth of the sector.

Social enterprises are often able to mobilise considerable resources and extend their social impacts by thinking co-operatively about resources and support that can be secured in-kind or at low cost from private businesses and public sector bodies. These resources are not just concentrated in large organisations - they can also be mobilised from a large numbers of small and medium-sized organisations. Underlying the priority is a unique approach that suggests that with the right support there are more resources and bigger benefits available than are currently being exploited.

Research suggests that the benefits are difficult to mobilise because social enterprises are unaware of what opportunities are available, what the different parties are likely to gain from working together, and how individuals with specific needs can approach one another as potential partners.

For a private sector business, the challenge is to consider what may be gained in return for support. Many businesses already involved recognise the considerable pay-back in terms of staff motivation and engagement, improved communication and exceptional local publicity.

Public sector employers could also benefit from this activity. It is worth noting that public sector bodies do not just contribute through regulation and commissioning other groups activity. They too have much to offer in terms of management and administration skills, and much to gain as employers from improved motivation and communication that co-operative thinking can bring.

Key issues:

Ensure effective brokerage between social enterprises looking for support and potential providers of this support. Clear, well considered needs can be easily met provided that the right contacts can be found at the right time.
Ensure that training is available for 'partnership planning', covering areas such as how to approach potential partners and how to manage mutually beneficial relationships. This means that potential partners can work effectively together without having to go through a third party broker as they develop skills and begin to engage in wider networks.
Ensure a structure is established to promote co-operative success, engaging more organisations in a central Social Enterprise Framework to fuel long-term sustainability.
Ensure that opportunities for growth and development are not just local, but also provide easy routes to regional, national and international social enterprise and business networks.
Ensure opportunities for effective, need driven-partnerships in Brighton and Hove add value to specialist providers, such as Business Link, University of Brighton and others.
Improving links with infrastructure and support bodies, including the Chamber of Commerce, Wired Sussex, Business Links, Community and Voluntary Sector Forum and others. This is to ensure that the experience in the social enterprise sector can impact on the private and public sectors.
Ensuring that these issues are united in a programme of activities that gives organisations of different sizes and sectors easy routes to improving co-operative thinking and partnership planning.

Activities:

Improve the capacity of brokerage bodies in the city. This may involve introducing a Social Enterprise Framework to ensure that organisations of different sizes, and different sectors, get what they need from working in co-operatively.
Enhance the role of the Community University Partnership Programme so that academic resources can be matched with social enterprises that have specific research needs.
Increase the capacity for regular training in the city that will enhance the quality and quantity of brokerage between social enterprises and public and private sector bodies. This will encourage public sector bodies engage in this training on the same basis as organisations from other sectors.
Extend training outside the Brighton and Hove region to improve the possibilities for matching local social enterprises with support on a regional and national level. This may entail working closely with regional partners, on joint projects, particularly the South East Social Enterprise Network.
Increase the number of joint events, seminars and workshops conducted in collaboration with sector-specific infrastructure groups.

Potential partners:

Uniting these activities within a Social Enterprise Framework ensures that a wide range of partners get what they need from co-operative thinking. The Framework would have to work in close partnership with existing infrastructure and support organisations in the city. Key partners would include:
Brighton and Hove City Council
Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership
Education Business Partnership
Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce
University of Brighton - ProftNet
Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP)
South East Social Enterprise Network
SEEDA
Voluntary and Community Sector support organisations

Indicators:

Number of projects brokered, value of resources exchanged, numbers of case studies prepared
Numbers of academic partnerships with the University of Brighton
Number of training sessions conducted and attendance figures
Presentations and seminars conducted with infrastructure bodies
A 'meeting place' for the model established and running

Potential outcomes

A feasibility planning tool has been prepared as part the background research to this strategy. This has indicated that a Social Enterprise Framework can engage 500 organisations by 2013, and generate over £1 Million in in-kind resources exchanged every year. The Framework would work with 200 social enterprises, 50 Community Groups, 40 public sector bodies and 210 private sector businesses of various sizes.

4 Inspire Entrepreneurialism

Olmaxwell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:57:38 CST

Encourage innovation to stimulate business growth by getting behind brave, new ideas and inspiring wider involvement by mobilising regional and national recognition of achievements

Rationale:

Social entrepreneurs are good at pioneering new approaches across a range of social and environmental issues. Helping these ideas take root and spread can be more challenging. Therefore, creating a support infrastructure that encourages innovation and helps good ideas to spread is essential if the impact of social enterprise is to be improved. The purpose of this priority is to ensure widespread access to and understanding of the best social enterprising activity in Brighton and Hove and to create a context for good ideas to be adopted and celebrated.

Key issues:

Ensuring social enterprises support one another with new practices, approaches and ideas.
Ensuring that Brighton and Hove’s activity and reputation is shared and celebrated regionally, nationally and internationally.
Ensuring that the best socially enterprising activity in Brighton and Hove is recognised beyond the Third sector locally. It is particularly important to create easy routes of engagement for public sector employees, including commissioners, practitioners and organisations currently delivering public services.

Activities:

Create a Brighton and Hove social enterprise network with the objective of improving the quality of social enterprise through mutual support. Possible activities may include, events, an 'ideas bank', and a case-study library linked to an awards scheme.
Introduce a suite of new social enterprise awards. This could include new awards within the local sector, and the introduction of social enterprise categories in existing business award schemes, such as the Brighton and Hove Business Awards and the Sussex Business Awards.
Increase the number of local organisations winning awards and achieving national standards. This may require some resource to promote the availability of award schemes and support organisations in preparing applications.
Introduce a programme of visits and case studies targeted at public sector employees.

Potential partners:

Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership
University of Brighton
Business Links
Regional Social Enterprise Networks
Common Purpose
Sussex Business Awards
Brighton and Hove Business Awards
SEEDA

Indicators:

Network created
Award schemes introduced
Number of awards achieved
Visits and tours conducted and evaluated

Potential Outcomes:

An increased number of local social enterprises will be winning national and regional award schemes. New, local schemes will be introduced to celebrate and promote brave, effective, new ideas.

For example: by 2013 more local social enterprises can be in a stronger position to win prestigious award schemes such as Enterprising Solutions and SEEDA’s Entrepreneur of the Year.

2 Increase Viability

Olmaxwell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:52:00 CST

Improve access to training and skills development, to build the capacity of existing and start up social enterprises. This includes business skills training, peer support, skills development, better information on funding and finance and support on public service contracting

Rationale:

Social enterprises have the need for both for generic business skills and business development needs with specific relevance to the sector. Basic business planning skills are particularly important for smaller and start-up social enterprises. Established and trading social enterprises require different skills, including peer support, joint learning, inter-trading, help with specific needs and queries.

Issues that are particularly relevant to the social enterprise sector include finding finance, and skills needed to draw socially enterprising practices into the delivery of public services.

The problem regarding finance is not so much the availability of funds. There is an increasing availability of start-up grants and cheap loans for social enterprises. There is also an increasing availability of investment capital. (see this guide published by the Social Enterprise Coalition). The greater challenge is how to design and manage a funding profile based on a combination of sources and improving the confidence of social enterprises to apply for loans and commercial investment. This problem requires availability of better advice and support to understand and take on financial risks.

The challenges for organisations seeking to develop public services are more complicated. Support needs to be available both for Third sector groups seeking to collect public sector contracts and to existing delivery bodies in both the public and private sectors who may wish to adopt social enterprise models in order to remain competitive. The context for this activity is addressed under other priorities, which emphasise the need to improve understanding of the social enterprise sector and develop skills for organisations to improve partnership planning. However, specialist capacity is also needed to encourage thinking on issues such as managing change and adopting new business models.

Support therefore needs to be sensitive to the varying needs of organisations approaching social enterprises from different directions.

Key issues:

Easy access to good business planning skills and courses. 31% of small social enterprises identified business planning as a strategic priority for their organisations. It is important to ensure that this training is appropriate to the social enterprise sector, and links start up social enterprises with the wider social enterprise community.
Established and trading social enterprises require a different set of business skills. These include peer support, joint learning, support on inter-trading and help with specific needs and queries.
Support to improve access to funding and improve understanding of social enterprise financing models. This requires the development of specialist expertise in social enterprise finance models.
Improving the technical capacity of Third Sector organisations to work together on bidding for public sector contracts. This may require the development of technical brokerage and partnership capacity, focusing on how to manage shared back-office functions and how to negotiate the division of contracts between several partners.
Improving the capacity of public sector managers and other partners currently delivering public services may require a different model. These managers are already accustomed to controlling large budgets and large numbers of staff. A 1:1 coaching based approach may be more appropriate in initial stages.

Activities:

Repeat the Graduate Certificate in Social Enterprise at the University of Brighton so that start-up social enterprises can develop business plans and build networks with peers.
Roll out the University of Brighton's ProfitNet model for more established social enterprises. Possibly extend this to involve managers of organsations currently delivering public services and considering a shift to social enterprise models.
Ensure that expertise on funding social enterprise is available in the city. This could be provided free to start-up organisations, or charged to established and larger groups.
Pilot a coaching scheme for public sector managers seeking to develop social enterprises.

Potential partners:

University of Brighton Business School
University of Brighton Business Services
Chamber of Commerce
City College
Local business advisers / financial advisers
Consider arrangements with local coaching organisations.

Indicators:

Students graduating from programme and evaluation
ProfitNet graduates and evaluation
Support delivered and evaluated

Potential outcomes:

Experience from the Graduate Certificate in Social Enterprise, run in 2006/7 suggests that there is a market for at least 25 places on start-up business planning courses per year. Achieving this number on an ongoing basis would help improve the long-term viability of a social enterprise culture.

Other outcomes will be identified as new partners step forward as social enterprise opportunities grow and new partnership develop.

1 Knowledge of Opportunity

Olmaxwell — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:48:33 CST

Improve understanding of social enterprise and its impact on people, planet and profit. Ensure that current opportunities can be fully exploited whilst improving the quality of need-driven research to measure triple bottom line impacts.

Rationale

The purpose of this priority is to set the context for improving the impact of social enterprise in Brighton and Hove. An initial study was conducted in 2007 and began to show the potential of the sector, however there is little information on trends over time or on how the social enterprise sector is developing. Moreover, some parts of the social enterprise sector are not adequately reflected in the existing research. In particular, co-operatives, housing associations and organisations seeking to develop as social enterprises from within the public sector have proved difficult to reach. Further analysis and improved research that engages with a wider range of social enterprises is therefore needed.

A second important priority is to ensure that once collected, information on the potential and actual impact of social enterprise is understood and exploited by a range of partners city-wide.

A key outcome of this priority will be that any agency or organisation that may benefit from working with social enterprises, for either commercial or social reasons, will be able to do so quickly and easily and be able to evaluate this activity in social, economic and environmental terms.

Key issues

Improve the measurement of social, economic and environmental impacts.
Extending the coverage of the 2007 mapping exercise to include and engage the whole social enterprise sector.
Ensuring that indicators and opportunities are reflected and used in city plans and development strategies.

Activities

Review the 2007 mapping exercise to ensure that simple, meaningful social, economic and environmental indicators are included without creating an onerous burden on social enterprises completing the survey.
Repeat the mapping exercise on an annual basis, ensuring wider coverage in the social enterprise and potential social enterprise sector.
Identify and involve key stakeholders in public sector bodies, particularly the City Council and NHS Primary Care Trust in the above exercise.

Potential partners

Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership
University of Brighton, particularly with regards to research expertise and possible links with the SIMPLE programme.
Brighton and Hove City Council (several departments, including Economic Development and Voluntary Sector Unit)
Brighton and Hove NHS Primary Care Trust.

Indicators

Mapping data and reports
Academic papers
Data reflected in city plans and strategies
Potential social impacts are realised (for example work placements are used)

Potential outcomes

The outcomes of ongoing research will improve the knowledge of both opportunities for social enterprise activity and their subsequent impacts; many of which are not yet known. Social entrepreneurship and the dynamic of social enterprise activity will also invite new practices and impacts that can be captured in this research. This will lead to a deeper understanding of the benefits within these business models.

A tangible example based on the 2007 mapping exercise suggests that the average social enterprise offers 4 work placements per year. (Many offer just one placement or fewer. Some offer many more). If 200 Social enterprises are engaged in the strategy by 2013 (see strategic Priority 3), this could offer 800 annual job placements to contribute to improving employment and skills levels in the city within five years.

Other outcomes will be progressively identified as the research takes place.

Thanks and goodbye

Olmaxwell — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 08:49:26 CST

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Strategic Priorities

Olmaxwell — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:56:48 CST

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