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.
Showing posts with label Social Enterprise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Enterprise. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Friday, 11 March 2011
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?
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