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New research into social enterprise networks published

28 March 2008

The Office of the Third Sector has published a new report which looks into social enterprise networks in England. The research, conducted by Rocket Science, identifies national, regional, sub-regional and local networks and makes recommendations how gaps might be addressed.

The research stems from a commitment given in the Social Enterprise Action Plan, which highlighted that peer group support from businesses operating in a similar environment can be an effective way of supporting social enterprises. 

The report contains:

• An overview of the national, regional, sub-regional, local and sectoral social enterprise support networks currently operating across England
• An exploration of what constitutes a good network, including general characteristics, how to measure these characteristics, how these characteristics vary for different types of network, case studies, and evaluation methods
• The identification of gaps in networks provision and suggestions on how these might be addressed.

The report identifies a total of 79 social enterprise networks which are a mix of networks operating at national, regional, sub-regional and local level. 

It concluded that network coverage at both national and regional level was adequate. But it identified gaps at the sub-regional level, in terms of geographic spread, and in the real estate and education sectors.  

The research also identified a demand for peer-to-peer learning and suggests cluster networks as one way of developing social enterprises that can bring about high returns. The report's findings will inform the Office of the Third Sector's future work. 

• Review of social enterprise networks [PDF, 383KB, 42 pages]