Today I met NOAH Enterprise in Luton - great, great, great.
NOAH work with homeless people in a number of ways: they arrange housing; feed people; run a drop in medical centre; counsel and support people, run a social enterprise employing homeless people; run shops selling furniture and provide services to local authorities fitting out social housing with value for money furniture.
NOAH work with people where they are - and move them towards a future that is more sustainable. Many find work - many start living in settled accommodation - some stop drinking at a level that is harmful.
We started a conversation around the statutory services that NOAH's clients are accessing and the combined cost. One person they worked with accessed emergency health care on almost a weekly basis because he wasn't accessing GP services and was regularly in contact with the criminal justice system (it costs the state an average of £68,000 for someone to be convicted of an offence - any offence). And this is before the cost of benefits is factored in.
NOAH worked to arrange access to a GP and control the medical condition - so no more trips to A&E. A more settled lifestyle and a routine meant that he stopped coming into contact with the police. And at a point that is right, he may find work and move off benefits.
The savings, then are potentially huge for a range of agencies - Police, DWP, PCT. But invariably the funding comes from only one place - a local authority, or DWP. And when the funding goes, all to often the project ends (although not in the case of NOAH which is doing well).
So a 'saving' for one agency becomes a cost for another - for the PCT, as the person starts once again to use A&E services instead of managing a medical condition, or the police as low level crime and chaos takes over once again.
How, in Luton, do we work to bring together all stakeholders to address this? What are the most pressing problems? And what is the true cost of this to all agencies? How to we engage all of these agencies? What is the role of community groups - how can they help?
And what is the process by which we can break down the funding silos and make sure that the resources we have are directed at the whole problem, not just a part of it?
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
The People's Supermarket - Small is beautiful
To the People's Supermarket in London today - it is a fantastic example of a social venture that will clearly fly. Why? Because:
- It is a part of the community and decisions are made with the community in mind. So when a local florists of many year's standing had to shut down because of high rents, TPS invited them into work out of the shop. It keeps services in the community, and jobs in the community.
- It is loved - there are over 1,000 members, all of whom have to work and PAY to do so! And when asked, most say that they would work there if there was NO volunteer discount. How many private businesses can count on that degree of loyalty?
- It provides work experience for people who may not fit into a commercial business- the motive is not entirely profit, to recruitment and volunteering can be driven by social concerns. So TPS provides a place for people who are long-term unemployed, or have drug and alcohol issues, or are homeless, and it helps them to engage again.
- It taps into a popular concern about the role of mulitnationals/ major supermarkets and provides an opportunity for everyone to be part of an alternative.
- It makes money and so can sustain. How many social ventures can say that this year?
- It can scale out - without scaling up.
- It is owned by members; members decide everything -: do we sell tobacco? Cheap alcohol? Fairtrade goods? High carbon footprint goods?
A model of social enterprise - being both genuinely socially useful and commercially sustainable and scalable - a tremendous concept and it's working well.
http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/ or visit, and buy something, and join, and work there!
- It is a part of the community and decisions are made with the community in mind. So when a local florists of many year's standing had to shut down because of high rents, TPS invited them into work out of the shop. It keeps services in the community, and jobs in the community.
- It is loved - there are over 1,000 members, all of whom have to work and PAY to do so! And when asked, most say that they would work there if there was NO volunteer discount. How many private businesses can count on that degree of loyalty?
- It provides work experience for people who may not fit into a commercial business- the motive is not entirely profit, to recruitment and volunteering can be driven by social concerns. So TPS provides a place for people who are long-term unemployed, or have drug and alcohol issues, or are homeless, and it helps them to engage again.
- It taps into a popular concern about the role of mulitnationals/ major supermarkets and provides an opportunity for everyone to be part of an alternative.
- It makes money and so can sustain. How many social ventures can say that this year?
- It can scale out - without scaling up.
- It is owned by members; members decide everything -: do we sell tobacco? Cheap alcohol? Fairtrade goods? High carbon footprint goods?
A model of social enterprise - being both genuinely socially useful and commercially sustainable and scalable - a tremendous concept and it's working well.
http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/ or visit, and buy something, and join, and work there!
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Social enterprise? Revolution?
I spent the day at an event in Cambridge on the future of local government and the role of social enterprise. Some excellent speakers - Dai Powell from Hackney Community Transport (http://www.hctgroup.org) was really interesting on barriers for social entrepreneurs and engaging with local government.
The theme was how can social enterprise step into the gap left by local government cuts. Local government is listening - the door is open. The Chief Executives and Leaders of all of the county and borough authorities in the East of England were there. They wanted to know how social enterprise can fill the gap.
But for me, it was social enterprise that needed to raise it's game today; not enough had thought about what they were offering, and why, and whether it would be self sustaining. Some were offering precisely the services that local government is cutting, with no real ideas on how they would make a margin to reinvest - they hadn't moved on from the grant-based model; they had simply been rebadged as 'social enterprises'.
Very few stood entirely apart from payments which ultimately came from central government - very few seemed genuinely self-funding. One organisation wins tenders to run bus services from local government - instead of taking the profit, it is invested in the community. All good stuff, no doubt, but is it social enterprise? And if government funding dried up tomorrow - could the company survive? No - so is it a revolution?
There's a real danger that some pretty conventional ideas will rebadge themselves as q social enterprises in a bid to meet the zeitgeist - but which are sufficiently innovative, well-thought through and financially sound to genuinely offer something to communities and residents? The market will decide.
The theme was how can social enterprise step into the gap left by local government cuts. Local government is listening - the door is open. The Chief Executives and Leaders of all of the county and borough authorities in the East of England were there. They wanted to know how social enterprise can fill the gap.
But for me, it was social enterprise that needed to raise it's game today; not enough had thought about what they were offering, and why, and whether it would be self sustaining. Some were offering precisely the services that local government is cutting, with no real ideas on how they would make a margin to reinvest - they hadn't moved on from the grant-based model; they had simply been rebadged as 'social enterprises'.
Very few stood entirely apart from payments which ultimately came from central government - very few seemed genuinely self-funding. One organisation wins tenders to run bus services from local government - instead of taking the profit, it is invested in the community. All good stuff, no doubt, but is it social enterprise? And if government funding dried up tomorrow - could the company survive? No - so is it a revolution?
There's a real danger that some pretty conventional ideas will rebadge themselves as q social enterprises in a bid to meet the zeitgeist - but which are sufficiently innovative, well-thought through and financially sound to genuinely offer something to communities and residents? The market will decide.
Monday, 14 March 2011
Community-run. Community-owned.
This is a library in Huddersfield that is run by the community:
http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/raising_standards/best_practice/shared%20Services/Chestnut_centre
Run as a social enterprise, and employing local people, the Chestnut Centre has an IT suite, business units, family centre and cafe. Residents can access advice from the council and get help with accessing services.
The centre is run by residents and a valued local resource.
Why not run Suffolk's libraries in this way? Which services should we keep?
And if the community wanted to own the library, the local authority could pass it over to residents via a Community Asset Transfer.
The Chestnut Centre is the future of not just libraries, but community ownership of public services and their delivery. Delivery is local, mulitfaceted, provides local jobs in deprived areas and is owned by local people.
http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/raising_standards/best_practice/shared%20Services/Chestnut_centre
Run as a social enterprise, and employing local people, the Chestnut Centre has an IT suite, business units, family centre and cafe. Residents can access advice from the council and get help with accessing services.
The centre is run by residents and a valued local resource.
Why not run Suffolk's libraries in this way? Which services should we keep?
And if the community wanted to own the library, the local authority could pass it over to residents via a Community Asset Transfer.
The Chestnut Centre is the future of not just libraries, but community ownership of public services and their delivery. Delivery is local, mulitfaceted, provides local jobs in deprived areas and is owned by local people.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Suffolk - Ask not what your library can do for you....
Suffolk County Council has launched a consultation on the future of rural libraries. 29 libraries in rural areas are facing closure due to limited use - in some libraries, the cost of each loan is more than the cost of buying a new paperback book. The library may as well buy each visitor a book.
The consultation is here - you can share your ideas on how to use rural libraries in another way:
http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/CouncilAndDemocracy/Consultations/LibrariesConsultation2011.htm
The consultation closes on the 31st April.
I am a Suffolk resident and my local library is earmarked for closure. I take my children there, but very rarely - maybe once every two months; maybe less. If there was a cafe there, I'd go every week.
So how can we change what libraries do to keep them open, and make them pay? Why not open cafes in libraries to bring people in? How about using the space to provide retail space for community enterprises - or renting out space to groups to meet.
Why put in a people's supermarket to rural libraries?: http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/ Rural communities are sometimes far from shops in town, and village shops struggle to survive. Run it as a collective, not for profit - ask members to work there for a few hours a week and sell food at a discount. Small scale local growers and producers can access a marketplace on a level playing field.
We can use libraries as social hubs, to find out about work, to work in, to volunteer, to exhibit, meet and run micro-businesses.
This place is ours - if we want libraries, we need to go, to use them, to be involved - to value libraries as a part of your community. What is your local library worth?
The consultation is here - you can share your ideas on how to use rural libraries in another way:
http://www.suffolk.gov.uk/CouncilAndDemocracy/Consultations/LibrariesConsultation2011.htm
The consultation closes on the 31st April.
I am a Suffolk resident and my local library is earmarked for closure. I take my children there, but very rarely - maybe once every two months; maybe less. If there was a cafe there, I'd go every week.
So how can we change what libraries do to keep them open, and make them pay? Why not open cafes in libraries to bring people in? How about using the space to provide retail space for community enterprises - or renting out space to groups to meet.
Why put in a people's supermarket to rural libraries?: http://www.thepeoplessupermarket.org/ Rural communities are sometimes far from shops in town, and village shops struggle to survive. Run it as a collective, not for profit - ask members to work there for a few hours a week and sell food at a discount. Small scale local growers and producers can access a marketplace on a level playing field.
We can use libraries as social hubs, to find out about work, to work in, to volunteer, to exhibit, meet and run micro-businesses.
This place is ours - if we want libraries, we need to go, to use them, to be involved - to value libraries as a part of your community. What is your local library worth?
Bright lights in the East
Some of the places I've been to see recently and liked:
Future Projects http://www.futureprojects.org.uk/ - working with young people in Norwich and running a radio station on the Larkman Estate. A brilliant way to engage young people and help them find a purpose - this kind of work helps people reach a point where they can start to live in a positive way.
I loved the community focus of the programme. Eleven years from the its conception, it has grown, but it is still in the community it started in, and it is still run for local people by local people. Brilliant.
And in Cambridge - Future Business - http://www.futurebusiness.co.uk/ an incubator for people running social enterprises. Future Business work to support, inspire, develop and house social entrepreneurs.
What I like about both of these organisations is that they have created opportunities that were not there before - they have grown communities and the chances for people in them to work.
In Luton I visited Marsh Farm Futures - http://www.marshfarmfutures.co.uk/ Marsh Farm, a housing estate which faced real problems in the 1990s, has come together to build an incredible resource which will be home not only to local services, but also local businesses. Residents will have a space to meet, share, work, trade and sell. It is an example of what can be done to bring growth to communities.
I am interested in how we can build community owned and run social businesses which will take people out of welfare dependency in the East of England. I like these organisations because they've started to do that.
How do we deal with the fact that in Great Yarmouth, it's hard to find work in the winter? What can people do to stay in employment?
How do we build community businesses for people living in Clacton, or Jaywick, where work seems far away?
How can communities work to make sure that local services continue to operate in their towns and villages - how can we make sure that local libraries stay open, and that people come to them and make them work?
What can we do to bring work to people in rural Norfolk - where more than 50% of people who are on benefits are in small, rural communities? How can we build opportunities for them.
The three businesses I have seen recently are making opportunities for people where none seemed to exist. If you do the same, share your news here - how can we work together?
Future Projects http://www.futureprojects.org.uk/ - working with young people in Norwich and running a radio station on the Larkman Estate. A brilliant way to engage young people and help them find a purpose - this kind of work helps people reach a point where they can start to live in a positive way.
I loved the community focus of the programme. Eleven years from the its conception, it has grown, but it is still in the community it started in, and it is still run for local people by local people. Brilliant.
And in Cambridge - Future Business - http://www.futurebusiness.co.uk/ an incubator for people running social enterprises. Future Business work to support, inspire, develop and house social entrepreneurs.
What I like about both of these organisations is that they have created opportunities that were not there before - they have grown communities and the chances for people in them to work.
In Luton I visited Marsh Farm Futures - http://www.marshfarmfutures.co.uk/ Marsh Farm, a housing estate which faced real problems in the 1990s, has come together to build an incredible resource which will be home not only to local services, but also local businesses. Residents will have a space to meet, share, work, trade and sell. It is an example of what can be done to bring growth to communities.
I am interested in how we can build community owned and run social businesses which will take people out of welfare dependency in the East of England. I like these organisations because they've started to do that.
How do we deal with the fact that in Great Yarmouth, it's hard to find work in the winter? What can people do to stay in employment?
How do we build community businesses for people living in Clacton, or Jaywick, where work seems far away?
How can communities work to make sure that local services continue to operate in their towns and villages - how can we make sure that local libraries stay open, and that people come to them and make them work?
What can we do to bring work to people in rural Norfolk - where more than 50% of people who are on benefits are in small, rural communities? How can we build opportunities for them.
The three businesses I have seen recently are making opportunities for people where none seemed to exist. If you do the same, share your news here - how can we work together?
Welcome to Eastworks
Welcome to Eastworks. This blog is for anyone with an interest in community, employment, growth, skills and enterprise in the East of England.
There are around 120,000 people in the East of England who cannot access work. In a beautiful rural setting, with great wealth, there are places of real deprivation - places where people don't feel they have a chance to work, and engage in their community.
I work for a social purpose company, and I spend my time visiting outstanding organisations working with people across East Anglia, in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Beds and Herts.
I want to share the ideas of the companies and people I meet. We have a common interest - we want to make things better for all people in the East of England.
For unemployed people in Lowestoft, young people in Basildon who don't feel that they can engage in the job market, or people in rural Cambridgeshire who feel that they are too far from local services.
I want to share the ideas of the businesses I meet and see how we can bring these to life in the East of England and I want to know what you think.
So please comment, post, share - vent. Tell me what you, or your company or your community is doing that is making a difference. We may be able to work together.
East Anglia is a big, open place. Let's come together to share ideas on how to make our communities work for everyone.
There are around 120,000 people in the East of England who cannot access work. In a beautiful rural setting, with great wealth, there are places of real deprivation - places where people don't feel they have a chance to work, and engage in their community.
I work for a social purpose company, and I spend my time visiting outstanding organisations working with people across East Anglia, in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Beds and Herts.
I want to share the ideas of the companies and people I meet. We have a common interest - we want to make things better for all people in the East of England.
For unemployed people in Lowestoft, young people in Basildon who don't feel that they can engage in the job market, or people in rural Cambridgeshire who feel that they are too far from local services.
I want to share the ideas of the businesses I meet and see how we can bring these to life in the East of England and I want to know what you think.
So please comment, post, share - vent. Tell me what you, or your company or your community is doing that is making a difference. We may be able to work together.
East Anglia is a big, open place. Let's come together to share ideas on how to make our communities work for everyone.
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