Regenerating trust in Scottish coalfield communities

At School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), we are proud to help social and environmental leaders to create everlasting change.  Our vision is a socially and environmentally just society, and our aim is to equip leaders to start, scale and strengthen organisations that make a positive difference within their local communities. 

We have partnered with Coalfield Regeneration Trust to develop the CRT Trading and Sustainability Programme, which will help 10 leaders in organisations based in a Coalfield ward in Fife and East Ayrshire, Scotland.

This programme will play a key role in growing and engaging with the social enterprise movement and will increase the impact of the Scottish Government’s Social Enterprise Strategy and Action Plan.

The Coalfields Regeneration Trust (CRT) works to build prosperity and opportunity in former coalfield communities in Scotland, England and Wales. It works with more than five hundred voluntary, community and social enterprises in these area helping organisations to develop, together with providing grants as part of its CRT Support programme. This is one of the five programmes the CRT offers across Britain to help improve the lives of those living in low income areas of former coalfield communities.  

The CRT Trading and Sustainability Programme will help 10 “community champions”, who are currently leading projects or organisations with a social purpose and plans to increase their income through trading.

Tracey Muirhead, Director of the School for Social Entrepreneurs in Scotland shared:

“Having been brought up and now living in a former Coalfields Community in Fife, I am delighted to Partner with the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in Scotland. We are ensuring that their Community Champions gain access to support and networks via our Trading and Sustainability Programme. We look forward to working with them in the weeks and months ahead”.

The programme starts on 2 March 2023, with online sessions culminating with a face-to-face celebration event in Edinburgh in December 2023. The 10 “Community Champions” will be asked to submit a plan on how they intend to increase trading.

The goals of this programme are to create:

• More confident and skilled social entrepreneurs
• More financially resilient social enterprises
• More impactful social enterprises
• More inclusive access to social economy learning and grants

Nicky Wilson, Vice-Chair of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust shared:

“The Coalfields Regeneration Trust is dedicated to building prosperity and opportunity in former coalfield communities so it was a natural fit for us to partner with the School for Social Entrepreneurs as we share so many of the same goals.   “The CRT Trading and Sustainability Programme will help social enterprises thrive and I am looking forward to seeing how these organisations – and the communities we serve – will benefit from this work.”