No downloads available

According to a new research report published recently by Delta Economics "Hidden Social Enterprises"

• There are an estimated 232,000 'broad'* social enterprises in the UK contributing £97bn to the UK economy (as opposed to 62,000 in 2007)
• There are an estimated 109,371 'pure'** social enterprises in the UK contributing £17.7bn to the UK economy

Where; *'broad' social enterprises are those enterprises that reinvest their surpluses to achieve social, environmental goals and objectives; and **'pure' social enterprises who, in addition to this, do not pay a dividend to shareholders and who have a sales revenue stream that is greater than 25% of their total turnover.

That same research report established that:

• Women and minority ethnic groups are more represented in Social Enterprises than they are in mainstream businesses
• Social Enterprises create more jobs and have similar growth expectations to
  mainstream business
• Social Entrepreneurs take more personal risk on themselves
• Money is not as important a driver for Social Entrepreneurs
• Social Entrepreneurs are more innovative across all aspects of innovation than their mainstream counterparts including spending a regular proportion of their income on research and development
• Social entrepreneurs are more likely to be looking for finance: This is mostly for growth, investment and to fund working capital. They are more likely to use grant finance as part of the mix of start-up funding.
• Social Entrepreneurs are more likely to use all types of business support, particularly
  from professional advisers and banks and to value the support they get more highly than mainstream entrepreneurs.
• Social Entrepreneurs feel they perform better at "intangible" measures of
  performance such as employee welfare and social and environmental impact than they do with "hard" measures of performance

General Facts

• According to Government data, in 2008, there were approximately 10,000 organisations in the South East, which showed the key characteristics of having social ownership, trading income and having social aims.

• The social enterprise movement is inclusive and extremely diverse, encompassing organisations such as development trusts, community enterprises, co-operatives, housing associations, social firms and leisure trusts, among others.

• Social enterprise is a business model which offers the prospect of a greater equity of economic power and a more sustainable society - by combining market efficiency with social and environmental justice.

• A YouGov poll released in 2007 found that over 60% of the British public would prefer their local services to be run by a social enterprise - instead of the government, private profit businesses or traditional charity.

• That same survey polled 2,000 people and asked them what kind of company they would like to work for. A clear majority, 30%, picked social enterprise, with only 16% of respondents saying they would like to work for a traditional business, 13% choosing a government institution and 13% a traditional charity.

• According to a DTI survey in 2005, health and social care services is the largest category of trading activity for social enterprises

• 7 out of ten people say that they would prefer to by from firms who put their profits back into the community, rather than into the pockets of shareholders - (www.rise-sw.co.uk/uploads/published_report_Social_Enterprise_Mark_research.pdf)

• The Social Enterprise Mark is a label which tells customers that a product or service comes from a social enterprise and is creating a social or environmental benefit - (www.socialenterprisemark.co.uk)

• The pioneers of social enterprise can be traced back to the 1840s in Rochdale, where a workers' co-operative was set up to provide high quality, but affordable food

• Over 8 out of 10 public sector commissioners of services would prefer to buy from a bidder with a public service ethos (assuming other contract requirements were met) - (www.rise-sw.co.uk/uploads/published_report_Social_Enterprise_Mark_research.pdf)

• The All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Enterprise was founded in 2003 by Baroness Thornton and currently has a membership of 93 MPs and Peers from across the 3 main parties - (www.appgsocialenterprise.org.uk/pages/appg.html)

• The Department for Health's Social Enterprise Investment Fund has helped more than 150 social enterprises by investing over £20 million since it launched in 2007.  There is more than £70 million available for start-up and existing social enterprises over the next three years - (www.socialinvestmentbusiness.org)

• The RBS SE100 Index - open to social enterprises - will award prizes worth a total of up to £50,000 to social enterprises deomstrating high growth and outstanding social impact in March 2010 - (www.se100.co.uk/rbs-prizes.php

• The UK government has been described as the most advanced policy-making body globally, and social entrepreneurship is now embedded within diverse UK government departments.  US President Obama is also a supporter of social enterprise and recently announced two policy initiatives, promising to create a Social Entrepreneurship Agency, and proposing US $3.5billion a year for social investment.

quotes from people involved in social enterprise:

"I love meeting inspirational people on a daily basis, and having the freedom to pursue innovative ideas and aspirations."
Heather Wilkinson - Striding Out

"We really wanted to, as well as fulfill our own dreams, to help others to fulfill theirs."
Eve Horne - Continuous Entertainment

"You can be successful, you can balance both social and financial and that's the way forward. What's great about working at Cafe direct is that no one loses out, everyone wins."
Helen Ireland -Cafedirect

"I started doing pasta and I just fell in love with pasta, and I started enjoying work."
Lloyd Hayes - Fifteen