Category Archives: Events

Corporate social responsibility and inflection points

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At the CAF Companies and Communities awards event yesterday, there was some interesting debate and discussion about CSR, the way it is changing, and how there has been a shift over the last two years in the way that it is viewed by the corporate sector. John Humphrys hosted (and gave out the awards later on: congratulations to all the winners) and was endearing in his contrariness. The most interesting insights for me came from Mark Kramer from FSG in the US, and I particularly enjoyed one graph he showed that looked as follows:
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[click to enlarge]

Profit (or probability of profit) is on the y-axis, and consumer awareness (over time) on the x-axis. The red line represents profit from ‘harm’, and the green line profit from ‘cure’ (see below). The circled area is the inflection point.

Basically, the graph shows how companies reach a point where their ability to make money whilst still ‘harming’ or creating a problem (eg polluting, deforesting) becomes superseded by their ability to make money from ‘curing’ or creating a solution. Recognising the point where this happens (for each product / service / activity) is a key challenge for companies….or at least for those where this way of thinking can be applied. It also got me thinking that you could apply a similar graph from the charity point of view, with social impact on the y-axis: and the inflection point would be where the charity’s ability to change things through campaigning against corporates is superseded by their ability to make change by working with them.

Obviously this isn’t true for all, but it’s an interesting lens to look at this issue through. Particularly if one considers that social enterprise and social entrepreneurship might be viewed as operating at those respective inflection points from their inception.

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Friday round-up: Coin St, Clinton, Camberwell, Collaboration

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SSE is still recovering from its residential in Devon which was a great success. Write-up/report to follow soon. Though here are a few photos that give a snapshot (click to enlarge):

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So at least you know why we’re tired….anyway, the traditional Friday round-up:

– Social Entrepreneur Show going on in Olympia today and tomorrow. Part of Business Start-Up show that’s run for quite a few years….

– Whilst we were in Dartington, CAN had their Scaling Up event. Third Sector reports on some of the findings, namely that the supported organisations’ turnover increased 20% in two years, with social impact increasing 40% (presumbaly with a wider range of measures..). I was interested by this as well: "A CAN spokeswoman said Permira had received no return on its investment
of £690,000 because, in CAN’s view, the social enterprise sector is
“not yet ready to give market-rate returns”."

– Coin Street in the news with their ambitious South Bank plans….

– For all those who say the hype is out of control, check this report in the New York Sun: "A Bush-Clinton idea". The idea? Social entrepreneurship….Look forward to seeing George and Bill on our next programme.

– Chris Hill at Camberwell Project makes some good points in this article from the Yorkshire Post re. enterprise and deprivation.

– Interesting article in New York Times on the "right" places to learn entrepreneurship, which basically goes through lots of university-based courses. Then there’s a link to a different view, an article by George Gendron, who says "kids with passion are our next entrepreneurs", and that entrepreneurial life skills are needed by all…

– In the world where social networking meets non-profits, no-one understands/connects more than Beth Kanter: thoughts on Google Open Social et al in this post

– Also via Beth, Forces For Good: the Six Practices of High Impact Non-Profits is a new book out in the US. Read the authors’ essay on Stanford Social Innovation Review site: Creating High-Impact Non-Profits
The 6 practices, FYI, are:

  • serve and advocate (delivery not enough: policy to achieve big change)
  • make markets work (tap into self-interest / capitalism)
  • inspire evangelists (strong communities of supporters / emotional connections / involvement)
  • nurture non-profit networks (collaboration rather than competition)
  • master the art of adaptation (combining innovation, execution and learning)
  • share leadership (distribute amongst organisation / team)

Job done.

– Acumen Fund have a blog which occasionally has interesting gems. This post about Melinda Gates aiming to eradicate malaria is worth a read. I particularly enjoyed the following comment: "the experts are often expert in what has been, not what could be."

Cheers.

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FOOTSEY 100: social enterprise in God’s country

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"Welcome to God’s country", said one delegate to me over lunch, and I did feel welcome indeed. I’ve been meaning for a while to write down my reflections on the Footsey 100, officially the largest Social Enterprise Trade Fair in the UK. Held in York, at the racecourse, this was the 6th Footsey (the ‘sey’ of which stands for social enterprise yorkshire) and it has increased in profile and numbers each year. This year, over 100 organisations were represented, with nigh on 6-700 delegates depending on who you spoke to.

Generally, the event had a great dynamism to it. Whether this was because it emphasises the ‘trade fair’ rather than ‘conference’ aspect of the event, or simply because there is so much going on in the region, I can’t say. But the buzz was palpable, and it was great to see the range of organisations and ventures on view: social firms, student-led initiatives, local-authority backed projects, regional CDFIs, CICs, development trusts of all sorts, shapes and sizes. Practitioners far outnumbered support agencies, funders and policymakers, which makes a big difference (learning, perhaps, for other large scale social enterprise events who shall remain nameless)…and the focus was on business and networking, not lectures.

Highlights for me? The Dragon’s Den, which is now seemingly a feature of every social enterprise event, was done as well as I’ve ever seen it. Genuine cash on the table (from Adventure Capital Fund), heavy metal music to whip up the atmosphere, and a presenter/host who took great (almost unhealthy) pleasure in announcing "THE NEXT VICTIM" at many decibels. The panel grilled effectively, and the pitches were varied and interesting (a dog-walking social enterprise was a new one on me)….congratulations to Pit Stop, who won the day for their re-use/regeneration of a plot of land for their alternative educational activities.

I also enjoyed running into Mike Chitty  of the Progressive Manager’s Network, who’s doing some really interesting work at the Goodwin Development Trust (who’d won an Enterprising Solution award in London the evening before; amazing organisation simply getting things done). And Chris Hill and Kristy Swift at the Camberwell Project…I’d met their colleague Todd Hannula (and linked to his blog a few times), and it was great to hear about the building-related projects and activities they’re developing. And much more networking besides….

It was interesting to note that, despite the size of the event, no politicians were present (though Ed Miliband appeared through the power of video). But, in a sense, this was in keeping with the day: the event embodied a maturing, vibrant regional movement, and was a celebration and recognition of that. It needed no political figure to endow it with authority or credibility on the day.

Lowlights were few and far between, although the tannoy was capable of deafening a rhino at 50 paces at times, and lunch briefly threatened to turn into a scrum before the doors opened. But those were minor blips on a really encouraging, enlightening day. It provided a very different view, and refreshingly grounded contrast, to the awards the previous evening in London. This movement, though, encompasses and includes, in all regions of the UK, and is all the stronger for it.

Finally, big congratulations to the organisers, primarily New Start, and sponsors, who you can read about here. SSE will be back there next year: look forward to seeing you there.

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I Am An Activist: Anita Roddick’s memorial

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My boss and several other people from the movement are heading off this evening to a memorial event for Anita Roddick, which will involve a march and a celebration under the banner "I Am An Activist".

It’s an interesting word to choose, and very much in keeping with what she was about. As she famously said: "Do something. Anything." Got me thinking about the time when someone said to me that who I was describing sounded like a community activist, not a social entrepreneur; as if there were clear boundaries between the two, and well-defined archetypes of each. A great number of SSE students and Fellows are, at a fundamental level, activists. After all, a key characteristic of an entrepreneur is that they are prone to action rather than reflection: that they, basically, do stuff.

In this article related to the memorial event, Simon Fanshawe rails against those who claim to be doing their bit by clicking their mouse or going to a concert. And I have to agree largely. There’s a huge amount of  what is called "Slacktivism" going around, currently perpetuated by large scale events with the word Live in or by countless social networking sites. Facebook won’t solve social ills; nor will MySpace or Bebo or the next grand social networking site to come along. Nor will a big concert. What they might help do is connect, network and fund activists and social entrepreneurs who are doing things; not passively consuming them. I’m as much a lover of new technology as anyone, but let’s not kid ourselves that this blog, podcasts or groovy new web 2.0 sites are going to change anything without offline activities that inspire, identify and support activists committed to making change in the real world. People who really can say "I am an activist" and know it’s true.

"This is no dress rehearsal. You’ve got one life, so just lead it and try and be remarkable."
Anita Roddick

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Enterprising Solutions, cocktails and museums

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A brief overview of the Enterprising Solutions awards which took place last Wednesday. Divine Chocolate was the overall winner (you can read about all the winners here on SEC’s website) with McSence, Haven, Women Like Us and Goodwin Development Trust also picking up prizes. Congratulations to all, and to the organisers for an impressively smoothly run event: no doubt their celebrations went on into the early hours (at least that looked where it was heading… :0).

The event was at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is an extraordinary venue….and not a little imposing. Nevertheless, there was a good buzz and an air of confidence about proceedings which meant that it didn’t overwhelm guests or overshadow the event. I’d spent the afternoon with the Ambassadors and they were pretty much all there, along with the new minister Phil Hope and all the usual suspects. I spent sometime chatting to Dave "Intelligent Giving" Pitchford and Cathy "Third Sector Research guru" Pharoah, who (combined) know more than most about the ins and outs of the charity world, particularly the funding and fundraising world. [Cathy actually came into our building last week to deliver a seminar on future sector trends, which I’ll try and write up soon]

Little else to report, really: I couldn’t possibly confirm the rumour that one prominent sector figure skipped the awards presentation and found him/her-self alone with all the booze; that would be scurrilous. Nor that the compere was far from being without compare… I can confirm that it was a successful event at a better venue (no popcorn at the iMax this year) which displayed the confidence of the movement, and that a good time was had by all….and no doubt many of you read further in the Observer supplement on Sunday. Of course, those of us who were going to York the next day (of which more soon) barely partook in any drinking at all….

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