School for Social Entrepreneurs launches new school in Liverpool

Posted on October 2, 2006 by sse

Exciting news: The Liverpool SSE has been launched, with the support of Liverpool City Council and Business Liverpool. We’re hopeful this will be done with nationally-renowned Blackburne House as the lead agency. It’s an exciting intiative, and we hope to complement existing provision and build on the great work already being done in a traditionally entrepreneurial area. The support from Councillor Flo Clucas has been instrumental in making it happen, something she has wanted to achieve since she met Michael Young back in 1998.

You can read a little more here in the Liverpool Echo:

"Nick Temple, Network Director for
London-based SSE, said since the project started eight years ago 85% of
the ventures created are still trading, which is double conventional
business rates.

We
know 91% of our fellows create jobs; on average 35 jobs to every 10
fellows and 70 voluntary positions. More than 60% report a 6% increase
in turnover and on top of that, they are delivering services to
beneficiaries in their communities. Sustainability is very strong.

The
SSE combines business and commerce with a strong social mission across
health, transport, environment, education and child care.

He
said Liverpool was chosen as the first north west SSE because of its
strong entrepreneurial pedigree, adding: “We are looking to add to or
complement what is already being done here.”

Just to correct a couple of those statistics (I’m impressed how many the journalist got down given the length/swiftness/garbledness of our conversation):

– It is true that 85% of organisations established during the SSE programme are still in existence; it is only true to say that this is roughly double conventional business survival rates for our older cohorts (82% for our 1998 cohort, as opposed to 43% for conventional business, for example); on average, across all years, we beat conventioanl survival rates by at least 15%.

– Actually, 60% report an increase in turnover; on average this is a six-fold increase, rather than a six per cent one…which is slightly different…and much better.

All these figures our from our recent evaluation by the New Economics Foundation, of which more soon….anyway, all in all we’re delighted to be expanding the network in the north-west, and look forward to some great success stories up in Liverpool in the years to come.

Upcoming social enterprise events: September/October 2006

Posted on September 8, 2006 by sse

As the world of social enterprise and entrepreneurship grows and grows, I am beginning to think it is possible to go to a related event or conference on every single day of the year….that’s not a gauntlet being thrown down by the way. It does showcase the need to choose wisely and appropriately, and make the most of the events you choose to attend though. Here’s some of what’s upcoming in the UK this autumn:

– 14th September: Social Enterprise Sports Conference, at the Walker Stadium, Leicester; featuring Richard Caborn and a demonstration of BMX and skateboarding….see SEEM’s website for more, or call 0115 845 6434

– 17th-19th September: Enterprising Communities 2006, in Birmingham, which is the DTA’s annual conference; features Ruth Kelly and Ed Miliband, + practitioners, coach trips, multimedia visits, expert surgeries and hot topic debates…..see DTA’s website for more information…or call 01633 411 732

– 25th September: Reaching Your Market, a Social Enterprise London conference on marketing for non-profit organisations; includes "Diverse and high calibre speakers with expertise in both the commercial and not-for-profit sectors; discussions and debate about how and when to market your social aim as a USP; networking time with fellow social enterprise professionals"; see SEL’s website or call 020 7022 1920

– 2nd October: Match Winners, a conference at Canary Wharf on commercial partnerships that are "making money…and making a difference"; follows on from the CAN report of the same name last autumn, and features Fifteen, Green-Works, Barclays, Ed Miliband, ACEVO, CAN and SEC etc……; see here for more details

– 19th October: FOOTSEY 100 at York Racecourse, "the largest and most successful social economy trade fair in the UK"; features workshops/sessions on housing associations, procurement, a Dragon’s Den, legal structures and more; see FOOTSEY 100, or call

– 20th October: Social Enterprise and Community Regeneration, one-day conference at Brunel University, providing "a forum for addressing and debating the role of social enterprise as a means for community regeneration"; see Brunel’s website for more info

That about covers it for now, though there are some interesting regional events going on (see SESC, for example, in Yorkshire). If I was choosing? Probably FOOTSEY, DTA and MatchWinners, in that order, but, as they used to say on Blind Date, the choice is yours….oh, and don’t forget Enterprise Week (and Social Enterprise Day on the Thursday) follow hot on the heels in November….

Social enterprise research: CIC-ass results?

Posted on August 15, 2006 by sse

All bad puns aside, the research in this month’s Social Enterprise Magazine on CICs makes interesting reading. The survey of the 296 CICs (they interviewed 65 of those, which is not a bad sample size) has some good stats to chew on. Most interesting is the "Why did you choose a CIC structure?" question, of which the results were:

– Most appropriate form between business and charity: 43%
– Less regulation than charity: 19%
– To prove social purpose: 16%
– Asset lock: 9%
– Clear brand: 8%
– To get funding: 3%
– Simplicity of setting up: 2%

Although I remember several of the early CICs saying that they were in it for the free PR! Though maybe that comes under "clear brand". Obviously, for most organisations it would have been a mix of all of the above (they also asked "which was the most important factor for your decision?", and proving social purpose came top, followed by less regulation)…..it is intriguing that the asset lock scored relatively lowly, although the regulator’s role is also a key part of the CIC make-up, and that was obviously welcomed.

The other stats that seemed most interesting to me were the regional breakdown (19% London, 15% South East, 12% South West, %10 North West and all others between 3% (Wales) and 9%) and the "What is the biggest barrier facing your company?" The answers to the latter were as follows:

– Access to finance: 37%
– Lack of understanding of CIC model by others: 20%
– Dealing with growth/cashflow issues: 9% (surely these are separate problems?)
– Winning business/contracts/sales: 8%
– Finding premises: 6%
– Getting the right staff and skills: 6%
– Marketing: 6%
– Other: 5.5%

So, there is obviously further work to do promoting the CIC model, but it’s still early days, so that comes as no surprise, really. Nor does the ‘access to finance’ issue….is this ever not a barrier for any business, I might ask, if I was being unfair – but just because we always hear it doesn’t mean it’s not true (or still true). It’s also good to see that the model can be used by a diversity of different businesses (environmental, youth, restaurants, transport and so forth). The finding that the "typical manager is aged between 30 and 50, white and male" is less encouraging, and I hope the SSE can help in changing that picture (which is probably similar for the sector as a whole).

Other research is available for download from SEL’s website: the Social Enterprise Journal, Volume 2 (pdf), which has some interesting pieces worth a flick through (or a longer peruse, if you find the time). Most relevant to us seems to be the "Developing fledgling social enterprises? A study of the support required and means of delivering it" and "Developing emerging social enterprise through capacity building", so I will report back on those another time…….

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