What is Social Enterprise?
Kate Welch OBE
What is Social Enterprise?
a business with primarily social
objectives, whose surpluses are
principally reinvested for that purpose in
the business or community rather than
mainly being paid to shareholders or
owners
Fundamental Principles
• Working for the Common Good
– Caring for human resources
– Good governance and accountability
– Asset lock and use of profits
• Co-operation
• Subsidiarity
John Pearce
Quebec
• Business of the social economy to serve its members or
the community rather than simply generating profits and
focus on financial performance;
• it management autonomy from the state;
• it incorporates in its articles and ways to make a
democratic decision process involving users and
consumers, workers;
• She defends the primacy of people and work over capital
in the distribution of its surplus, and income;
• operations based on the principles of participation,
support and individual and collective responsibility.
La Tohu
Social Enterprise Asia
• Japan – no separate legal definition
– Government seed funds social businesses with
robust business plans
• Korea – SE law to allow private firms to
obtain subsidies for employing long term
unemployed
• China- actively pursuing the idea.
– Government back SEs that create employment
– Mainly on East Coast, Beijing and Shanghai or
major university towns like Ningbo
India - Social Enterprise
Learning Journey
Social Enterprise in UK
• 62,000 social enterprises
• Different structures
– Enterprising Charities,
– voluntary organisations,
– Community Interest Companies,
– Co-operatives and mutual structures
– private companies with social objectives and
profit distribution
Well-known social enterprises
• Eden Project
• Divine Chocolate
• The Co-operative, supermarket, bank
• John Lewis Partnership
• Cafe Direct
• Traidcraft
• Housing Associations
Not so well-known social
enterprises• Welsh Water
• Greenwich Leisure Services
• Hackney Community Transport
• Coin Street Builders
• One Water
• Hill Holt Wood
• Blue Sky
Voluntary Group
Incorporated
Group
Charity?
Paid Staff?
Social Enterprise
Enterprising Behaviour
Social Enterprise – a journey?
Social Entrepreneurs
School for Social Entrepreneurs, Liverpool
Best Practice in Employability
Acumen has helped thousands of
people back into employment or self-
employment over the past five years
through community engagement. It
has also established a number of
social enterprises at the heart of local
communities. In the context of the
recession such social enterprises
potentially offer an important pathway
for people to develop work skills and
gain confidence ensuring they can still
follow a transition back to work even in
an economic downturn
• Source: IPPR Russell Commission on Public Sector
Reform in the North East
Self Belief and Emotional Resilience
Employment Advisers
Homelessness to Tenancy
Property Acumen provides:-
• Affordable short term supported
accommodation
• Floating support
• A home within the local community
• A fully renovated property fully
furnished
For:
Vulnerable young people aged 16 – 24
who are homeless or on the verge of being
made homeless
• 1 acre of land
• 2 polytunnels
• 9 permanent jobs
• 14 Future Jobs Funded
posts – 6 into work so
far
• 20 offenders on
community payback
• 30 qualifications for
offenders
• 7 students with learning
difficulties
Scale
Supply Chain
Buying/Selling
Power
Share quality
standards/systems
Sustainable
community
businesses
• National Offender
Management Service
• Prison gardening
projects
• Probation community
payback gardening
• Support to become
businesses, reduce
public sector spend
• Reduce re-offending
The Green Leaf Cafe
The Green Leaf Cafe
Innovation Model
Latest idea for an enterprise
Reap and Sow pop up Shop
Social Enterprise Acumen CIC
Social Enterprise Acumen
• Host County Durham Social Enterprise
Business Forum
• Host RSA Social Entrepreneurs Forum
• NE School for Social Entrepreneurs
• NE partner for UnLtd (Foundation for
Social Entrepreneurs)
• Contracts Matter
• Working with public sector on social
enterprise solutions and development of
the third sector
Recommended
