Engaging your Community in Social Enterprise - 30 June 2011

Engaging Your Community in Social Enterprise

Social Enterprise (SE) support is an important priority for most Members. However a recent survey by NWIEP shows that few authorities have up-to-date policies and programmes to support this important policy area.

The focus of this event for councillors, held at North West Employers, Manchester, was to look at what support is available to community groups who would like to make the transition to becoming social enterprises and create sustainable businesses, capable of bidding to run local services and creating employment.

This workshop and round table explored:

• How can we raise public sector awareness of social enterprises?

• Who has responsibility for supporting social enterprises in the authority and what are the new LEPs doing?

• How can social enterprise help Council budgets?

• What are the success factors in running social enterprises as businesses?

• What finance is available for social enterprise?

 A short video clip from the speakers can be found in related documents. Speakers:

 Val Jones - Chief Executive. Social Enterprise North West (SENW)

• Raising public sector awareness of SEs

• How can SEs help Council budgets?

• SE responsibility within the emerging LEPs

• Different types of SE - the generic term hides a wide variety of different types

 Robbie Davison - Director. Five Children and Families Trust and CanCook

• The need to run SEs as a business - to widen the market for products; manage risk; and make money

• How to reduce grant dependency

• Why and how LAs should back SEs

 Simon Thorrington - Charity Bank. Regional Director North

• Sources of finance for SEs

• Case studies of finance packages

• Update on the Big Society Bank

On the day two surveys on Social Enterprise were also presented mapping out the range of support available to social enterprises throughout the North West. For a copy of the report email Dennis Artess: dennisa@nwemployers.org.uk