I’ve been running a Facebook ad campaign to promote this newsletter over the last week and so we have quite a lot of new subscribers (hello to all of you, make yourselves at home). The pressure is on to deliver something good. Something memorable. Something that will get all these new readers telling all their friends and colleagues about this amazing newsletter they’ve signed up to.
But there is a problem. I had to pick my son up from nursery earlier this morning so I’m writing this with Peppa Pig on in the background, and if there is anything that can rot your brain and kill all inspiration it’s Peppa Pig. Amazing will just have to wait until next week.
Enjoy the news!
A music reference that would have been topical 25 years ago
“It’s the state of the nation, state of the nation” sang New Order. “We can be more precise than that” Social Enterprise UK thought. So they launched the State of Social Enterprise, a banging report that’s updated and re-released every two years. The latest report is titled ‘Capitalism in Crisis? Transforming our Economy for People and Planet’. I’ve only had a chance to glance at it but it looks like it’s packed full of good info.
Home improvement
“We need to go to Ikea” is a sentence that strikes me with fear. No amount of meatballs or mini Dime bars can make up for the horror of a Saturday afternoon snaking around their showroom. And that’s before you even get home and have to try and decode the instructions for a Billy Bookcase.
But they’ve gone someway to make things better by introducing a new collection collaborating with social enterprises from India, Thailand, Jordan and Romania. Best of all, none of the items need assembly!
Fellows in high places
The Government’s Office for Disability Issue has announced eight new chairs to a Regional Stakeholder Network tasked with driving change and improving the lives of disabled people around the country. Of the eight, three are SSE Fellows: Naomi Tomkys of Sky Badger, Liz Leach Murphy of Imagineer CIC and Samantha Everard of Support and Mentoring Enabling Entrepreneurship (SAMEE).
A leaderless revolution
An interesting topic of conversation to strike up the next time you have a meeting with a manager: ‘do we need leaders anymore?’. It’s a question that will be discussed at Akou’s Disrupting Leadership event in London on Wednesday 23rd October. There are loads of organisations contributing, including Forum for the Future, Black Thrive, WomenLikeMe, OurSpace, Ubele, Lea_p and Creative Community Placemakers Network. (Akou is a location data company co-founded by SSE Fellow Tilley Harris.)
South by south west
A super opportunity for social enterprises in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay – ethical IT business Cosmic are hosting a free two day Digital Marketing Bootcamp in Ivybridge starting this coming Monday. The content looks solid: you’ll learn how to make best use of social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin and also how to develop a digital marketing strategy.
And now, some facts about West Bromwich
Making it’s first ever appearance in Have I Got Social Enterprise News For You this week is the West Midlands town of West Bromwich. Perhaps most famed for its football team, West Bromwich is market town in the borough of Sandwell. It has a population of approximately 78,000 and was a centre for coal mining, brick making, the iron industry, and metal trades such as nails, springs, and guns.
But, what could really put West Bromwich on the map is the free ‘funding growth in your social enterprise’ event at Sandwell College on 20th November.
Work for SSE
London or Cornwall, you decide. We’re looking for a programme manager in London and a learning manager, a learning facilitator (22.5 hrs) and a learning facilitator (30 hrs).
The London vacancy is here and the Cornwall vacancies are here.
