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ACTIVITY PLAN:

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE IN BEDFORDSHIRE & LUTON2006- 2010

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FIRST DRAFT

Social Enterprise in Beds & Luton

May 2006

ContentsPage

1. Introduction 3

2. The scope of ‘social enterprise’ and its importance 4

3. Social Enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton 8

4. Priorities, policy links and outcomes 15

5. Action Plans 22

6. Programme Management 27

Appendices

1: Defining Social enterprise 28

2: Report on Consultative Conference, The Rufus Centre, Flitwick, 9th May 2006 32

3: Policy Relationships 40

4: Example Report derived from a social enterprise membership survey (Development Trusts Association) 52

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1. Introduction

1. This Activity Plan has been drawn up as a result of discussions between the Bedfordshire and Luton ‘Investing in Communities’ Board and the East of

England Development Agency (EEDA). These discussions are leading towards an agreed programme of action for the area under the Investing in Communities Programme which covers a number of different priorities. Social Enterprise is a priority where it has been agreed that further work is needed in

order to set out a clear assessment of the current position in the area and to set a direction for future investment and action.

2. This Activity Plan is an initial attempt to achieve this by: drawing upon already published research into social enterprise in the

area involving important stakeholders in the development of a set of priority

themes setting out clear action plans which will guide the development of social

enterprise locally and provide the foundations for further research, development and planning.

3. The Plan (which runs from October 2006 to March 2010) has been formulated under the guidance of the Bedfordshire and Luton Social Enterprise Steering Group (SESG) which is generally made up of representatives of the main organisations and agencies supporting local social enterprise development. This group is the successor body to that which oversaw the local European –funded ‘Equal’ Project which has played an important part in raising awareness of social enterprise, providing a range of training and practical help to organisations pursuing social enterprise and encouraging greater collaboration amongst the various support agencies. This project ended in March 2006 and is in the course of being reviewed.

4. A Consultative Conference was held in early May 2006 to involve support agencies and social enterprise organisations in discussion of the current position locally and development of ideas for actions under a number of priority themes. This was attended by approximately 40 people (the results of the group work discussions are set out in Appendix 2).

5. The Plan begins by defining ‘social enterprise’ and setting out why supporting social enterprise is important. This is followed by a summary analysis of the available evidence on the state of social enterprise in the Bedfordshire and Luton area, the types and levels of support available and the position with regard to involvement in public sector procurement of goods and

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services, principally drawing on previous research work, supplemented by a number of interviews and visits to ensure the information is broadly up to date.

6. This evidence is used to consider the major issues affecting the development of social enterprise locally, and go on to establish a set of four priorities for action which are linked to other major associated policies and plans at national, regional and local levels. A summary list of proposed activities over the next 3 1/2 years is shown for each priority. The expected outcomes of the overall activity plan are also described.

7. These four priority themes are then developed into a set of action plans for specific initiatives in the coming 18 months, subject where appropriate, to resources being made available under the Investing in Communities programme or from other sources. An initial estimate of likely costs and other matters important for development and delivery is included.

8. Finally, the arrangements for managing this programme of action are set out, including responsibility for delivery, monitoring and evaluation and arrangements for ‘proofing’ activity to maximize the benefits to rural areas as well as urban and for other specific priority groups such as women and people from black and ethnic minorities.

2. The scope of ‘Social Enterprise’ and its importance

9. A part of the ‘Social Economy’ (or ‘Third Sector’), Social Enterprises are essentially bodies with social aims and objectives, are often ‘owned by’ as well as accountable to those running or benefiting from them and any profits or surpluses are usually re-invested in the pursuit of the organisation’s social aims. Social Enterprise cannot be defined by any particular legal form- Companies Limited by Guarantee, Co-operatives (both those set up by employees and those benefiting a wider community), Community Interest Companies, Charitable Trusts etc. could all be deemed to be social enterprises.

10. ‘Full Social Enterprises’ adopt business-like approaches and methods to their work and are enterprising in developing the means to fulfil their aims, including diversification of their sources of income, development of assets to provide security as well as service delivery opportunities and seeking new ways of generating income or in other ways pursuing their aims. This can often include combining different streams of activity to secure several community benefits e.g. recruiting long term unemployed people and training them to provide a waste recycling service under contracts with a local authority, JobCentre Plus and the Learning and Skills Council.

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11. But the wider Voluntary and Community Sector is also involved in social enterprise activity. Any form of contract or agreement with a purchaser of services or goods which is specific in its expectations (of performance, quality, outputs etc.) means that that VCS organisation is trading (it is selling a specific service to a particular purchaser and in turn recruiting the staff and finding the materials it needs to do this). Appendix 1 sets out a more extensive definition of social enterprise..12. Government has stated its support for social enterprise development (it’s ‘Strategy for Success’ was published by the DTI in 2002- ref. 3) and there has been much published about its role in public sector procurement, including the publication of guides to procurement (both for social enterprises- ref. 4; and for public bodies- ref. 1).

13. Over recent years a number of initiatives have been taken to support the setting up and growth of social enterprises, including the Adventure Capital Fund, FutureBuilders and various other Community Development Finance Initiatives (CDFI’s). Some of these are explicitly addressing the building of capacity in the voluntary and community sector (VCS), to undertake greater levels of public service contracting.

14. The term social enterprise can be used both as a way of describing a particular organisation and as a type of activity undertaken by voluntary and community organisations who might not otherwise describe themselves as a social enterprise. Diagram 1 below shows how within the social economy there is a range of organisations from ‘full social enterprises’ (who operate largely as businesses) through to voluntary and community groups (who may have little if any income generated from trading activity). This diagram shows how these two ends of a spectrum have traditionally relied on different mixes of resources (represented by the different thicknesses of arrows). The traditional voluntary and community sector relies more on volunteering and philanthropy/ grants as major sources, whereas social enterprises tend to rely more on income from trading or through

use of an asset (though the latter is still relatively underdeveloped).

15. This diagram captures, therefore, a wide range of activity and organisational types, all of which might involve some level of ‘social enterprise’. Defining ‘social enterprise’ in this way encourages all organisations in the social economy to consider enterprise activities as a legitimate part of their income- generation and does not stigmatise those where this is a relatively small part of their total resources - as somehow being ‘inferior’ to those operating more as businesses. It also enables support for social enterprise to recognise that income from trading or assets is dynamic and may at a point in time be a growing or declining part of an organisation's total resource base. This means that support for social enterprise will need to be well matched to the circumstances, culture and style of a wide range of different organisations.

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Diagram 1: Social Enterprise and resources in the Social Economy

Source: “Support for Social Enterprise in Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole” (SEDnet- October 2005)

The Social Economy

Time and skills from the

community

Income from trading, e.g.

contracts

Public & philanthropic

fundingIncome from asset base

Voluntary and community sector

Social enterprises

16. This range of support can also be conceptualised in terms of the stages reached on different ‘journeys’ of development by social economy organisations. It is probably true to say that most social economy organisations are seeking to do two things:

Maximizing the ‘community benefit’ of what they do Achieving relative ‘self sufficiency’ in financial terms through a more diverse

income base (so minimizing the risks associated with over- reliance on a limited set of income streams).

17. Some social economy organisations take a more passive approach to these questions and are perhaps content to under-achieve their full potential or perhaps continue to rely on a supply of grants and volunteering. This position may be entirely appropriate for some organisations, but for others their aspirations mean that they strive or seek help to achieve higher levels of community benefit and greater self sufficiency, usually through increasing their trading and asset –based income and reducing reliance on a more limited (and perhaps short term) set of grants or volunteer help.

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18. Diagram 2 shows in simplified form how these social economy organisations can be located at different points in a matrix of ‘community benefit’ and ‘self sufficiency’ and how this affects the sorts of support and help they might require if that are to improve their performance on both.

Diagram 2: Mapping and supporting social economy organisations

Self sufficiency

High Community Impact

‘New kids on the block’-ready to develop impact and reduce grant dependency

‘Effective bidders’ -consider move to greater sustainability

‘Thresholders’ - increase impact, diversify income/build enterprise activity?

‘Tight ships’- improve community impact and possibly move towards self sufficiency

‘Stars’ – possibly move towards greater self sufficiency

Towards high community impact and self sufficiency

19. Why is social enterprise important? To an extent the arguments often put forward reflect those to support social economy organisations more generally, but there are also some arguments which are based on the particular benefits of an ‘enterprising approach’:

Plugging gaps in services; responding to market/service failure; innovation to meet new needs

Generating income and assets to support social aims- supporting the long term viability of voluntary and community organizations and making other resources ‘go further’

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Multi-faceted approach to social benefit- e.g. confidence, skills development and services

Local multipliers- generating wealth and keeping it local

Developing an enterprising attitude in organisations- greater readiness to innovate and take risks

Community based- responsive to local needs and priorities

Can be better value for money than services organised centrally or along traditional lines.

20. Social enterprise nationally and locally is already making a significant contribution to neighbourhood renewal and regeneration, including local economic development and they are increasingly playing a role in the delivery of public services, based on best value principles and taking into account the full worth of what they contribute, beyond delivering a specific service. However, the recent research on procurement locally has shown that social enterprises experience barriers, both perceived and real, if they are searching for a greater role in the delivery of public service contracts.

3. Social Enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton

21. As already noted in the introduction, this Activity Plan has been based mainly upon available research on social enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton. A recent study by the author(‘Social Enterprise and Public Sector Procurement- Report for the Bedfordshire and Luton Voluntary & Community Sector Infrastructure

Consortium’ - Community Renewal, December 2005) reviewed previous research and updated this through interviews with a mixture of support agencies and social enterprises. In addition a selection of interviews and visits to stakeholders, a consultative conference (see Appendix 2), as well as the findings from the OCSI and Roger Tym and Partners (‘Way Forward for IIC’- January 2006) have been reviewed and are broadly consistent with the findings reported below. . Social Enterprise activity22. Research by The Guild in 2001 found that compared to other parts of the East of England, there were a smaller number of social enterprises operating in Bedfordshire and Luton (around 106, representing 9.6% of the regional total (‘Mapping the Social Economy in the East of England’ -The Guild/EEDA, 2001).

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23. Further research by The Guild in 2003/04 (‘Social Enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton- A Report from the Guild’ -March 2004) involved interviewing 25 social enterprises and found that:

Most of the organisations interviewed were relatively small Many had a community or voluntary background There was lack of an evident commercial or entrepreneurial ethic in the

sample, with many reliant on grant funding and focused on this as their main source of income

Less than half those interviewed were receiving any external business support, but where they were there was a strong relationship between the type of organisation and the usual sources of support; most voluntary and community groups obtained this from agencies in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), whereas the more business orientated were more likely to be using business-based support organisations

There was little evidence from the sample of aspirations for growth Many of the organisations struggled to identify with the term ‘social

enterprise’ and were unclear about the role of the social enterprise sector. A sub sample of organisations looking to grow felt that the existing support

agencies were not relevant to their needs because of a focus on supporting new start ups

Further interviews with other organisations thought to have ‘growth potential’ failed to identify any strong potential

24. A survey of voluntary and community organisations undertaken by Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity (as part of the ‘Voluntrade East’ project- ‘Beyond grants-sustainability for the voluntary and community sector in the East of England -COVER, December 2003), sought to establish the extent to which VCS organisations were already involved in trading, their use of support services and future aspirations for trading activity. A postal questionnaire resulted in a response of 28 (4%). The research found that most of these respondents were already involved in trading activity of some kind, including:

Community Transport Savings and Loans Café/ catering Recycling. Retail Health care support Learning and training for disabled Counselling Services Training and development Pre school education, nursery Community Arts, crafts Social Support Accommodation, incl. Homeless

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25. Around three quarters planned to increase their trading activity and about the same proportion mentioned finance and funding as a major obstacle to fulfilling their growth aspirations. The main conclusions from the research in respect of VCS organisations and trading were:

1. ‘Trading is part of a wide range of income generating activity with much reliance placed on grants.

2. Most respondents see sustainability as ‘more of the same’- i.e. trading as a supplement to other income from grants, donations etc. rather than as a potentially more important activity which can help to generate income to support social objectives.

3. Most respondents generate trading income from their core activities.4. Once they have started trading, organisations continue with this.5. Most organisations have no plans to become totally self sufficient within the

foreseeable future.6. One organisation wanted more information on setting up a social enterprise

in relation to its core activity.7. The most important support for respondents was funding from local

authorities and other sources. Other advice and support was obtained from a range of organisations within and beyond the County.

8. Most respondents saw continuity of grant funding as the key factor affecting their ability to continue trading.

9. Until recently there was no direct, business –based support for VCS organisations but Business Link have since set up a new advisor post- but there appears to be a lack of awareness of this among the respondents and whilst a small number of respondents are members of the Chamber of Commerce, in the majority of cases VCS organisations will not see Business Link or similar organisations as their ‘natural’ source’ of advice and support.’ (Beyond grants-sustainability for the voluntary and community sector in the East of England -COVER, December 2003)

26. The research carried out for the recent Procurement Study included interviews with a range of support bodies. The report found that it was not possible to conclude from these interviews that the amount of social enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton today had grown significantly from the position two- three years ago. However, it did conclude that there appears to have been a period of further investment in support for social enterprise development from a number of bodies and there is a feeling that many VCS organisations are now more aware of what social enterprise is and what they could do to improve their sources of income from such activities. It also found that some organisations have undoubtedly developed their internal management capacity and are looking at trading opportunities or have started to develop these (e.g. generating income from new community premises). The potential for some VCS organisations to play a greater part in public service provision was also evident from the interviews with a selection of those already involved or interested in pursuing this route. The main findings were:

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‘There is a wide range of VCS organisations operating locally- some locally based, others part of regional/national bodies

Some have relationships with the public sector in terms of short term grants, albeit in the form of more demanding Service Level Agreements (SLA’s)- and some do not want or are not prepared to move away from this

Some organisations are already participating in competitive tendering Some are considering a role as an ‘umbrella’ body to support the formation

and development of new social enterprises to meet identified needs/ opportunities

Others are not quite sure how to ‘break into’ the explicit provision of public services or have met difficulties on the way

There is an opportunity to demonstrate the added value that VCS organisations can often bring to public procurement- e.g. developing user involvement and control as a basis for demonstrating potential advantages over public/private provision.’

Support for Social Enterprise27. The Guild research (2004 op cit) found that social enterprise support was being provided through three main types of organisation:

Voluntary and Community Sector-based agencies Business-based agencies Opportunity-based organisations (often working within a specific market or

field of service)

28. The research indicated ‘a general lack of awareness about the role of a social enterprise by many of the support organisations interviewed and thus many were unable to offer any type of specialist support.’ (pages 5-6) Eight organisations were able to offer one to one advice specifically targeted to social enterprise, whilst six had specialist training provisions. It also found that support in the form of finance was not very well known or accessed, the focus being on grants.

29. The report concluded that there were six key organisations ‘taking a leading role’ in social enterprise support in Bedfordshire and Luton: Chamber of Commerce- Business Link Voluntary Action Luton Luton Borough Council Cranfield Trust Luton & Dunstable Innovation Centre Social Firms Eastern Region

30. In addition Bedfordshire County Council and Bedford Borough Council were found to be playing more of a strategic and funding role in the SSEER project. An interview for the current Activity Plan reveals that the University of Luton runs one of several innovation centres in Luton which have played a part in helping

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the formation of new social enterprises- for example around 18 social enterprises have been created in the last three- four years, including some that have been developed out of or alongside commercial enterprises, an interesting ‘spin off’ of supporting social enterprises alongside these commercial organisations. More recently the Spires Innovation Centre has developed an interactive, web-based programme of support (‘Devices’) for small enterprises, which has been extended to community centres in Luton and offers the potential for a ‘virtual innovation centre’ for them and other organisations not physically located in The Spires or other innovation centres. Recent developments of new innovation/ incubation centres in Bedford and Luton also offer opportunities for social enterprises to operate alongside other enterprises, though in some cases these need to be involved in more technologically/ knowledge based industries.

31. The Guild research also found: A concentration of support services in Luton A lack of networking by support providers Lack of evidence of collaboration to promote social enterprise and increase

the size of the market

32. The more recent research on procurement reviewed the work of a selection of the agencies and attempted to get their perspective on the local social enterprise scene, issues and problems for the VCS and social enterprise in relation to public service procurement, information on the current support services they offer and views on future support.

33. The following organisations were interviewed: North Beds CVS Voluntary Action Luton Voluntary and Community Action South Beds Mid Beds CVS Chamber of Commerce- Business link Luton Borough Council (Community Enterprise support) Luton and Dunstable Partnership (in respect of a new JobCentre Plus-ESF

Capacity Building project)

34. The report concluded that the majority of support provided by these organisations has not significantly changed since the Guild research. The CVS’s on the whole provide advice and training to VCS organisations on general management and funding issues, and Voluntary Action Luton continues to provide a more specific social enterprise advisor service including the development of networks (e.g. of lunch clubs) and a ‘health check’ for organisations which can lead on to advice, training and other help. Of concern to the CVS’s generally, is their future capacity to provide a funding advice service, given pressures on their own grant funding. These services can be seen as an important contribution to VCS organisations bringing investment into the area’s

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VCS organisations and also in becoming more self sufficient through diversifying income streams including through social enterprise activity.

35. The Chamber- Business Link has provided one to one advice and support to a number of organisations, working through a specialist advisor and more generic business advisors. The focus is mainly on start up and ‘pre start-up’ enterprises. The specialist has aimed to ‘mainstream’ social enterprise advice through Business Link’s generic advisors and has also been proactive in developing a network of social enterprises (‘Bedfordshire and Luton Social Enterprise Network’- BSEN), including a ‘clustering programme’ focussing on specific sectors such as adult learning and pre school childcare. Until recently funded from the SSEER project, this service has now secured funding (from the European Social Fund and Bedfordshire CC) to continue to provide training for social enterprise organisations and Business Link's own advisors over the next two years. It has also been successful in securing European Equal funding for a project specifically aimed at developing procurement from social enterprises in Bedfordshire CC and Luton BC. However, with the changes to contracting for business support being brought about through EEDA, it is currently unclear how these services will be provided into the future, though as specific social enterprise-related work is funded through other routes, this appears to be relatively secure.

36. Luton BC has a Community Enterprise Officer who continues to support Community Development Trusts in the Town through one to one advice and training and is increasingly working inside the Council to make service departments aware of social enterprise and its potential in procurement. A ‘Community Enterprise Strategy’ was produced by the Council in late 2004 (Draft Community Enterprise Strategy for Luton -Luton BC 2002).

37. Luton and Dunstable Partnership has been successful in securing JobCentre Plus- ESF funding to run a capacity –building project for VCS organisations working with the unemployed across Bedfordshire and Luton. Won in competition, this contract is delivering a range of training and networking events, a capacity-building ‘toolkit’ and a project manager who is working with organisations to help them to evidence their achievements, develop a funding strategy and build management capacity and their ability to make successful bids for resources.

38. Comments made during the interviews with these organisations suggest that the lack of networking and collaboration between the various support bodies are still important issues. The interviews revealed a lack of a strategic and coordinated approach to social enterprise development on the part of the various agencies. For example, interviewees mentioned the following:

Concerns expressed at the nature of referrals from one type of support organisation to another demonstrating a lack of understanding of the

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services provided and a lack of agreement about what constitutes a ‘social enterprise’.

Concerns expressed at the lack of partner response to a particular organisation’s strategy for social enterprise development- but also concerns at the lack of early partner engagement on the development of this plan.

Concerns at the lack of understanding of the support needs of VCS organisations by those providing the support.

39. Looking to the future aspirations of those interviewed the main points made were: The need to consolidate and strengthen practical support for the VCS

(especially via CVS’s) in terms of issues such as securing full cost recovery, measuring costs and reviewing these, identifying core values, taking a strategic approach to funding and demystifying and putting in place practical, measured steps to realise the potential of public sector procurement.

Encouraging the VCS and social enterprises to look beyond public sector procurement to other potential opportunities- e.g. subcontracting and consortia to achieve other objectives (e.g. training)

40. This research, therefore suggests that the current arrangements for networking and coordination of Social Enterprise within Bedfordshire and Luton lack coherence, and this was confirmed by comments at the Consultative Conference (see Appendix 2, discussion group comments) The Social Enterprise Steering Group has evolved from a specific focus on the Equal-funded support project (now ceased). Though providing the foundations for effective collaboration and coordination, this is made up primarily of representatives of support agencies. There is an indirect link from this group to social enterprises (in BSEN) via the Chamber’s Social Enterprise Advisor (who is a member of SESG). Other, more informal networks of social enterprises exist centred on specific areas or sectors (e.g. Community Development Trusts in Luton).

Social Enterprise and public sector procurement41. The recent research into social enterprise and procurement revealed the extent to which public sector bodies are already using social enterprises to provide goods and services and whether their policies and procedures are ‘social enterprise friendly’. The report summarised the findings as follows:

‘4 Local Authorities, the Regional Centre of Procurement Excellence, 3 NHS Trusts and 2 Government agencies were interviewed. All are being driven by a pressure to make cost reductions/ reduce deficits, which is often seen as in conflict with the wish to see more procurement from the VCS/ social enterprise.

Local authorities and NHS Trusts are generally at an early stage of procurement development compared with national strategies/ good practice

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guidance. Local government is currently focusing on developing an internal culture, practices and procedures and not on supplier development.

There is, with one or two exceptions, a poor level of corporate information on current contracts among the Local Authorities and NHS bodies studied. Public information on these and future contract opportunities is generally at present very limited, though this appears to be a priority for development.

Most Local Authority and NHS procurement with the VCS/ social enterprise is probably in the form of ‘Service Level Agreements’, many succeeding previous grants made under various programmes and initiatives.

National information suggests that Local Authorities are making slow progress on meeting expectations in the national strategy for procurement which are of particular interest to the VCS and social enterprise.

This national information also suggests that recent increased awards of contracts to the VCS and social enterprises have tended to be concentrated in fields where these organisations are already concentrated; health, social and personal care, environmental services and local economic development/ regeneration.

A Regional Centre of Procurement Excellence for local government has begun working with all of the local authorities in the Bedfordshire and Luton area on the development of polices and practices and may in time provide for greater collaborative procurement among these bodies.

Local authorities and NHS bodies are already involved in a range of collaborative purchasing arrangements, in the main covering repetitive, lower value items.

JobCentre Plus is moving to a greater emphasis on regional management of contracts and increasing the requirements for contract management as part of these contracts. The Learning and Skills Council is seeing reduced funding in programmes which have been most popular with the VCS. Both Government agencies are undergoing major structural change and associated job losses.

Short term procurement opportunities of possible interest to the VCS and social enterprise are probably limited to the sectors where participation is already concentrated; where policy reviews seem likely to lead to procurement of previously public-provided services; or those where some sort of change in provision is desired, e.g. adult day and residential care for people with a disability. ‘ (‘Social enterprise and public sector procurement’ - Community Renewal 2005)

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4. Priorities, policy links and outcomes

Key Issues42. The previous research and the work undertaken to produce this Activity Plan, point to a number of important issues:

Lack of awareness and understanding of the term ‘social enterprise’, its presence and contribution locally and why it should be supported.

A relatively fragmented approach to networking, coordination and strategy for social enterprise development, but with an opportunity to build on the work of the Equal project in the area.

Support services for social enterprise which lack overall coherence and coordination, are limited in their coverage and tend to focus on ‘start up’, with some ‘foundation services’ under threat from reduced funding or possible changes in service specifications.

The lack of progress of most public agencies in developing ‘social enterprise - friendly’ procurement policies and practices and the relative lack of readiness of social economy organisations to respond to prospective opportunities for public service procurement.

Priorities and activities43. It is proposed to focus on these four themes as priorities for the first Social Enterprise Activity Plan in Bedfordshire and Luton, and to pursue the range of activities listed below over the period October 2006 – March 2010 (31/2 years):

1. Awareness, understanding and promotion- promoting greater awareness, understanding and support for social enterprise. This will be achieved through:

developing a comprehensive, up to date database of social enterprise activity so improving the quality of information on social enterprise locally, its state of development, opportunities and support needs (see Appendix 4 for an example of the sorts of information that could be covered)

promoting social enterprise as an effective model of operation in a range of policy fields from regeneration and social exclusion to economic development and public service procurement

developing materials to publicise the role of social enterprise locally and to cultivate support amongst key policy makers

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developing an ‘engine room’ of social enterprise organisations and support agencies etc. to help develop understanding and opportunities for social enterprise (see next objective for more detail)

2. Strategy and co-ordination- developing a strong partnership to produce a strategy, action plans and a coordinated approach to developing social enterprise, with social enterprises at the heart of this. This will be achieved through:

Building on the range of groups and networks that already exist to formalise a ‘Bedfordshire & Luton Social Enterprise Partnership’ made up of social enterprises and other organisations pursuing social enterprise activity, support agencies and other stakeholders. It will be based on a formal membership scheme and democratic principles and will be seen as the principal sub regional network with strong links to SEEE and through it to national social enterprise organisations. This Partnership may wish in due course to adopt a formal business/ charitable structure. It will play an important role in co-ordinating different forms of support for social enterprise and guiding future development.

Providing funding and a development resource for the S.E. Partnership which enables it to develop and maintain a database; commission research, feasibility and development work; provide grants to organisations for social enterprise development and help them secure funding from other sources; help to secure funding for effective ‘foundation support’ services such as funding advice and income diversification in social economy organisations, generic and specialist business support etc.; organise promotional, training and networking events; organise programmes for promoting understanding and support to social enterprise development (e.g. staff secondments, visits, etc.). In due course it may wish to develop a more formal role in commissioning support services, based on securing appropriate funding and a role consistent with wider contracting and provision of business and other support for social enterprise.

Developing a robust Strategy for the further development of social enterprise in the sub region, based on excellent intelligence about the current and potential level of social enterprise activity and with realistic prospects for developing a coordinated, resourced and viable programme over the longer term.

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3. Support for Social enterprise- developing and promoting a range of effective, and sustainable support services (information, training, premises, funding etc.), for the start up and growth of social enterprise. This will be achieved through:

Publicising the range of support already available and enabling the development of protocols covering client contact and referral and collaboration between support providers

Development of a funded model of ‘foundation’ support services for social enterprise covering advice, training and interim development support. Securing resources to ensure that these are provided to an appropriate level and in appropriate ways, covering the spectrum of start up, development and growth needs of the range of voluntary and community groups as well as more business-orientated social enterprises. This could include help with demonstrating and valuing what social enterprises do (e.g. through training in Social Accounting); staff secondments from commercial and other organisations to support social enterprises; peer support and secondment opportunities from established social enterprises (either local or beyond); ensuring adequate levels of funding and income generation advice for VCO’s; development of a website with information and signposting advice for the proposed local Social Enterprise Partnership etc.

Examining the feasibility and, if appropriate, business planning and development of a web-based and/or a physical ‘Social Enterprise Centre’ (possibly with other networked centres /subsidiaries and with links to existing innovation/ enterprise centres) to act as a focal point for the proposed Social Enterprise Partnership and its activities (e.g. promotion through showcasing of on -site social enterprises), some specialist support services (e.g. brokering and supporting social enterprise responses to public sector procurement opportunities) and a managed work space for some social enterprise organisations, where co-location alongside other social enterprises is perhaps more effective than being alongside commercial enterprises.

Carrying out feasibility work and, if appropriate, development of ‘trailblazer’ social enterprises to be set up in promising market areas; e.g. neighbourhood renewal (skills development and local services provision); growth areas (public realm management and construction skills) and other areas of potential (e.g. interpreting and translation services, housing maintenance). This will involve securing capital and other start up funding and providing a support structure and risk management

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Securing funding to enable a local programme of development grants to be made available for expansion of social enterprise activity in social economy organisations, complementing and enabling draw down of national and other grant schemes (e.g. Adventure Capital Fund, EEDA Community Asset development programme)

Encourage and promote support from regional and national organisations where this helps local social enterprise development (e.g. specialist social enterprise support such as Development Trusts, Social firms, Co-operatives etc.)

4. Market Development - ensuring that public sector procurement policies and procedures are accessible to social economy organisations and that they are able to respond effectively to procurement opportunities. This will be achieved through:

Improving, publicising and keeping up to date information on social enterprise and public sector procurement and key contacts in these organisations.

Forging closer links between the proposed Social Enterprise Partnership and public sector bodies locally- e.g. common membership, joint events and training.

Identifying opportunities to develop clear agreements between social enterprise partnership and public agencies about improving procurement policies and procedures and monitoring these.

Developing a specialist expertise through the proposed ‘Social Enterprise Centre’ to broker and support social enterprise responses to procurement opportunities.

Encouraging public agencies to consider pilot programmes of asset transfer to social enterprise organisations based on sound business plans for their maintenance and development to meet local needs and provide opportunities for public service provision (in line with the recent Government Report ‘Communities Taking Control’: Final Report of the Cross-sector Work Group on Community Ownership and Management of Assets, Home Office, 2006).

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Policy Links44. The next section of this activity plan sets out more detailed action plans for the first 18 months of this planning period. Appendix 3 sets out relevant extracts from a number of policy /planning documents at national, regional and sub regional levels and indicates how the proposed activities in this Plan relate to or contribute to them. Diagram 3 summarises the range of policies covered in this. In summary, the proposed Activity Plan is not only consistent with these other policies and plans but will make significant contributions to securing a wide range of objectives and activities in them- supporting economic development, work to support disadvantaged communities and groups and pursuing activities which are consistent with regional strategies for social enterprise and similar fields.

Outcomes45. Expected outcomes from the planned activity over the next 31/2 years are:

More accurate and up to date information on what social enterprise is going on across Bedfordshire and Luton.

Greater understanding of what social enterprise is and what its potential is by those able to help its development.

More social enterprise activity, whether in new Social Enterprises or through greater trading by voluntary and community organisations

More jobs and economic activity as a result of social enterprise

Benefits to other policies and programmes; e.g. regeneration and renewal; public service modernisation; sustainable communities plan.

An effective, inclusive, informed and viable Partnership to lead the development of social enterprise

Support for social enterprise which is targeted, appropriate and coordinated

A climate where social enterprise is readily considered as an option for the provision of socially worthwhile activities or to benefit these indirectly.

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Diagram 3: Policy Links to the Social Enterprise Activity Plan

Regional EconomicStrategy &

EEDA products

ChangeUp/Capacity Builders

National & RegionalProcurement

Strategies & Plans

Sustainable Communities Plan

Regional Social Enterprise Strategy

Local Area Agreement

B&L Joint Economic

Development Strategy

Beds & Luton I.I.C.Plan

B&L Social Enterprise

Activity Plan

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5. Action Plans 2006-200846. The following tables set out proposed detailed actions in the period October 2006 – March 2008 for each of the four Activity Plan priorities. These action plans are designed to address the foundation work required to achieve a sound strategy for social enterprise development and a robust organisation to take this forward.

47. In some instances timescales are shown for the period October 2006- March 2007, on the assumption that it may prove possible to secure funding from EEDA’s IIC programme in advance of the financial year 2007/08 or other resources might be made available (e.g. via Local strategic Partnerships, economic development budgets etc.). Should this not be possible, the timescales shown will necessarily slip.

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1. Awareness, understanding and promotion- promoting greater awareness, understanding and support for social enterprise

Action Lead responsibility

Target completion

Indicative costs(full year only)

1.1 Develop data base of social enterprises and other organisations pursuing social enterprise, based on formation of new BL Social Enterprise Partnership. Data, updated annually, to include basic description and contact details, together with information on sources and scale of income from different sources/ contracts, use of assets etc. See Appendix 4 for an example, possibly add information on use of support services etc.

BLSEP- possibly some commissioned support

Initial database established in conjunction with launch of BLSEP- July 2007

£10,000 (staff costs covered elsewhere)

1.2 Develop publicity materials- basic guide to social enterprise, examples of local social enterprise in different fields, available support services, and key contacts. Could feature DVD as well as back up hard copy. Linked to launch of proposed BLSEP.

BLSEP- commissioned support

Basic guide and DVD prepared for launch of BLSEP- July 2007

£20,000 (one off cost, approximately £8,000 per annum thereafter)

1.3 Promotional campaign targeting key policy makers and others with a view to cultivating ‘Social Enterprise Champions’

BLSEP Initial campaign July- December 2007

£10,000 (staff costs and organisation support from range of agencies assumed)

1.4 Explore and use opportunities for promoting ‘social enterprise’ in existing and emerging programmes of entrepreneurship and development; e.g. schools- based enterprise programmes; work of Innovation and Business Start up centres; VCS training programmes; etc.

Social Enterprise Steering group

Carry out research and development work by December 2006

Possibly carried out by membership of SESG or alternatively commission external assistance (say £5,000?)

1.5 Develop longer term communications and promotional programme

BLSEP By March 2008

Staff time included elsewhere

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2. Strategy and co-ordination- developing a strong partnership to produce a strategy, action plans and a coordinated approach to developing social enterprise, with social enterprises at the heart of this.


Target completion


2.1 Extend membership of SESG by inviting interested social enterprises to join and help to convene conference for social enterprises, VCO’s, other stakeholders to present examples of successful social enterprise, typical issues and to discuss and establish mechanisms for formally setting up BLSEP (e.g. a small Project Group to work on detail)

Social Enterprise Steering Group

Conference held November 2006- look to formally launch BLSEP July 2007

£10,000 (one off)

2.2 Commission work to examine and develop BLSEP options on organisational/legal structure, operating policies, budget, funding etc.

BLSEP Steering Group (from Conference)

May 2007 £10,000 (commissioned external support)

2.3 Recruit a Development Manager to support BLSEP and associated activities- hosted by a social enterprise organisation


In post by April 2007 (earlier if funding permits)

£35,000 (incl. on costs- look to 5 year initial contract)

2.3 Establish a funded operating budget for BLSEP over the remainder of the planning period


June 2007 Budget to be determined, preparatory work largely done by BLSEP Development Manager etc.

2.3 Launch BLSEP- including election of Board/ equivalent

BLSEP Steering Group (from initial Conference)

July 2007 Staff costs covered above

2.4 Develop Business Plan for BLSEP and secure funding for this

BLSEP Board December 2007

Staff costs covered above

2.5 Develop Social Enterprise Strategy for BL

BLSEP Board Draft for consultation by March 2008

Staff costs covered above

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3. Support for Social enterprise- developing and promoting a range of effective, and sustainable support services (information, training, premises, funding etc.), for the start up and growth of social enterprise


Target completion


3.1 Development of promotional and associated material to identify existing range of support available, using this to ensure clear, agreed framework for who provides what support to what types of client/ need and referral protocols in place – see 1.2 above3.2 Once Regional Business support contract is settled, commission work to examine social enterprise support needs in greater depth and devise detailed proposals for development of ‘Foundation Services’ covering advice, training, grants/funding, premises etc. to include ways of involving commercial and public sectors in providing support and covering growth as well as start up.


December 2006

£10,000- externally commissioned work

3.3 Commission research into the feasibility and potential for establishing a ‘Social Enterprise Centre’ (virtual/ physical) and associated subsidiary/ networked centres, links to other incubation/innovation centres etc.


July 2007 £15,000- externally commissioned work

3.4 Identify one or two potential market areas for social enterprise development and commission work to research and develop these as ‘trailblazer’ social enterprises; e.g. housing maintenance/ construction services, interpreting and translation; skills development etc.


March 2007 £15,000- externally commissioned work

3.5 Examine and publicise/ share information on sources of funding for social enterprise development, and need for/ best use of a local development grants scheme alongside these funding sources; to include national and regional grants, loans and other vehicles

Social Enterprise Steering Group leading to BLSEP steering Group/ Board

September 2007

Assumed covered by BLSEP Development Manager

3.6 Contact National/ regional support organisations and explore ways in which their support for social enterprise can be harnessed alongside local provision.

BLSEP Board December 2007

Assumed covered by BLSEP Development Manager

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4. Market Development - ensuring that public sector procurement policies and procedures are accessible to social economy organisations and that they are able to respond effectively to procurement opportunities.


Target completion


4.1 Gather together information on key contacts in public sector bodies for procurement and social enterprise support agencies and circulate to appropriate audiences.-use as opportunity to promote social enterprise.


Information distributed December 2006

£5,000- design and production costs only- assumed local agencies will gather data.

4.2 In conjunction with 4.1, approach the BL Local Authority Procurement group to discuss ways of developing contact and of assisting in the development of ‘social enterprise- friendly’ procurement policies etc. This might lead to a bid for funding further work/ projects from the Regional Centre of Excellence for Local Government Procurement


Initial approach by November 2006

Assumed costs of initial contacts covered within existing membership of the SE Steering Group

4.3 Building on 4.2, and in line with a recent Government Report (‘Communities Taking Control’ : Final Report of the Cross-sector Work Group on Community Ownership and Management of Assets, Home Office, 2006), hold discussions with public agencies about possible development of pilot asset transfer programme and associated potential service procurement opportunities for social enterprise.

BLSEP Board Discussion September 2007- March 2008

Assume staff /other costs already covered.

4.4 Building on 4.3, consider the need for specialist development support to be provided for potential social enterprise responses to procurement opportunities, possibly as part of a ‘Social Enterprise Centre’

BLSEP Board Reach conclusions as part of study into ‘Social Enterprise Centre’- July 2007

Assumed costs picked up in proposed study and funded staff costs of BLSEP Development Manager

4.5 Ensure Chamber Procurement Project is capitalised upon through links to 4.1,4.2, 4.3, 4.4

Social Enterprise Steering Group/ Chamber Social Enterprise Adviser

Ongoing nil

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6. Programme Management

48. Overall responsibility for delivering this Activity Plan and specific Action Plans will initially be the responsibility of the Social Enterprise Steering Group. Once the new Social Enterprise Partnership has been formally established, this responsibility will transfer to its Board or equivalent governing body. Within the Social Enterprise Steering Group it is expected that members will make themselves available to contribute to specific action plans as indicated. Once a Development Manager has been recruited for BLSEP it will be that person’s principal responsibility to support and develop the Activity Plan on behalf of the Board and BLSEP’s membership.

49. The Social Enterprise Steering Group (and subsequently BLSEP Board) will report to the Bedfordshire and Luton Investing in Communities Board in respect of the activities for which IIC funding is secured and will fulfill that body’s monitoring and reporting requirements. As the BLSEP develops its own programme management capacity, so appropriate systems will be developed to ensure that clear direction and planning as well as appropriate challenge and scrutiny to decisions and proposals are built into its policies and systems.

50. These policies and systems will take due account of the needs of different communities and groups and so ensure that issues of diversity and equal opportunity are properly considered. This will take the form of various protocols to ensure that programmes and proposals are properly ’proofed’ for diversity, equal opportunity and to address the needs of different community interests (e.g. rural communities).

51. It is proposed to establish effective monitoring and evaluation systems from the commencement of the Activity Plan (October 2006), which will in due course migrate to the proposed Bedfordshire and Luton Social Enterprise Strategy. These will cover the use of the proposed social enterprise database as a key barometer of the local social enterprise sector, transparent project/ proposal appraisal systems, clear project management responsibilities and planning requirements, reporting requirements to the SESG/BLSEP and evaluation expectations and funding built into every project and proposal at commencement.

52. It is proposed to set aside funding in the overall Plan to ensure an independent evaluation of the collective impact of the various proposed activities and actions with regard to the overall Activity Plan outcomes described earlier. This will enable the baseline established through this report to be developed further as well as establishment of appropriate monitoring and evaluation indicators from the outset. Funding will need to be set aside for this work.

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Appendix 1: Defining ‘social enterprise’

1. The ‘Social Economy’ (also known as the “not for profit” or “third” sector), comprises a wide range of different types of organizations. Some of these can be defined as “social enterprises”. Some may be described as voluntary, community or charity organisations that pursue some social enterprise activities. Social Enterprise, therefore can be used both to describe a type of organisation and a type of activity.

2. The Department of Trade and Industry defines a social enterprise as:

“a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.”‘Social Enterprise- a strategy for success’, DTI, 2002

3. The Business Link national website (www.businesslink.org) defines social enterprises as:

“businesses that trade in the market in order to fulfil social aims. They bring people and communities together for economic development and social gain.”

Social Enterprises have three common characteristics:

Enterprise Orientated - they are directly involved in the production of goods and the provision of services to a market. They seek to be viable trading concerns, making a surplus from trading.

Social Aims - they have explicit social aims such as job creation, training and provision of local services. They have ethical values including a commitment to local capacity building. They are accountable to their members and the wider community for their social, environmental and economic impact.

Social Ownership - they are autonomous organisations with a governance and ownership structure based on participation by stakeholder groups (users or clients, local community groups etc.) or by trustees. Profits are distributed as profit sharing to stakeholders or used for the benefit of the community. “

4. A Social Enterprise can take several different forms, including:

Employee-owned firms -ranging from small niche workers' co-operatives to medium and large sized firms that combine social goals with strong economic performance.

Credit Unions - are financial co-operatives established to help people save and borrow money. Some credit unions are community-based whilst others are aimed at the employees of large organisations.

Co-operatives- are organised by and for their members who come together to provide a shared service from which they all benefit. Examples range from the large traditional consumer co-operatives to small local food co-operatives.

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Development trusts- are partnerships of community groups, local government and businesses, under which different regeneration activities take place.

Community businesses - are trading organisations which are set-up, owned and controlled by the local community

Community interest Companies (CIC’s)- these are limited companies with special additional features created for the use of people who want to conduct a business or other activity for community benefit, and not purely for private advantage. This is achieved by a ‘community interest test’ and ‘asset lock’, which ensure that the CIC is established for community purposes and the assets and profits are dedicated to these purposes. Registration as a CIC has to be approved by the CIC regulator, who also has a continuing monitoring and enforcement role.

Social firms- are businesses created for the employment of disabled people or others who experience disadvantage in the labour market

Intermediate labour market projects -provide training and work experience for long-term unemployed people as a route back to employment

Trading arms of charities -are business subsidiaries which covenant some or all of their profits to their parent charity.

Voluntary and community organisations who are pursuing some trading activity, for example they have a contract or service Level agreement with a local authority.

5. These different types of Social Enterprise may adopt different legal forms (see table below).

6. As can be seen from this list, social enterprise can be either the central feature of an organisation’s activities, or perhaps only a smaller aspect of how they operate. Therefore another definition of social enterprise is as:

“a sub-set of the wider social economy, which includes organisations in the voluntary and community sectors that are formally constituted, employ staff and/or are involved in trading……...Social enterprise can be thought of as a particular type of organisation (i.e. a business with a primary social or environmental aim, which returns any surplus to the community which it serves) or as an activity carried out alongside the existing programmes of community and voluntary sector organisations (i.e. trading activity and asset development which either meets the primary purpose of the organisation or creates surpluses to fund services for the community). This definition is especially useful when looking at the voluntary and community sector, allowing an organisation to look at its social enterprise activities rather than using social enterprise to define the organisation itself. ““Support for Social Enterprise in Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole” (SEDnet- October 2005)

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7. This report continues:

“The social economy ……..forms a key part of the wealth creation process in local communities. In common with the public sector the primary aim of organisations in the social economy is social and environmental benefit. To achieve this they secure resources from the public sector and from philanthropic sources and they mobilise volunteer support from the community.

Social enterprise brings to the social economy an additional focus on trading, recognising that there may be a market for goods and services in which a particular organisation can develop a competitive advantage or they may be able to meet a gap left by the public or private sectors.

Social enterprises such as development trusts and community land trusts have also focused on “asset base development”. If an asset-base can be established, using grants, social investment loans or equity (for example through the mechanism of a Community Interest Company or an Industrial and Provident Society) then this can generate income for the organisation in the long term. An example is the development of a managed workspace or a multi-use community facility, which can provide a base for the parent organization (and thus reduce costs) as well as providing rental income from tenants.

It can be seen then that social enterprise has a great deal in common with the private sector, in terms of the focus on trading and the development of assets. However, the trading and/or the asset base are used to help the organisation to meet its primary aim of social or environmental benefit - rather than maximising profits for shareholders or owner/managers.”

8. There are ways of determining whether an organisation is a social enterprise (e.g. the DTI in a recent survey set a threshold of at least 25% of income from trading). However, because organisations trading below this threshold or not yet trading may represent potential social enterprises and may require support in order to reach that trading position (or to maintain a lower level of trading activity), it is important that plans and support for social enterprise are not limited to a definition which may ‘drive a wedge’ between those organisations that have significant levels of trading income compared to others with less income from trading, treating the former as somehow ‘better’ than those which rely on other sources of funding.

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Table: Main Legal Forms of Social Enterprise (from: ‘Communities Taking Control’ : Final Report of the Cross-sector Work Group on Community Ownership and Management of Assets, Home Office, 2006)

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Appendix 2: Report on Consultative Conference, The Rufus Centre, Flitwick, 9th May 2006The conference was arranged to invite those with an interest in social enterprise within Bedfordshire and Luton, to hear about the developing Activity Plan and to contribute to its development, especially with regard to the four priority themes of:

1. Promoting greater awareness, understanding and support for social enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton.

2. Developoing sarong partnership to produce a strategy, action plans and a coordinated approach to developing social enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton, with social enterprises at the heart of this.

3. Providing a range of effective and sustainable support (information, training, premises, funding etc.), for the start up and growth of social enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton.

4. Ensuring that public sector procurement policies and procedures are accessible to social economy organisations and that these organisations are able to respond effectively to procurement opportunities in Bedfordshire and Luton.

After an introduction form the chair, Michele Rigby, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise East of England, the conference heard a presentation from the author, who had been commissioned to carry out further work to develop the Activity Plan for Social Enterprise. Participants were encouraged to put forward their ideas in a series of discussions groups (one for each of the above priority themes) as well as submitting other ideas on a series of ‘ideas sheets’ or through the conference feedback form. Each group was facilitated by a member of the Social Enterprise steering group and was asked to tackle three questions in an hour’s discussion:

What do you think are the most important issues in this theme area in Bedfordshire and Luton?

What are the top 3-5 ideas or proposals you feel need to be progressed in the next three years?

What are the main obstacles to making progress on these?

The following tables summarise attendance and the discussions of these groups.

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Bedfordshire and Luton Social Enterprise Conference9th May 2006, Rufus Centre, Flitwick

DELEGATE LIST - attendees

First Name

Surname Organisation workshop

Cindy Armstrong BLEDP 2

Maureen Baker BPHA 3

Nigel Boldero Community Renewal

Julia Brady LSC Beds & Luton 3

Ian Campbell Hastingsbury Enterprise Centre 1

Anne Clube Luton Borough Council 1

Lisa Connolly Wizard Health & Well-being 1

David Coulson The Social Enterprise People 4

Sue Frost Marsh Farm Community Development Trust 4

Shannelle Hall Equality Networks

Martha Harina Lewsey Farm Learning Centre Trust 4

Sarah Hughes Bedfordshire County Council 2

Laurie Hurn BRCC 1

Christine Inglis Bedford College 2

Sarita Jain Dallow Development Trust Ltd 4

Peter Jefferys Sundon Park Trust 1

Allan Johnson-Mwangi Luton Borough Council 4

Mary Jurance North Beds CVS 2

Laura Kennedy Luton Borough Council 1

Anne Laing Voluntary Action Luton 4

Robin Lawrence Chamber Business 3

Mervyn Leah Leighton Buzzard N.G. Railway Society 2

Steve Liddle Luton Borough Council 3

Yasmin Mahmood Bedford Borough Council 4

Jane Markham BRCC 4

Garth McKenzie Bedfordshire County Council 1

Janet Montgomery Dallow Development Trust Ltd 1

Lesley Nicholls Luton Borough Council 1

Matt Peachey Bedford Borough Council 2

Mike Pickering Beds CC Trading Strandards

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Laura Pottinger Bedford Creative Arts 2

Gary Richardson Energize Transformation Partnerships Ltd 3

Michele Rigby Chief Executive Officer SEEE 3

Richard Rochester Active People 2

George Ruddock Computers for Communities

Tony Talbot Marston Vale Trust 1

Val Taylor Lewsey Farm Learning Centre Trust 1

Chris Treacey Bedfordshire County Council 3

Wendy Tremble Luton Borough Council 2

Martin Trinder The Bedford Centre for Voluntary Services 1

Lynette Warren L & D Innovation Centre

Keith Williams Energize Transformation Partnerships Ltd 4

Non attendees sent Delegate Pack and covering letter:

Alaa Alrawi

Rob Burton Luton Dunstable Partnership

Myles Cooper Workskills

C Aleatha Cumberbatch

Mrs M Garton

Sharon Hart Beds Garden Carers

Godwin Kudawoo Beds Green Business Network

Oli Lettman Celluloid Music Theatre

Kathy Lewis Noah Enterprises

Janice Payne Family Groups (Bedford)

Donna Pollard Exemplas Ltd

Adrian Van Schalkwyk Seal CIC

Wafaa Wasel

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Discussion group 1: Promoting greater awareness, understanding and support for social enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton

Issues Ideas Obstacles1. Who are we promoting to?

Public at large Social enterprises

(different message to these and above)

Support agencies Banks/ providers

2. The benefits of social enterprise:

Value for money Evidencing the

benefits

3. Being more organised in the sub region

4. Commercial enterprises

5. Local authority Gaps in provision Procurement

issues

6. Support agencies

1. Social Enterprise champions- strategic level:

Links Signposting Flying the flag

2. Social Enterprise Network- campaign to promote Social Enterprise:

Road show for new

Support for existing

Signpost to right advisor

Bring everything for Social enterprise together

3. Better awareness of existing support

Gaps in support More

approachable

4. Idiots guide

1. How do you know you are a social enterprise

2. Complexity of language

3. ‘Starship Social Enterprise’ - link to local activity

4. Business bureaucracy

Banking difficulties

5. Funding/ resources

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Discussion group 2: Developing a strong partnership to produce a strategy, action plans and a coordinated approach to developing social enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton, with social enterprises at the heart of this.

Issues Ideas Obstacles1. Social Enterprise Steering group not representative of social enterprises

2. Lack of support structure not very helpful. Barrier to support.

3. Groups not necessarily networking together

4. Better communication/ linking up needed.

5. No lead person.

1. Lead accountable organisation required for Social Enterprise Steering Group- social enterprises rather than public:

Link to other groups etc. Communication network.

One point of contact

More awareness of Bedfordshire and Luton Social Enterprise Network.

2. Clear Spec/ Strategy: What is to be

provided by whom Identifiable

branding- marketing

3. Sub regional rep for SEEE

how links to SESG etc.- democratically.

small groups- support networks-reps required on SESG

4. Feedback up and down- clear communications

1. Many networks- co-ordination required

2. Not enough knowledge of the networks

3.No clear strategy

4. Unknown direction

5. Identify gaps in the sector so can create new social enterprises

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Discussion group 3: Providing a range of effective and sustainable support (information, training, premises, funding etc.), for the start up and growth of social enterprise in Bedfordshire and Luton.

Issues Ideas Obstacles1. Knowing current support that already exists:

Central hub Difference in type of support

and access Funding/ training Train to gain- individual

funding to train2. Use of local resources3. Utilise local incubation centre resources:

Luton & Dunstable; Shuttleworth; Beds (I- lab); Acorn; Cranfield (x2)

4. Business support provided to social enterprises-

Social services marrying up with business support- raise awareness of social enterprise ethos amongst commercial companies

5. Taking the service out to community centres- Business Link currently do this6. Are advisors workers/ owners in social enterprises:

Social enterprise advisors learn form clients

Businesses learn form businesses

Peer support/ peer advise BSEN SFEDi

7.Rurla enterprises- need to take the service out to people:

Access Peer networks Success stories Fund specific bid writers to

assist for 1 year8. Networks – agencies9. Use of resources and ability to work with each other.

1. Centre for social enterprises (virtual/ physical. Brokerage)- 1 stop shop- support. Promotion and awareness.

2. Social Return On Investment- for sustainability

3. Mapping- to understand need, know what the issues/ needs are

4. No false promises- activity not words. Really listen to people to balance expectations and delivery.

5. Long term plan to help sustainability. 9 years +. Intensive support.

1. Funding- access - lack – lifetime

2. Public sector: Procurement Language Term Payment- leads to

cash flow problems.

3. Not being embraced by public sector and private

4. Corporate social responsibility- getting support from a work placement

5. Stereotypes of social enterprises

6. Lack of understanding of social economy and social enterprises

7. No impact measures

8. Investing mainstream money into social enterprises

9. No brand- should get one

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Discussion group 4: Ensuring that public sector procurement policies and procedures are accessible to social economy organizations and that these organisations are able to respond effectively to procurement opportunities in Bedfordshire and Luton.

Issues Ideas Obstacles1. Need for a commitment to tenders (follow through)

2. Framework needed for small organisations to develop partnership delivery

3. Need to value social benefits (social capital) to local area- how do we demonstrate

4. Contracts should specify social capital

5. Development of matrix of delivery agencies

6. Whose job is this? Should it be the SSEER role?

7. LA may have different interpretation of ‘social capital’

8. Training for procurers too

9. Build local professional delivery

10. Need Quality Assurance and value for money

11. Risk averse and high level of regulation

1. Understand that Social enterprises act and recognise the business

2. Recognise boundaries with venture capital

3. Sustainability/ diversity

4. Need to access funding between £5k and £30k- gap in skills

5. Network- knowledge on support and skills

6. Follow up from training

7. Need to include LA and agencies to community group needs and markets

8. Must be able to deliver- quality assurance etc.

1. Real understanding that this has to be a business. Delivery first.

2. Sell the add-ons.

3. VCS weakness (not all) in understanding the concept of business

4. LA and agencies avoid small contracts

5. Enterprise support (secondment or permanent) within the sector

6. Loans / grants info- directory

7. Ideas:

Community Development trusts to become catalysts for community activities- provision of a range of local services and brokerage, co-ordination.

Use local developed organisations for credibility

Link CVS and CDT to develop support

Development partnership bid on, e.g. Construction skills etc.

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Other ideas/ comments submitted:

Long term projects/ interventions: ‘Pilot project’ start up monies- viz. sustainable project development; local

distribution

‘School of Social Enterprise’

Capital spend:

‘Social enterprises need money for development, and supporting professional advice. All else is waffle!’

‘End the inverted snobbery that seeks to focus resources on deprived areas, as though there are no needs elsewhere.’

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Appendix 3: Policy Links for the Activity PlanA. Regional Economic StrategyReferences of potential relevance to social enterprise

How the Social Enterprise Activity Plan links/ contributes to this

RES Goal 1:A skills base that can support a world-class economyPriority 1) increasing employment rates in specific communitiesPrioirity 3) developing skills that meet business needs

RES Goal 2Growing competitiveness, productivity and entrepreneurshipPriorities: 1) reinforcing and building upon the existing entrepreneurial culture 2) providing a coherent and integrated business support service3) supporting the accelerated and sustainable growth, productivity and competitiveness of the region’s businesses

RES Goal 4High quality places to work and live Priority 5) enabling renaissance and regeneration of the region’s communities

RES Goal 5Social inclusion and broad participation in the regional economyPriorities:1) supporting people and communities to achieve their potential2) creating sustainable employment opportunities accessible to disadvantaged communities and groups3) promoting access to work and improving conditions of work4) providing access to essential services5) tackling discrimination experienced by communities or individuals in the region wherever they are found

Social Enterprise already contributes to developing skills among some of the longer term unemployed and others who might find it difficult to obtain long term work. The Activity Plan will enable expansion of skills- related social enterprise and help people into employment, especially in the more disadvantaged communities and groups.

Proposals to explore potential for adding social enterprise to emerging programmes of entrepreneurship development, e.g. at schools.

Proposals to examine what is needed as ‘foundation support’ services for social enterprise, integrated with regionally contracted business support, voluntary sector training etc.

Activity Plan will result in enhanced scale and numbers of organisations pursuing social enterprise which will contribute to sustainable economic growth.

Social enterprise is a model of business with great relevance to promoting economic inclusion for some of the most excluded individuals and communities. The opportunities to expand its contribution in this field features in the proposed Activity Plan. This will contribute to regeneration of particular places and to supporting disadvantaged communities through provision of services and opportunities for local employment and local re investment of earned income.

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B. EEDA Products (Source: EEDA Corporate Plan 2005/06- 2007/8)References of potential relevance to social enterprise


The Business Support packageEEDA gained responsibility for regional business support services in the East of England from April 2005. This change was announced as one of the outcomes from the 2004 Spending Review. The Business Link network, along with a range of other local and specialist business support agencies, will play a critical role in the delivery of this product.

Investing in Communities programmeInvesting in Communities is a catalytic programme which promotes a holistic approach to social inclusion, by supporting long-term strategic planning to tackle disadvantage and by encouraging the co-ordination of public sector resources and interventions to deliver agreed priorities. The programme offers a real opportunity to develop long-term regeneration solutions to help address the specific needs of the most disadvantaged communities both in urban and rural areas.

Enterprise Hub programmeEEDA is undertaking a 10 year programme which will see a network of enterprise hubs developed across the region. In addition to existing and planned centres, EEDA aims to look at the feasibility of a public private partnership or private finance initiatives for future infrastructure and services programmes. Many enterprise hubs may have aphysical centre, but some may be virtual, bound together by strong network services. These hubs tend to have a strong sector focus, and are linked to higher education establishments and areas of high concentration of private sector R&D development.There is a close relationship between the Enterprise Hub programme and the Business Support package, particularly in the development of specialist business support for technology-based and/or high growth businesses.

Regional Renaissance packageEEDA’s involvement in regeneration and our contribution to the Government’s Sustainable Communities Plan will follow a strategic and holistic assessment of priorities in key places undergoing major change through growth and/or regeneration.These priorities will be set out in local masterplanning documents which will be developed with local partners and which EEDA will use to direct its contribution to what will be, in some cases, major physical investments plans. There will be less emphasis on EEDA taking forward direct development in isolation, except where we do so inpiloting innovative models and exemplar approaches to demonstrate the economic and social benefits of improvement to the physical environment. EEDA will

The Activity Plan makes clear links to the review of business support services and indicates that a priority is to work closely with the eventual contractors for this to ensure adequate coverage of the needs of social enterprise.

It is envisaged that the development of social enterprise will make a significant contribution to the achievement of social inclusion through enabling the provision of important local services, engaging people who might find it difficult to find long term employment and through encouraging an enterprising culture among local groups and communities.

Proposals are included to explore ways in which social enterprise can be fostered by existing and proposed enterprise hubs and also research into the potential of a ‘Social Enterprise Centre’ which could provide services and support specially tailored to the needs of social enterprises and foster the growth of the sector more generally.

The Activity Plan will explore the potential for social enterprise to play an important part in regional renaissance programmes, including the implications of housing and other growth in the Sustainable Communities Plan. This will, for example, look to the potential for construction, maintenance and open space management skills development through social enterprise models, which can ensure local community ownership and involvement to the benefit of those communities in a variety of ways.

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facilitate exchange of best practice and development of skills and expertise to deliver quality development. The package will initially be rolled out in selected areas including a small number of market towns.

C. East of England Social Enterprise StrategyReferences of potential relevance to social enterprise (Strategic Objectives)


(1) Access To FinanceTo improve access to finance for social enterprises by:• Improving the promotion of all types of finance• Improving links with mainstream funders• Identifying better ways to use public funding • Improving the capacity of social enterprises to work with

a range of different types of finance

(2) Learning OpportunitiesTo improve access to, and the relevance of, learning opportunities for social enterprises and advisers by: • Improving local information sources• Linking to national accreditation programmes• Creating more opportunities for learning• Promoting the needs of social enterprises to training

providers in the region• Creating training opportunities for trustees and board

members• Linking to mainstream training and education providers

(3) Better BusinessTo make social enterprises better businesses by:• Creating equality in access to high quality business

support• Creating objective and unbiased routes to support• Improving the integration of policy and practice• Developing start-up support for new social enterprises• Providing developmental support for existing social

enterprises

(4) GrowthTo enable social enterprises to grow by:• Developing networks, clusters and supply chains• Building their capacity to win and deliver public sector

contracts• Supporting social enterprise growth

(5) PromotionTo promote the social enterprise sector by:• Promoting social enterprise and what they can offer • Promoting to policy makers

Links to SEEE activities in this area will be made by the proposed BL Social Enterprise Partnership and provide a channel for improved access to finance by local social enterprises.

A review of ‘Foundation Support Services’ for social enterprises will result in clear plans for the further development of learning and training opportunities in social enterprises in support of the regional strategy. This development will be undertaken in close cooperation with SEEE, especially where potential regional development of the training opportunities available is being pursued.

Proposed reviews of support will result in clear plans for development which will be in accord with the aims of the Regional Strategy. This will include both start up and growth support services.

The proposed development of a local Social Enterprise Partnership will make progress in developing the local network of social enterprise and other organisations, and the support of SEEE will be sought in setting this up. Proposals to explore and develop opportunities for public sector procurement are also a key part of the Activity Plan.

The Activity Plan makes clear proposals to develop promotional materials and activities, including to key policy makers.

43

(6) Public ProcurementTo enable social enterprises to access public procurement by:• Improving the awareness of public bodies of the

benefits of procurement from the sector• Improving the capacity of social enterprises to take on

public sector contracts• Improving the capacity of sub-regional networks to

influence public procurement• Opening up procurement opportunities

(7) Becoming A Social EnterpriseTo enable voluntary and community organisations and traditional businesses to develop as social enterprises by:• Raising awareness of the impact of asset ownership• Introducing social accounting

(8) NetworksTo enable social enterprises and other stakeholders to work collectively towards shared goals and increased sustainability by:• Developing networks that add value to existing services

and activities• Avoiding duplication of service and initiatives• Operating at sub-regional and trade sector levels

(9) Influencing PolicyTo create an enabling environment for social enterprises by:• Co-ordinating policy issues• Ensuring that social enterprise features in other

strategies where appropriate

Continued……

There are proposals to develop closer links with public agencies (especially local authorities) in Bedfordshire and Luton in the Activity Plan, and the development of BLSEP will enable a stronger voice to lobby these bodies on developing appropriate procurement practices and to develop a joint approach towards opening up and creating new procurement opportunities.

The development of ‘foundation support services’ will include provision for support to VCO’s in diversifying their income base, especially through trading and in helping them to demonstrate the value of what they contribute. A pilot programme of asset transfer may be developed through the Activity Plan.

Development of the BL Social Enterprise Partnership as a strategic planning and co-ordinating body will help to fulfill this important objective.

The establishment of BLSEP will provide a clear focus for debate locally on these issues and a point of contact for regional and national bodies in order to strengthen the voice of social enterprise.

44

D. Local Government Procurement Strategy References of potential relevance to social enterprise


National Procurement Strategy for Local Government, ODPM, 2003‘Key Theme: Stimulating markets and achieving community benefitsThe strategic objectives are that councils should:• engage actively with suppliers• use procurement to help deliver corporate objectives including the economic, social and environmental objectives set out in the community plan…...By 2004……..• All corporate procurement strategies should address:- the relationship of procurement to the community plan, workforce issues, diversity and equality and sustainability;- how the council will encourage a diverse and competitive supply market, including small firms, social enterprises, ethnic minority businesses and voluntary and community sector suppliers……..• Every council should conclude a compact with the local voluntary and community sector………By 2005……..• Every council should include in invitations to tender/negotiate for partnerships a requirement on bidders to submit optional, priced proposals for the delivery of specified community benefits which are relevant to the contract and add value to the community plan…..’

‘Think smart- Think Voluntary Sector’ (good practice guidance on procurement of services from the Voluntary and Community Sector) - Office of Government Commerce & The Home Office, 2004.

‘The critical success factors are: Understand the market through on-going

dialogue. Get to know the VCOs within it, their organisation and capabilities, their problems in dealing with you.

Consult early on viability of policies, programmes and procurement strategies.

Open contract opportunities to VCOs by providing information about how to become a supplier, wide publication of contracts in accessible media, training and support.

Focus procurement on outputs/outcomes rather than processes to incentivise VCOs and capture their expertise and innovation.

Keep it simple and proportionate – reducing complexity and bureaucracy in turn reducing costs of procurement to the VCS.

The Activity Plan makes provision for developing much closer working relationships between social enterprises and associated bodies and local authorities, specifically focused on the procurement agenda. It is envisaged that a constructive working relationship will help these agencies make progress towards achieving these aspects of the national procurement strategy, on which recent research suggests that they have until now made only limited progress.

45

E. Sustainable Communities Plan (Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub Regional Strategy)References of potential relevance to social enterprise How the Social

Enterprise Activity Plan links/ contributes to this

Objectives of the Sub-Regional StrategyThe objectives of the Sub-Regional Strategy are:• to achieve a major increase in the number of new homes provided in the area, meeting needs for affordable housing and a range of types and sizesof market housing;• to provide for a commensurate level of economic growth and developing skills in the workforce, particularly in the high value, knowledge-basedsectors;• to locate development in the main urban areas to support urban renaissance, regeneration of deprived areas, recycling of land and sustainable patterns of travel;• to ensure that development contributes to an improved environment, by requiring high standards of design and sustainable construction, protecting and enhancing environmental assets (including landscape and biodiversity) and providing green space and related infrastructure (green infrastructure);• to meet existing infrastructure needs and provide for requirements generated by new development, by investing in new and improved infrastructure, by planning to reduce the need to travel and by creating a shift to more sustainable modes of travel; and • to create sustainable communities by ensuring that economic, environmental, social and cultural infrastructure needs are met in step with growth.

Locations for growth15. To help achieve the above objectives the majority of development in the sub-region will be focused at the following towns:….

Bedford/Kempston/Northern Marston Vale, where the emphasis should be on strengthening the role of

this key centre through economic regeneration and growth. Priorities will be urban renaissance, improved economic performance and harnessing the potential of the northern Marston Vale;………

Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis, where the emphasis should be on building the principal growth towns into a vibrant, culturally diversified conurbation with a major improvement in the local economy and skills base, and capacity to meet housing need. This should be achieved through economic regeneration across the urban area, making the most of its location close to London and other economic drivers in the South East and its good transport links. Leighton Linslade will absorb a proportion of the growth allocated to Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis in a way that complements these aims and makes the most of its location between Luton/Dunstable/ Houghton Regis and Milton Keynes;………..

The Activity Plan foresees a great area of potential growth in social enterprise associated with the significant expansion of housing and associated services in the Bedfordshire and Luton area. This might be in relation to construction and maintenance services, including open space management, as well as other projects to develop the ‘social infrastructure’ of new communities (running long term community facilities, providing grants and community development support etc.)

46

47

F. Bedfordshire and Luton Investing in Communities PlanReferences of potential relevance to social enterprise


Intervention Area - 1. Work Limiting Illness - Employability

o1 Range of providers supported to deliver one to one pre employment support , based in the community

o2 Specialist support to client groups with additional needs e.g. supported employment

o3 Support to organisations offering volunteering opportunity o4 Support to increase demand and supply of volunteering

opportunitieso5 More ILM and Social Firm opportunities using SE's as a

vehicle to provide training and employment experience but delivering a product or service as well

Intervention Area 2. - Children & Education Need to help Children Centres to deliver:1. Integrated childcare and early learning2. Child and family health services including ante-natal3. Outreach and family support services4. Links with Jobcentre Plus for training and employment advice5. Support for childminders6. Support for children and parents with special educational needs7. By 2008 14000 children should have been reached

Intervention Area 3. - Transition from School to EmploymentBroad level intervention areas include:

An activity to improve coordination and information between services working to support this group. Any activities need to complement the two 14-19 years strategies and the work of organizations in the field, including the ones mentioned above and the Pupil Referral Units and Special Schools.

Bedfordshire 14-19 Strategy - results of their research, due next week, may identify activities that would contribute to the IIC programme.

Pathway from 14-19/25 into targeted jobs with local employers who will support the scheme of training, work placement, mentoring and tailored HE courses. Local employers could include: Airport, Centre Parcs, NIRAH, public sector shortage areas e.g. building services, planning, social services, youth service.

Capital projects includes Skills or Vocational Training Centres (these probably link with Adult Skills & Training). In Luton discussions are taking place with Southside & City (the developers for Napier Park - old Vauxhall site) and other partners to consider how we can produce skilled construction workers. Therefore we can say there is private sector support, which may be cash or may be construction jobs. Further centres would be at Kingsland and other locations around Bedfordshire & Luton.

The Activity Plan may result in social enterprise development which can help to address long term unemployment through, for example the employment of those with disabilities or other health problems in social firms or other forms of social enterprise. It is expected that the Social Enterprise Steering Group and ultimately BLSEP, will ensure close links between this area of activity and the development of social enterprise more generally.

There is the potential for these centres to become social enterprises. As part of the work proposed on exploring different roles and forms of social enterprise, this can be examined further and appropriate support designed and delivered where deemed appropriate.

The potential for social enterprise to feature as a particular form of enterprise in school-based enterprise training will be explored. Ways of linking up social enterprise training and more generic training for young people will be examined.

48

Campus Luton need revenue funding in the short term to support the vocational facilities, but in the longer terms this would cease once employers contribute and schools can refocus their budgets….

Intervention Area 4. - Adult SkillsThe IiC Adult Skills Intervention should focus on:

Pre-entry level provision, which is not comprehensive or targeted enough to help adults from the most deprived communities (OCSI 4.2.9), particularly those who are unemployed or from BME groups. The aim would be to improve access and widen participation and link with LSC funded skills for life and full level 2 provision

Above level 2 provision, to ensure that adults with full level 2 qualifications are able to progress into level 3 and level 4 provision. Skills levels at these levels are critical in attracting employers into the area.

1. A Skills Institute

2. Pre-entry Programme

3. Above Level 2 Programmes

4. Black Minority Ethnic Communities & Migrant Workers

5. The Voluntary Sector

6. Access & Promotion of Adult Learning

Intervention Area 5b) - Business Support The Business link, have identified three key activity areas which, they believe are priorities to support the activities that have already been highlighted in the OSCI report and the work done by the IIC focus groups

The key themes being;

1. Development of entrepreneurs (particularly focusing on Schools and Colleges)

2. Development of entrepreneurship (particularly focusing on the disadvantaged wards and ethnic communities)

3. Business Start - up activity4. Sustainability - (particularly focusing on support to encourage businesses to reach their full economic potential)

Including social enterprise skills training in these programmes can be examined further, especially where training for those in the voluntary sector is proposed.

The review of ‘foundation support services’ for social enterprise will lead to clear definitions of the support required, what part regionally contracted business support can play and other potential developments. This includes development of social enterprise angles on enterprise training in schools and in disadvantaged areas and this will cover both start up and growth needs.

49

G: Bedfordshire and Luton Joint Economic Development StrategyReferences of potential relevance to social enterprise


Indicative Forecasts of the Additional Jobs Required by 2021 above “Business as Usual” Expectations

New social enterprises 250-750

Growing Innovation and Entrepreneurship Continuation of support to develop the entrepreneurship

centre network to provide a focus for enhancing sub-regional economic performance and assist in the creation and growth of businesses and business activities.

Develop links through the proposed Enterprise Hub and other initiatives between businesses and innovation, higher and further education, research and other knowledge-based facilities to encourage the formation and growth of innovation clusters.

Support other appropriate networks of companies and innovation providers….

Support the development of a portfolio of sites and premises which can encourage the creation of new innovative companies and the transformation of new ideas into marketable products….

Encourage the growth of new enterprises in rural areas to build sustainable rural communities.

Embrace the cultural diversity of Bedfordshire and Luton as an economic strength by ensuring that it results in creative solutions to common problems which can be turned into economic activity, wealth generation and employment, such as building on the different commercial strengths of the Bury Park area in Luton to develop new trade and custom from outside Bedfordshire and Luton.

The Activity Plan sets out proposals for linking social enterprise into other enterprise promoting activities. It also proposes work to link in social enterprise to existing and proposed innovation / enterprise hubs and the possibility of developing a ‘Social Enterprise Centre’ as a sector-focused response to specific support needs in the area.

The development of the Social Enterprise Partnership will strengthen the network of social enterprise in the area.

Potential S.E. Centre(s)

Sustainable services in rural areas will be examined in relation to different forms of social enterprise and the potential development of ‘trailblazers’ to test out the model in different circumstances.

Potential of S.E. to meet needs of different cultural and ethnic groups to be explored

50

Adapting and Accessing Skills and Education Improve the range, quality and availability of adult education and

work-based learning including apprenticeship programmes to reflect the changing needs of the local economy.

Ensure the local business support network provides a wide range of high quality services focussed on skills, productivity and business development that adapt and reflect the changing needs of employers to sustain and support the success of local businesses.

Take appropriate measures to raise existing low levels of activity rates in certain parts of the community, e.g. among Muslim women.

Improve the appreciation among local employers of social and environmental issues which impinge on their businesses.

Infrastructure Solutions for Growth

…Seeking the revitalisation of existing employment areas where these can maintain quality employment for existing communities. ..

Growth and Community Development

Encourage small scale rural business developments which have the potential to meet local job needs, make rural areas less dependent on out-commuting and provide important services to rural communities which develop social cohesion.

Support the renaissance of town and local centres to strengthen their retail and other roles in making Bedfordshire and Luton an excellent place to live, thereby also increasing their contribution to wider economic success and community development.

Promote urban and rural community development through integrated neighbourhood renewal, village plans and other approaches, accessing and applying regional, national and EU funding as well as deploying local service funding as effectively as possible.

Ensure the successful implementation of existing urban regeneration programmes accessing Single Regeneration Budget, New Deal for Communities, Sure Start, EU and other funds for deprived communities.

Ensure that Investing in Communities and other regeneration funding influenced by the Partnership is used as effectively as possible to give more deprived communities the opportunity to participate in the sub-region’s future economic successes.

The potential for a social enterprise to be developed in relation to construction and /or maintenance will feature and possible links to enhanced training facilities will be explored.

Opportunities for developing social enterprise training as a part of other programmes will be explored and this, alongside other development work, can be designed to meet the particular needs of different cultural/ ethnic/ religious groups.

Social enterprise models for developing local service provision, addressing social deprivation and creating other benefits in particular communities will be examined as part of the Activity Plan, possibly including ‘trailblazer’ projects to demonstrate the needs and potential for applying the social enterprise model in different circumstances.

H. Bedfordshire Local Area AgreementReferences of potential relevance to How the Social Enterprise Activity

51

social enterprise Plan links/ contributes to thisOutcome 3: Growth and Sustainability of Enterprise and Small Business

Progress in upper schools on Government requirement regarding enterprise focused activity

Development of Social Enterprises (SEs)

Other outcomes- e.g. job creation, health and education

Possible contribution to inclusion of social enterprise in the development of school- based enterprise activity

Development of support services and other proposals will result in expansion of social enterprise activity, including creation of new social enterprises. Firmer targets need to be set after the initial 18 months of the Social Enterprise Activity Plan

Potential contribution of social enterprise activity to meeting some of these outcomes- examine as part of proposed feasibility work on ‘trailblazer’ social enterprises.

I. Change Up/ Capacity Builders Plan for Bedfordshire and LutonReferences of potential relevance to social enterprise How the Social

Enterprise Activity Plan links/ contributes to this

Targeting hard to reach groupsThe key activities will be:• to expand our databases of voluntary organisations and community groups through furtherdesk research (e.g. internet sites, directories, parish newsletters, local newspapers);• to develop actions for capturing information on, and engaging with, voluntary organisations andcommunity groups (including youth and hard to reach groups) within BME communities, urbanneighbourhoods and rural localities;• to link databases (in a secure way) to the design and development of our websites;• to extend the reach of infrastructure services to non-users and hard to reach groups;• to build on the Broadband for Bedfordshire ICT exemplar project.

Developing the Capacity of Local CommunitiesThe key activities will be:• to create a more effective and skilled workforce within the voluntary and community sector by improving people’s community development, volunteering and fundraising skills;• to provide a programme of training workshops/courses that lead to accredited learning and qualifications;• to provide information, advice and guidance to community leaders and trustees that enables them to access funding for the benefit of local communities;

Potential coordination of database development between VCS and BL Social Enterprise Partnership

Continued …..

Contribution of social enterprise skills training to development of VCO’s.

52

• to build on the Broadband for Bedfordshire ICT exemplar project by providing local VCS organisations with free internet access and access to web-based resources.

VolunteeringThe key activities will be:• to work with local volunteer-involving organisations to increase the number, range and quality of local volunteering opportunities;• to support local volunteer-involving organisations in their recruitment, retention and management of volunteers;• to market and increase awareness of the range and diversity of local volunteering opportunities and the benefits to be gained through volunteering and active community involvement;• to increase the numbers of potential volunteers seeking, choosing and taking up volunteering opportunities through local Volunteer Development Agencies;• to target volunteering publicity and engagement activities at groups and/or individuals that areunder-represented in volunteering, are socially excluded, have extra support needs or unusual skills;• to use innovative, tried and tested outreach methods to engage with potential volunteers and bring about the above.

Enabling VCS Organisations to have an Effective VoiceKey activities (in addition to those connected to other Strategic Objectives) could be:• to host website discussions and posting information briefings on issues of interest to the sector;• to organise briefings, seminars, networking forums and consultation events on issues of interest to the sector;• to develop mechanisms for building dialogue with key people from local VCS organisations;• to promote and enable local communities to develop and participate in parish/neighbourhood planning processes.

Commitment to funding ‘foundation support services’ including VCS funding/ income advice to VCO’s as part of overall package to encourage and support social enterprise development.

Social enterprise development will, in many cases, run alongside use of volunteers.

Social Enterprise Activity Plan could lead to provision of a social enterprise dimension to the proposed training and development opportunities in the VCS.

53

Appendix 4: Example Report derived from a Social Enterprise membership survey (Development Trusts Association)

Development Trusts in 2003

Annual Membership Survey

Development Trusts AssociationSeptember 2003

A company limited by guarantee registered in England no 2787912. A registered charity no. 0136460

54

Development Trusts

Development Trusts are: engaged in the economic, environmental & social regeneration of a

defined area or community independent and aiming for self-sufficiency not-for-private profit community-based and owned actively involved in partnerships between the community, voluntary,

private and public sectors

Development trusts are regarded as excellent models for delivering social, economic and environmental change in neighbourhoods across the country. The DTI’s Social Enterprise Unit (July 2002) acknowledges the role and influence of the development trust movement.

“Many (development trusts) already embody the mix of entrepreneurial spirit and strong social purpose that characterise social enterprise and is improving the lives of individuals and of communities throughout our country.”iRt Hon Stephen Timms MP, Social Enterprise Minister

The development trust movement is still developing and a growing one concerned with quality and sustainability. It remains firmly rooted in communities which strive to improve quality of life and the local environment for individuals, neighbourhoods and groups of people who share a common interest.

Our membership

Currently, we have 245 development trusts in membership and 126 Associate members. During the last twelve months we accepted 40 new development trusts into membership.

55

number of development trusts

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

1971

1975

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

year

num

ber o

f tru

sts

The bulk of our membership remains in England and Wales. The most numerous of our members are in the North West (45 members); Yorkshire & Humber (41 members); South West (38 members); and London (33 members). We have doubled our membership in the Eastern region. DTA Scotland has now been established as a separate organisation based in Edinburgh and is working to build up its membership. Membership in DTA Wales remains steady with 20 members.

Development trusts in each region/nation

11 8

33 28

45

11

38

7

41

20

1 2

East M

ids

Easter

n

Londo

n NENW SE SW

West M

ids

Yorks

& H

umbe

r

Wales

Scotla

nd

N Irelan

d

Region

Num

ber o

f tru

sts

Members’ legal status

56

Most development trusts are companies limited by guarantee. More than half (57%) are registered charities. 44% of our members are both companies limited by guarantee and registered charities.

Legal status

57%

80%

2%

1%

5%

Charity

Company Ltd by Guarantee

Industrial & Provident Society

Other

Unincorporated association

Contexts in which development trusts work

The majority of our members are located in urban or inner city areas (60% of members). However, 21% work in rural areas and a further 15% work in a mixed urban/rural setting. In total therefore 36% (88 members) operate completely or partially in rural areas.

urban60%

rural21%

mixed15%

suburban4%

In recognition of this, the DTA has appointed a Rural Policy Manager to consolidate the specific interests of our rural members and to lead on the issue of rural regeneration – frequently perceived as a much neglected issue compared to the prominence urban regeneration receives.ii Within these different locations, our members operate in a variety of settings.

57

Where trusts work24%

13% 13% 15% 15%

2%10%

3%7%

Inner

city

Housin

g esta

te

Market

town

Former

mining

Former

indus

...

Former

defen

ce

Resort

town

Former

textile

Coasta

lperc

enta

ge o

f tru

sts

NB: figures total more than 100% because some trusts work in more than 1 type of setting

Our members operate in geographical areas that are as compact as one square mile to over 500 square miles. Those working over a large area are usually operating in a dispersed rural setting.

Area of operation

8%

31%

21%

8% 10% 8% 11%

1%

1-2

3-5

6-10

11-20

21-50

51-10

0

101-5

0050

0+

square miles

perc

enta

ge o

f tru

sts

Activities

iReferences? Fabulous Beasts: stories of community enterprise from the DTA (2002) £6.00 inc p&p

ii Rural Agenda: for community-led enterprise (2002) £10.00/5.00 inc p&p (non-members/members)

58

Development Trusts provide a wide range of services within their communities. The type and mix depends on local needs, local resources and the stage of development of the organisation. One of the key strengths of many trusts is that they can offer a variety of services to meet the needs of communities. Since our last survey, there has been an increase in activities such as training, business support and job creation. Members are not only developing their own enterprises but are also supporting new and emerging community enterprise through business support, training and consultancy services.

This year’s survey has highlighted once again the varied activities which our members are engaged.

Services provided by trusts

020406080

100120140

Advice

Busines

s sup

port

Enviro

nmen

t

Health

care

Youth

work

Training

IT/web

site d

ev

Job c

reatio

n

Managin

g works

pace

num

ber o

f tru

sts

20022003

Other activities (and number of trusts) include: property development (81); arts (63); education (56); childcare (53); heritage (52); transport (45); sports and recreation (42); housing (42); tourism (34); grant giving (33); community safety (27) ; and project planning (22).

Staff and volunteers

Many of our members are still small organisations: 45% have 5 or fewer staff.

Number of staff % of membersno paid staff 10%1-5 35%6-10 20%11-15 13%16-25 9%26-40 6%40 plus 6%

59

Many of our members encourage local employment in areas of disadvantage: 72% employ more than half their staff from within their area of benefit.

65% of our members involve volunteers in a range of activities. The majority of the volunteers are from local communities who become involved either through contact as a service user or as local activists who want to bring about change in their neighbourhoods.

Development trusts are community based

Development trusts are community-based organisations. This means a community of place and in some cases also a community of interest such as older people or unemployed men.

The formal relationship between a development trust and its community may take different forms.iii For example some development trusts are governed by management committees that are directly elected by all residents in an area. In some cases individuals elect the committee members and/or local organisations that have joined the development trust as members. And in other cases, the management committee may be formed of a combination of representatives from the community, public and business sectors.

65% of those responding to our survey have a membership base made up of local individuals.

membership base

0%

20%

40%

60%

less than 20 20-49 50-99 over 100

number of individuals

perc

enta

ge o

f tr

usts

As well as involving individuals within their communities, more than half our members also have local organisations as part of their membership; where this applies, more than half have more than 20 local organisations in membership.

Diverse Communitiesiii Celebrating Community Involvement: leading lights, moving spirits and lattice-work networks (2003) £ 6.00 inc p&p

4 The Community Challenge: engaging with diverse communities (2002) Available from www.dta.org.uk

60

http://www.dta.org.uk/

The majority of our members work in communities that are diverse. They make active efforts to ensure representation and involvement and many provide services especially for particular sections of their communities.iv Examples include:

teenage parents rural isolated people would be entrepreneurs farming communities unemployed people creative & digital

businesses local artists/musicians people with poor

literacy/numeracy skills older people building professionals people with substance

abuse problems homeless people

Many respondents channel resources to work specifically with children & young people (70%); women (36%); BME communities (24%) and refugee & asylum seekers (12%). The array of services provided includes the following:

Group BME communities

Refugee & Asylum Seekers

Women Children & Young People

Services Grants; social enterprise support; learning ambassadors (outreach); capacity building.

Supplementary schools; basic skills; employment & learning support.

Learning opportunities; women in business & IT courses.

New Deal for young people; parent & toddler groups; homework clubs; game clubs; youth forums; crèches; play development projects; careers pathways development; rural inclusion project; toy libraries; after school clubs; youth drop in; teen bar; advice services (Sure Start); music workshops; teenage parents support ; sports & recreation; funding.

iv

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In this survey we also asked about trusts’ engagement with black and ethnic minority communities. Some of our members are working in areas where there is a substantial BME population: one in five development trusts work where the BME population is over 10%, and in a few cases (6% of development trusts) the BME population is over 50%.

Trusts working with BME communities

42%

32%

6% 4% 3% 4% 4% 6%

Less

than

11 -

56 -

10

11 - 2

0

21 - 3

0

31 - 4

0

41 - 4

950

+

% of population from BME backgrounds

perc

enta

ge o

f tru

sts

Two thirds of our members do not have management committee members from BME backgrounds. A small number (4%) have management committees where more than half of the committee members are from BME backgrounds.

QUALITY

Development trusts are at a crucial stage. They are increasingly being asked to demonstrate value and to improve the quality of business and social impacts. There are 2 aspects to this:

Improving: to help make better development trusts Proving: to help establish the value development trusts make to external

audiences.

Development trusts are doing this by using a range of frameworks and tools. Our members (and the DTA itself) continue to use quality assurance to assess their activities and management. The more popular systems such as Investors in People (IIP), Social Accounting, and Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations (PQASSO), are applied along with the following examples:

Environmental: Green policies; Green Dragon Environmental Standard; Educational : Common Inspection Framework with Adult Learning

Inspectorate; Learn Direct standards; OFSTED for children; Learning Skills Council standards

62

International Standards : ISO/4001; ISO9002 Office Policy Local Authority Standards : Liverpool City Council Good Practice

Guidelines; City of Bristol Standards; Best Value Performance Indicators Employment : Employment Control System; Audits : Performance & Management Systems; Neighbourhood Renewal

Unit & District Audits; Social Auditing;

37% members reported having a written environmental policy. One member has a conservation policy in place.

INCOME

More than a quarter (28%) of our members have an income of less than £100k a year. However, 11% have an income of more than £1m per annum – this indicates growth in our movement –the figure last year was 5%.

Total Income % of membersLess than 1k 1%1- 10 k 5%10 - 100 k 22%100 - 500 k 42%500 - 1m 18%Over 1m 11%Total 100%

Development trusts work to maintain a mix of activities that provide community benefit and also generate earned income. 41% of our members raise over £100,000 through trading – a big rise from last year where the figure was 27%.

Earned income

2%

17%

41%30%

6% 5%

Less

than

1k

1- 10

k10

- 100

k10

0 - 50

0 k50

0 - 1m

Over 1

m

level of earned income(£)

perc

enta

ge o

f tru

sts

63

Members continue to report a huge range of sources of earned income. Examples include:

Event management Franchises such as Learn Direct Community garages Tours and seminars Catering companies Managing SRB community chest Offering legal services Running gardening services Retailing operations Housing maintenance Local authority contracts

Rental income Security services Childcare Farmers’ markets Community transport Arts projects IT training Community café Office services Business training Sports and recreation

Our members also raise funds in the form of grants and donations from a wide variety to sources in addition to earned income. These funds are used to set up new activities, support specific services and to lever additional income and resources into local neighbourhoods. Many sources of grants include charitable trusts, regional and national government funding and lottery funding. Other sources have included the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, local Community Foundations and the Countryside Agency.

ASSET DEVELOPMENT

Development of assets (through acquisition or transfer) is a key objective of DTA’s work.1

In collaboration with partners, the DTA was instrumental in establishing the Adventure Capital Fund in 2002. This is an investment fund which aims to invest in community enterprises to build up their asset base and thereby accelerate enterprise growth and create sustainable institutions for long-term community renewal.

We have been successful in lobbying for a change in government regulations to allow public sector bodies to transfer assets to community organisations at less than market value, without applying for Secretary of State consent.1 Developing an Asset Base (2001) and Asset Transfer: a can-do guide (2001) £10.00/5.00 inc p&p (non-members/members)

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18% of members have assets worth in excess of over £1 million – up from 13% last year.

Assets held by development trusts

13%16% 19%

35%

15%

3%

No assets

Up to 10

k

10 - 1

00 k

100 k

- 1m

1 - 5

m

Over 5

m

Value of assets (£)

perc

enta

ge o

f tru

sts

The asset is most often in the form of buildings but in some cases, land or/and equipment. Some trusts have other types of asset on their balance sheets (eg: investments or endowments).

Income generated from assets

Assets in community control can provide social, economic and environmental benefits. They can also be used to generate independent income:

Income generated from assets

6%

37% 37%

16%

4%

Up to 1 k

1 -10 k

10 -100 k

101 -500 k

Over 500 k

level of income (£)

perc

enta

ge o

f tru

sts

Development of Assets

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The scale and variety of assets in current development reflect the diverse nature of the DTA membership. Examples include:

Complex of Victorian school buildings to develop a “community campus.”

Grade 2 listed building to renovate for an enterprise & learning centre

500 acre former quarry to become a visitor attraction Former town hall building for community use Derelict woollen mill site for community use and workspace Running a fleet of vehicles as a business Alarms for security systems Café development Servicing and selling IT equipment as a business

WHO ARE OUR ASSOCIATE MEMBERS?

Our Associate members comprise organisations and individuals which support the aims of the Development Trusts Association and value direct links with our movement.

Our Associate membership includes local not for profit organisations; local authorities; SRB schemes; housing organisations; councils of voluntary service, professional firms; Groundwork trusts, public limited companies; rural community councils; enterprise agencies; funding bodies ; educational institutions; and others including consultancy firms, business partnerships, government bodies, think tanks, and trade unions.

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