Shine 2010: buy your tickets to the social entrepreneurs unconference

Posted on March 30, 2010 by sse

Been busy of late: usual end-of-year shenanigans here, with programmes graduating (see this article on London SSE), and new ones starting (see this article on SSE coming to Wigan and Leigh), a launch of an SSE feasibility study (with MaRS in Toronto), and lots of policy work (see the Social Entrepreneurs Manifesto) in the pre-election build-up.

Looking forward though, I'm very excited about this year's Shine 2010 unconference. Now entering its third year, Shine was set up by co-founders SSE, UnLtd, Ashoka and The Hub to create an event that was accessible, practical, dynamic and fun for grassroots + up-and-coming social entrepreneurs. No boring powerpoints, no long plenary sessions, no tedious speeches from sponsors, more questions and interaction, more peers + practitioners than experts, more networking, and more directly relevant stuff to help organisations move forward.

This year, from May 13th-15th is shaping up to be the biggest and best ever: but only with your help…and your presence. So buy your ticket below (about £50 for 3 days…and 2 parties!), and then click on the relevant links on the website to contribute your content, and shape your own programme. Like all the best things in life, you get out what you put in! Looking forward to seeing you all there; and follow http://twitter.com/SHINE_2010 for more updates.

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Cornwall SSE and Hampshire SSE: new videos!

Posted on March 4, 2010 by sse

A couple more videos to share with you all, from the Cornwall and Hampshire SSEs respectively.

The Cornwall video was shown at their recent graduation, and features interviews with the student social entrepreneurs as they come towards the end of their programme.

CSSE Animated Success from Matt Stent on Vimeo.

This Hampshire video features some of their social entrepreneurs on project visits, which is a key part of the SSE programme, giving the students a chance to not only hear from a social entrepreneur about how they've developed and grown their organisation, but to do so in an environment or at a location that brings that to life.

Hampshire School for Social Entrepreneurs from Shedlight on Vimeo.

Mentoring social entrepreneurs

Posted on February 25, 2010 by sse

At the recent Cornwall SSE graduation event, Tim Smit urged the social entrepreneurs in front of him to not just find themselves a mentor, but to demand one: he views it as that important. And there is no doubt that social entrepreneurs can learn a huge amount from their peers who are a little further on in their journey, or from those with significant reach, networks and experience (and who've made plenty of mistakes, of course). We also seek to match with those from other sectors, working with corporates to create what are genuinely mutually beneficial mentoring relationships…many of which endure beyond their supposed time limits.

It's partly about credibility, partly about an independence that the mentor has (the entrepreneur can be open), partly about an exchange of knowledge and skills but, ultimately, about developing a long-term trusted relationship; which, as we've written here before, is crucial for social entrepreneurs seeking to earn legitimacy and gain credibility in what they do.

Following on from that, it's worth drawing attention to the great series of posts about mentoring that have been written by the Social Enterprise Ambassadors. There are nuggets of gold in here, so do check them out. I particularly liked what Claudine Reid had to say about how mentors can model behaviour (and support when times are hard in your social enterprise) and Dai Powell's insight, based on his personal experience, that "effective mentors can come from anywhere and if it is to be effective,
mentoring should be without reference hierarchies or power structures".

Finally, if you haven't heard about it already, you can win 2 hours mentoring with an Ambassador in a competition running till the end of March. Here's the promo from John Bird:

Tim Smit tells first Cornwall SSE Fellows to be bold!

Posted on February 16, 2010 by sse

I was privileged to attend the first ever graduation of the Cornwall School for Social Entrepreneurs last Friday. And what a venue the Eden Project provided, thanks to Tim Smit + his team, for the first 15 social entrepreneurs from the county to become SSE Fellows.

Tim is Patron to the Cornwall SSE, and opened proceedings in rousing fashion, saying that "social enterprise is the most important business model" and that none of the Fellows should underestimate what can be achieved when you "get a group of people who believe in something" together. He talked of Grameen Bank and Grameen Phone as examples to demonstrate ambition and vision; and of the need for an investment in leadership.

I loved what he had to say about the need for social entrepreneurs to "take gambles based on knowledge, gambles worth taking", and on having support systems in place for when you fail (which is to be encouraged). He emphasised that the (support) networks and relationships from going through the SSE programme will be the "people you need who will catch you if you fall".

Finally, he said that he was proud to be a patron, wished them the best of luck, to be brave, bold, aggressive and ambitious, to demand mentorship and, characteristically, to not "believe the hippy shit that you can't make profit".

It's a tough gig to follow Tim at the best of times, but this day was really about the 15 social entrepreneurs completing the first ever Cornwall programme. You can see their details online via the SSE Cornwall website, or download the pdf of the great graduation booklet to learn more about each of their projects and organisations. They cover a huge breadth and diversity of areas, as ever: claims management, fuel poverty, positive news, circus courses, menopause self-care, mental health, sustainable clothing, fair trade, and more.

It would be wrong to pick out any individual, but massive congratulations to them all: they all gave fabulous presentations, and have made tremendous progress since I facilitated a session with them in Penzance last year. And nice for those who've worked tirelessly behind the scenes (Sally, Charlotte, Carolyn, Suzanne, Carleen and many more) to make this happen to hear some of the quotes during the day from these new Fellows:

"SSE has enabled me to be the person I want to be"

"As my tutor said, 'imperfect action is better than perfect inaction' "

"SSE has helped me get real"

"I have faced down the dreaded business plan!"

"With the guidance and advice I've had, I know I will set it up"

"SSE opened up a lot of doors for me"

"SSE has been fantastic, enjoyable and emotional"

"SSE has allowed me to learn from others, and have a network of people who believe in me"

As Tim said, the true success of Cornwall SSE will be judged by what it, and those it has supported, have achieved in 10 years' time. And, as he says, "The School is a vital addition to the capacity of Cornwall and we at Eden are proud to be supporters". It's certainly off to a great beginning, as are these Cornwall social entrepreneurs, and we look forward to carrying on supporting them on their journeys. And we'll work on the exchange programme with your 'twin' franchise in Sydney…. :0)