Leadership in action event: social entrepreneurship reports launched

Posted on June 28, 2007 by sse

On Tuesday, SSE launched two new reports at an event at NESTA, which have wide significance for the sector, government et al….

– The first is an executive summary of the Evaluation of the School for Social Entrepreneurs 1997-2007, by the New Economics Foundation, and with a foreword by Ed Miliband MP.

– The second is a new research report, Leadership in the Social Economy, by Charlotte Chambers (SSE Chair) and Fiona Edwards-Stuart.

[Both are downloadable, as is the press release, from the online SSE media centre]

You can read the official news article about the launch on the main site, which makes clear that both reports make a strong case both for people being the key to sustainable change, and also for tailored, long-term support for social entrepreneurs. Or, to quote Alastair Wilson, SSE Chief Executive:

"These two reports make a compelling case for supporting social
entrepreneurs as a means of driving social change. Both serve as
crucial reminders to all in the third sector that sustainable
organisations are people-powered, and that our most crucial resources
are human ones.”

The event was really well-attended, so thanks to all those people for their support…and for those who were mopping my slightly fevered brow beforehand. First up were a sterling set of keynote speakers: Hilary Armstrong, making her last public speech as Minister for the Cabinet Office, gave a strong endorsement of the SSE, and placed our work in a wider political context. Given our new partnerships with government, this was especially welcome.

She was followed by Liam Black, of the Fifteen Foundation, who entertainingly wondered when he went from being a "bright young thing" to an "eminence grise", as he reflected on his journey as a social entrepreneur. He also gave a ringing endorsement of the SSE, in slightly more forceful terms: "There’s a lot of bulls**t and hype spoken about social enterprise and entrepreneurship, but none of it by Alastair or the SSE". He also had interesting things to say about his journey, though: that it was alright to be afraid; that if it starts feeling easy, it’s probably going downhill; that everyone makes their own mistakes (but it’s good not to make other people’s again). He was also open and honest about their own struggles with replication (and replicating an ethos and culture), which was refreshing.

Finally, Alastair spoke about how both reports give real evidence that the SSE methodology works and creates lasting change, and how we are now looking to proactively replicate the franchise across the UK. It was great to have the support of Carmel and Ken from SSE Ireland, Fergus from East Midlands SSE, and Jo and Lisa from Liverpool SSE at the event, because this was very much about promoting the network. Also delighted to see several current SSE students and Fellows there, giving them great networking opportunities as well as hearing more about why we do what we do…

The room was then literally divided in two (by the wonders of NESTA’s space-age offices) for the workshops about each publication. I can’t speak for the Leadership in the Social Economy workshop (though I heard good feedback afterwards), but the Evaluation one seemed well-received, and myself and Richard (from nef) were really pleased by the thoughtful and incisive questioning, which allowed us to flesh out the bare bones of the report itself. Questions about response rates, overall aim/purpose, methodology (and its implications for the 3rd sector), time commitment, background / make-up of Fellows and student cohorts all helped further issues come to light, and I had some good strong discussions which carried on afterwards in the networking….

For those who were there, and/or who have read the reports, we’d be delighted to receive any comments below, or directly by e-mail. Thanks.

Public service delivery over Demos breakfast

Posted on May 29, 2007 by sse

Having returned from Estonia (of which more soon), SSE launched straight back into the deep end with a breakfast roundtable discussion at Demos on ambition, social enterprise, the third sector and public service delivery. Luminaries attending included senior policy people of NCVO and ACEVO (Nick Aldridge, soon off to be CEO of MissionFish), Ben Metz from Ashoka, Cliff Prior from UnLtd, and Stephen Sears from ECT.

Once coffees were downed, people clicked into gear and the debate began, albeit with relatively few sparks flying. In fact, reading between the lines, there was significant agreement between those present. Diversity, and government understanding of, was one key theme: that it is impossible to decide whether "the sector" should a) aim to deliver a greater percentage of public services or b) transform capitalism or c) innovate at the grassroots or, indeed, d) all of the above…..rather, each organisation decides what it does to achieve its goals, giving a complex, diverse, rich picture.

There was also significant agreement about the need for more thought-through commissioning (an old and well-worn chestnut…if you can have a well-worn chestnut), that it should be outcome- not sector-based. This is very much in line with our feeling that, increasingly, the boundaries between sectors are becoming blurred and what matters is the quality/value/impact of activity, and how transparent an organisation is about the way it operates (and in how it communicates).

A social enterprise or charitable structure doesn’t guarantee quality, particularly if what differentiates them (aka the values/mission at their heart/inception) is no longer there…which is a possibility if organisations are formed to respond to sector-based commissions. The powerhouse that is ECT started as a small voluntary community transport organisation by people passionate to see that need to be met.

There were some interesting points about innovation too: I made the point that social enterprise was meant to be about new solutions, risk, innovation etc, but that it was difficult to commission innovation or procure entrepreneurship. And that social entrepreneurs, particularly in their early years of activity, are responding to what is NOT being met, rather than aiming to deliver a public service that is already recognised. The ramifications for funding, support, devolving power and money are clear. Nick A. added that research had shown that the sector was involved in more incremental innovation now, rather than "disruptive" innovation, and that this was to be welcomed.

Further interesting points came around user-led services, whether it will make a difference if Cameron/Brown get in (general feeling: not really, though we won’t know until either of them do, and they’ll both have less money to work with…), and how Ben/Ashoka will bring down capitalism. Or something. ;0)

Best of all, a roundtable discussion that didn’t attempt to define social enterprise or the third sector once: marvellous.

Third Sector Leadership event: nuggets of leadership gold

Posted on May 17, 2007 by sse

The Third Sector Leadership Centre’s inaugural big event took place this week at Vinopolis in South London, and there were nuggets of gold to be had. Given that social entrepreneurs are often instantly leaders as well, and often the next generation of third sector leaders, I thought I’d try and capture a few brief highlights from some of the speakers and presentations:

– Digby Jones, recently DG of the CBI, started us off with the keynote, and he had some good leadership advice, including:

lead by example (if it’s uncomfortable, do it first)
ensure people take their holidays
put the hours in, but…
…if it can wait till tomorrow, go home tonight
problems at work often stem from problems at home
communicate at all times: foster a culture of openness and honesty
look out for others: "good leaders are unselfish people"
have a sense of humour
remember QED: Quality (of organisation, brand, the work), Environment (workplace, politics) and Dosh (has to be right; "if there’s room in the budget, give it to them not you…then tell them you have")

Inevitably, he also banged on about the need to educate people about risk, about the low levels of literacy and numeracy, and that there are winners and losers. To quote directly, "If they can’t do things, let’s put an exocet up their chuff". And he ended with another pearl of wisdom: "It’s very diffficult to give a bollocking to a cheerful person"

[In theory, this led on to a "big debate" but actually we just had a series of speakers (something of a shame for those of us expecting/hoping for sparks to fly)….]

Stuart Etherington of NCVO started with a generous tribute to Stephen Bubb of ACEVO for having the original idea, before moving on to what was distinct about leadership in the third sector, namely governance, measurement, more/more diverse stakeholders, combining delivery and policy, and multiple funding streams.

Shaks Ghosh, ex of Crisis and now at the controversial Private Equity Foundation, talked about leadership being about:

reaching down into communities, and understanding how to lead within communities
the challenge of remembering where we came from, and retaining that contact with the grassroots
fearlessness (in pushing boundaries, grasping opportunities…and saying no)
good management, as well as energy and passion

Stephen Bubb, chief exec of ACEVO, reciprocated the tribute from NCVO’s boss (who said they didn’t get on? ;0) and gave his insights:

best leadership lessons are learned on the job
"tipping point" leadership: you don’t always need everyone with you…sometimes you are ahead of them, seeking opportunities and reading trends
whingeing: a CEO should never do it, but point out the way forward (there was a swipe here at whingers in the sector, methinks)
"You don’t cross a chasm one step at a time" (from Lloyd George)

Finally, Campbell Robb, the Director General of the Office of the Third Sector, shared his insights (the first of which was not to speak fifth, as Digby Jones walked out as he started….!), starting with an anecdote in which he referred to an exercise on a Harvard programme about the power of silence. Having chatted to his partner, she asked if NCVO had "sent you to Harvard to find out you talk too much", before adding that she could have done that much more cheaply. The lesson from this was to look to those who know you. Others included:

keep mission and values at heart
have empathy and humility (and a willingness to learn at all times)
create space for fearlessness

Add all of those up and some sort of perfect leader may emerge…and more still came out under questioning. Campbell Robb had a neat summation of the independence issue (govt: "why don’t you do what we pay for?"; sector: "why don’t you pay for what we do?"), while Stuart Etherington talked of the "uniqueness of managing people who don’t have to be there" (volunteers). Stephen Bubb called for boldness over paying for the best people, and being professional and passionate (and that the two are possible in tandem).

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The sessions I was in were varied: the first was (in title) about leadership in local communities, but was really an introduction to an evaluation/planning tool, rather grandly titled Weavers Triangle. It’s basically a triangle with Overall aim at the top, Aims/Outcomes at the middle level, and Activities/Outputs at the bottom. Like this:

It was quite interesting, but caused lively debate as there was inconsistency in the way it was described at different times.The flaw for me is that there is no sense of "needs" in that equation: what unmet needs are trying to be met? As Ben from Bassac said to me afterwards, though, it’s just a tool…and people can do what they will with it.

The second session I went to was "leading a social enterprise". This was obviously more directly SSE’s field, so no great revelations, although it was interesting to gauge the cultural barriers from some voluntary sector organisations to trading and earning income. The Adventure Capital Fund gave a presentation about their work (which was very dry; some case studies would really have brought this alive) in terms of mixed loans and grants, and seeking a blended return + the type of support they provide during the length of their involvement.

There was also a social entrepreneur, Kevin from Pecan, an organisation in Peckham which had been revitalised through nimbleness and new innovations. He was a much more engaging speaker (almost all questions went to him), and covered important issues like risk, internal skills, shift in cultures, and the need to communicate the social impact of enterprise activities. He also gave a real sense of this being a people-driven change, rather than simply adopting a model or structure which would solve all problems.

[btw, it was great to see an SSE Fellow and current student in that session as well….]

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Other stuff: some decent networking, an interesting whistlestop session on integrative leadership (which I’ll come back to another time, methinks), and a final plenary which didn’t do much for me but others seemed to enjoy. There was one great quote from Susan Digby (or Susan Digby Jones as she was called in the programme!), founder of the Voices Foundation who said, in response to a question about leadership/gender, that she’d always been able to get any man to do anything for her! Her advice included:

learn on the job
absolute blind faith in the mission
strong support systems (at home and work)
display passion + work hard
work on the ground: it feeds and sustains the motivation

Final note to Tracy Beasley, Director of the TSLC (and congrats to her and her team on the event being a real success), who left us with the thought that "there can be no change if there is no learning", which certainly underpins SSE‘s work and has done since inception.

Edge Upstarts winners event 07

Posted on May 17, 2007 by sse

SSE attended the Edge Upstarts awards the other evening at St James’ Palace, no less. Having arrived slilghtly late, I found myself walking directly behind the royal party (our host was the Duke of Kent, President of Edge) into the venue, and it was a close-run thing not to walk straight up on the stage behind them. Thankfully, I settled in the audience and listened as the winners were announced (photos etc. available via this link).

No great surprises, to be frank…Tom Savage won young social entrepreneur of the year, Belu Water won social enterprise of the year, and Sital Punja (of Sari UK) won social entrepreneur of the year. Best speech came from social enterprise trainee of the year, Craig Watson ("Thank you, London!") who revealed to me later that this was the first time he’d ever been to the capital….and we agreed that receeiving a prize from a duke in a palace might not happen every time.

As ever, the networking is what it’s all about, and the organisers had done well to keep the awards/speeches section to a minimum. Some of those with left-leaning, grassroots backgrounds raised an eyebrow at the level of bowing and scraping, but the Duke’s speech was actually pretty good: he (or his researcher) had done his homework on the background to some of the award-winners, and he was frank in admitting his lack of knowledge of the movement up to that point. Another convert.

Other speakers included Geoffrey Robinson, who just about got through his MC duties (there seemed to be a degree of relief when handing over…), Ed Miliband (who had a nice line about Geoffrey knowing his father, bolstering his youthful credentials…), and Edge CEO Andy Powell. I confess the latter’s speech didn’t really resonate with me, and the problem with hosting an event in such rarefied surroundings is that it can seem rather stuffy and undynamic in contrast to the very movement we are there to celebrate and recognise.

On the flipside, there is also a sense in which being in such a place does make people feel ‘special’ in some way, as evidenced by Craig above. So I can see why it was chosen. Good networking areas in the palace, too, after the main section, chatting to Alan (Strachan, partner of one of the nominees Servane Mouazan from Ogunte), Cliff Prior from UnLtd, Simon Tucker from the Young Foundation, the lovely Louise Coward from OTS, and MT Rainey, founder of the mentoring website Horse’s Mouth (which Edge Supports) and is now open for use in beta..

Having called for celebration and recognition recently, the Edge awards are an important part of the social enterprise and entrepreneurshp ecology… and long may they continue.

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