Social enterprise action research
The £1.3m Social Enterprise Action Research Programme stimulates other departments’ social enterprise policy, by providing funding to test social enterprise solutions to difficult policy problems. There are eight projects in the programme:
Phase 1 projects
- Department of Health is exploring how to integrate measuring social value into commissioning. The project is enabling five social enterprises delivering mainstream health and social care to undertake SROI projects and disseminating the findings among policy makers and commissioners. (Oct 08 – Dec 09)
- Department for Communities and Local Government is following 10 organisations seeking to undertake community share issues as a means to raise finance for a social enterprise while engaging communities in solving local problems. The project is enabling government to understand more about community share issues as well as understanding how best to overcome barriers to their success. Further information can be found on: www.communityshares.org.uk [External website] (Oct 08 – March 10)
- The National Offender Management Service is exploring how social enterprise can help it to achieve its key objectives of reducing re-offending and protecting the public. It is particularly interested in innovative approaches to delivery and in providing rehabilitative and other services to offenders in custody and the community. An extensive mapping exercise is being used to develop policy and also some learning materials on social enterprise for commissioners. NOMS is also now working with a number of social enterprises to understand whether the models can be replicated or expanded. (October 08 – March 10)
- The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is undertaking a quantitative analysis of Community Development Finance Institutions’ current distance from sustainability and action research to test alternative theories to move towards sustainability. CDFIs are independent financial institutions that provide loans and support to help individuals and organisations (including Social Enterprises) to start-up and grow enterprises located in or serving disadvantaged communities and markets. The project links with a wider BIS evaluation which aims to identify the economic and social benefit generated by the CDFI sector. (October 08 – December 09)
Phase 2 projects
Two projects in particular build on the commitment made at the May 2009 Social Enterprise Summit to enhance existing promotion and support offer for social enterprise:
- To further build on the Department for Business Innovation and Skills’ knowledge on the contribution of social enterprise to the UK economy and their business support needs. (November 09 – March 11)
- To enable the Department for Communities and Local Government to work with local authorities to help them understand how best to support social enterprises in their area. (November 09 – March 2011)
Two others focus on understanding the specific role social enterprise can play in helping government tackle difficult policy problems:
- To enhance the Department for Environment and Climate Change’s £10m “Low Carbon Communities Challenge” [External website] by enabling communities to embed social enterprise in to their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. (Nov 09 – March 11)
- To help the Department of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs understand more about social enterprises who farm and distribute food as well as educate people about food. The project will examine the impact they have on issues such as food security, community cohesion and obesity. See: http://blogs.defra.gov.uk/3rd-sector/ (Nov 09 – March 11)
