Category Archives: Social Enterprise Strategic Partnership

Help “grow your own” local services

By Joe Taylor | Published: 12 July, 2010

The Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) is funded by the European Union (EU) and the Government to support a wide range of activitites in rural areas. The Community And Social Enterprise fund is a £7m funding stream within the RDPE to support voluntary and community organisations to become more self-financing and sustainable through the [...]

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‘Real Growers’ launched.

By Joe Taylor | Published: 23 March, 2010

The Real Ideas Organisation (RIO) and Plan-it Earth Environmental Project have announced the launch of Real Growers, a new social enterprise venture which will see local people learn new skills in food production and sustainable living. Real Growers is a social enterprise which has been set up as part of RIO’s delivery of the Future [...]

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Plunkett to lead in support of community pubs

By Joe Taylor | Published: 22 March, 2010

  Pubs Minister John Healey announced a 12 point action plan on 18 March to give practical support to community pubs up and down the country, backed by £4million in government funding to address the problem of nearly 40 pubs closing each week, leaving many communities without a pub. The Plunkett Foundation, who are a [...]

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Huw Irranca-Davies visits Berrynarbor Community Shop

By Third Sector team | Published: 5 March, 2010

L to R: Huw Irranca-Davies MP, Lucy Findlay (CEO RiSE), Alex Parke (Chair), Anita Abott (shop manageress), Pamela Parke (Committee member and publicity manager), David Fisher (Plunkett) On Tuesday (2/3/10), as part of a wider tour of the area, Defra’s Third Sector Minister, Huw Irranca Davies visited Berrynarbor Community Shop on the western edge of [...]

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Raising awareness of social enterprise within Defra

By Third Sector team | Published: 19 February, 2010

[Guest post by The Plunkett Foundation] The role of social enterprise in contributing to Defra’s objectives was the flavour of the hour at a recent Defra lunchtime policy seminar (11/2/10). Peter Couchman of the Plunkett Foundation, outlined the multiple outcomes, relevant to goverments, that social enterprises deliver.  For example, Rockingham Forest Trust in Northamptonshire, which in addition [...]

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Defra wins social action research contract

By Joe Taylor | Published: 19 November, 2009

  Happy Social Enterprise Day! Today (19/11/09) Angela Smith, Minister for the third sector, announced the second phase of the Office of the Third Sector’s £1.3m Social Enterprise Action Research (SEAR) programme, which allows other departments to explore ways in which social enterprises offer solutions to policy problems.  The Social Enterprise Action Research programme uses small amounts of Cabinet Office [...]

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Measuring Social Value Conference – share your views on SROI

By Joe Taylor | Published: 21 October, 2009

“There is more and more interest in measuring and valuing the impact of organisations on society. The Measuring Social Value Project is hosting a conference where third sector organisations, commissioners and investors will come together to share experiences of how Social Return on Investment (SROI) – one of the most exciting innovations in this field [...]

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A visit to two award winning social enterprises

By Simon Berry | Published: 14 October, 2009

Lucy Findlay (RISE) | Clare Joy (Hornbeam Centre) | Mary Rayner (Co-operatives UK) | Marlene Barrett (Hornbeam Centre) One of the roles of Defra’s Social Enterprise Strategic Partnership (SESP) is to raise awareness within Defra to the role social enterprises play in the delivery of Defra’s policy objectives. Our SESP do this in a variety [...]

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Communities Assets Enterprise 2009

By Third Sector team | Published: 7 August, 2009

The Development Trusts Association (DTA) are one of Defra’s Social Enterprise Strategic Partners and help Defra engage more effectively with the social enterprise sector. The DTA will be holding their national conference at Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster, London on 13-15 September 2009. Keynote speakers include: Clifford Rosenthal, National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (USA); [...]

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‘Social enterprise and the environment’ event

By Conor Ritchie | Published: 25 June, 2009

Defra hosted an Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) Public Policy Seminar entitled ‘Social Enterprise and the Environment’ on Tuesday 23 June. Presentations by Dr. Mick Blowfield (University of Oxford), Dr. Dan van der Horst (University of Birmingham), Nigel Lowthrop (Founder and Director of Hill Holt Wood) and Julie Hitchcock (Deputy Director for Local and Regional Governance, Defra) [...]

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