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Social enterprise guidance and useful resources

There are several resources and organisations available for social enterprises:

Websites

• Social Enterprise Coalition [external website] 
  The Social Enterprise Coalition is the UK's national body for social enterprise.The Coalition represents a wide range of social enterprises, regional and national support networks and other related organisations.
• Business Link [external website]
  This is the national business advice service which offers support and advice to small businesses and supports social enterprises in their business plans. The website provides straightforward information for business, access to a wide network of business support organisations and includes a directory of sources of finance.
• Social Enterprise Ambassadors [external website]
  The social enterprise ambassadors programme is to help raise awareness of social enterprise and work with the Government on the development of social enterprise policy.
• Social Enterprise Training & Support Consortium [external website]
  The Social Enterprise Training & Support Consortium (setas) as an information resource to help find the most appropriate social enterprise training, support or relevant publication. The website provides links training and support providers, and specialist publications specifically about social enterprise.
• Social Enterprise London [external website]
  Social Enterprise London  is a specialist agency that promotes community, best practice and skills development for the social enterprise sector. The website includes a knowledge hub of factsheets an publications to aid social enterprises.

Publications

• How to set up a social enterprise [external website]
  A Business Link guide which outlines the differences between the various forms of social enterprise.
• No-Nonsense Guide to Small Business Funding [PDF external website]
• No-Nonsense Guide to Finance for High Growth Companies [PDF, external website]
  The Business Link No-Nonsense Guides are easy to use guides for small businesses and people who are considering setting businesses up. They provide essential information about the legal, official and financial aspects of setting up and running businesses. There were recently revised to be more relevant and accessible to social enterprises.
• Public Procurement: a toolkit for Social Enterprise [PDF] 
  A 2003 procurement Toolkit to assist social enterprises across the UK to bid for and win public sector contracts.