A Report on the First Steps in
Social Enterprise Programme
By Olmec
Authors; John Mayford
and Brian Millington
Contributors: Sam Obeng,
Malcolm Sheppard, Mei Hui
and Bruce Wood.
Supporting Migrant Social Entrepreneurs
March 2014
First Steps in Social Enterprise is
an Olmec Programme and has been delivered
in partnership with Metropolitan Migration Foundation
RBS, City Bridge Trust and the Young Foundation.
Preface
For those who have experienced
disadvantage or discrimination in the UK
or abroad, the notion that organisations
or enterprises should respond to social
needs and concerns may be self-evident.
There is, however, some way to go before
organisations are able to better respond
to social needs and improve individual
lives in the UK.
Olmec has shown that ethnic minorities
and migrants are one of the key
voices that those involved in social
enterprise need to include as partners,
not least given their understanding of
discrimination and disadvantage, and
because migrants in particular are by
definition entrepreneurs already.
Dr Omar Khan,
Chair of Olmec
Foreword
Olmec has delivered the First Steps
in Social Enterprise Programme to
46 migrant led social enterprises in
18 months through investment from
Metropolitan Migration Foundation and
RBS Scotland. The programme’s success
has exceeded expectations against all
measures set, for example 27 of those test
trading against a target of 10 and 98% of
respondents reported programme benefits
against 10 core programme elements.
The First Steps in Social Enterprise
programme is timely for two reasons.
Firstly the programme focuses on
meeting the needs of migrants at a time
when their numbers have risen to form
a substantial section within our local
communities. Today, one in three persons
living in London is a migrant, whilst
migrants comprise 15% of Nottingham’s
population. Secondly, the programme
involves RSLs (Registered Social Landlords)
on a number of levels at a time of
revolution in the engagement of RSLs with
social enterprise.
At a national scale, the Green Light
project1, supported by over 100 housing
associations, is investigating the scope of
sustainable social enterprise development
by housing associations. In particular, it
aims to identify sustainable employment
opportunities for young people and
RSL residents. At the same time, HACT
(the Housing Associations’ Charitable
Trust) is working with key financial
social enterprises to pilot a microfinance
programme in the housing sector. At a
local level, there are many examples of
RSLs not just developing social enterprises
but also contracting and partnering with
them in order to achieve their own social
objectives.
This revolution coincides with expansion
of the social enterprise sector through
the recession. There are today more than
70,0002 social enterprises employing
around a million people3 and contributing
over £24 billion4 to the UK economy.
The number of co-operatives alone has
increased by 23% during the three years
to 2011. The social enterprise sector is
growing, maturing and stating its case to
play a serious role in Britain’s economy.
There is now a general belief throughout
government and the third sector that
social enterprises can genuinely provide
significant social value above-andbeyond the price of the contracts they
deliver5; and can respond sustainably to
needs which can neither be met through
conventional markets, nor through grant
funding which has declined during the
recession.
Clearly, many RSLs are beginning to
recognise the benefits of working with
social enterprise. At the same time, social
enterprises who work with disadvantaged
communities are beginning to understand
RSLs as a natural customer.
Nevertheless, this relationship is not
necessarily an easy one to form. Both
types of organisation are complex, and
heterogeneous. To win contracts, social
enterprises must work hard to understand
the needs of RSLs and the markets within
which they operate. They will need to
smarten up their capacity, professionalize
and in some cases even ‘grow-up’ in
order to operate effectively in a fierce
but growing and exciting market. Social
enterprises should expect neither grants,
nor hand-outs, nor an easy ride!
RSLs will need to work hard to understand
the opportunities that working with
social enterprise present, and to develop
business models and procurement
processes that engage the social
enterprise community effectively.
There is an important role to play for
third sector agencies such as Olmec and
the Young Foundation which engage in
social enterprise development. They need
to foster the creation of a new breed of
social enterprises which reflect the profiles
of RSL residents and the changing nature
of our communities: social enterprises
run by women, by young people and
increasingly by migrants and people from
ethnic minorities.
Programmes such as First Steps in Social
Enterprise (FSISE) have their place too.
Capacity building at pre-start level is
never easy. Backing horses at an early
stage will always be problematic. There
is a need for programmes designed to
engage and understand the challenges
faced by potential entrepreneur migrants,
with the competence to select high quality
business propositions, and the specialist
social enterprise development skills
necessary to guide new enterprises to the
point of test-trading.
Learning from this programme will enable
the delivery partners to understand
and demonstrate how to put effective
programmes into place that help budding
migrant social entrepreneurs to overcome
the barriers to enterprise development
and start trading. RSLs, funders and
other agencies all have a role in fostering
a supportive environment and investing
the resources necessary to support this
process.
John Mayford Olmec
CEO
Brian Millington Director,
Greenmarque
Contents
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION
1.0 Programme overview
1.1 Housing associations and social enterprise:
examples of innovation
1.2 Introduction to the First Steps in Social Enterprise model
1.21 Olmec: a migrant–led social enterprise rooted in the
housing sector
1.22 The development of the First Steps in Social Enterprise model
for migrant and minority led social enterprises
1.23 Understanding the migrant picture of communities and
housing associations
1.3 Housing association models and procurement opportunities
for social enterprise
SECTION 2
2.0 Understanding the social enterprise sector
2.1 Review of sector definitions including co-operatives,
social enterprises and social ventures
SECTION 3 First Steps in Social
Enterprise
3.0 First Steps in Social Enterprise programme aims and objectives
3.1 Recruitment and engagement
3.2 Training delivery
3.2 5 case studies
3.3 Learning from the programme
4.0 Conclusion
SECTION ONE
1.0 Programme Overview
Programme Overview
First Steps in Social Enterprise (FSISE) is
an Olmec programme of tr aining and
support for aspiring social entrepreneurs
from migrant6 led backgrounds.
Phase 1 and 3 of the programme was
commissioned by Metropolitan Migration
Foundation to build the capacity of
migrant-run pre-start and early-start up
social enterprises to the point where they
are able to test-trade in order to prove or
disprove their business model, in advance
of full start-up.
Phase 3 of the programme was funded
through the RBS Inspiring Enterprise
programme with in kind support from
Metropolitan.
Metropolitan Migration Foundation
commissioned the Young Foundation
to deliver the CLIMB programme, an
intensive support programme for social
ventures.
The two programmes were delivered
together in partnership with Metropolitan
(Housing). The programmes enjoyed
relationships with key departments
within the housing association, including
community regeneration, procurement
and communications departments. The
stakeholders shared information and
promoted the programme as a whole,
and encouraged cross referral between
the providers.
The First Steps in Social
Enterprise programme
proved highly successful in both recruiting
31 migrant led social enterprises with
potentially viable business propositions
and enabling 17 of them to reach the
point of test-trading. This was far in
excess of its original target of 3 to 5 testtraders.
Aside from outputs, programme
evaluation has produced a number of key
findings set out according to the following
themes:
Methodology
Focus on migrant – led social
enterprise
Cultural change within Metropolitan
Programme Impacts on social housing
residents
Impacts on Olmec as the delivery
organisation
Linking First Steps in Social
Enterprise case studies with socioeconomic impacts
1.1 Housing Associations
& Social Enterprise:
examples of innovation
Metropolitan Migration Foundation’s
partnership with Olmec through First
Steps in Social Enterprise and with The
Young Foundation through CLIMB is an
innovative example of an RSL engaging
with social enterprise. First Steps in Social
Enterprise represents an investment in
prospective social entrepreneurs helping
them consider how to embed their social
aims at an early stage of trading in a way
which enhances their sustainability.
A distinguishing feature of the
Metropolitan Migration Foundation
initiative is its focus on migrant
communities. Since its launch in 2007,
Olmec’s work has also focused on
migrant communities through its successive
partnerships with Presentation Housing
and Notting Hill Housing Trust.
There are many examples of RSLs
entering this field in terms of research, as
well as development and support. Affinity
Sutton and Catalyst recently funded HACT
to undertake a social impact study. This
aims to develop social impact metrics
which will inform decision making and is
due to be report in October 2013.
HACT is also working on a pilot
microfinance initiative programme7 to
develop viable and scalable micro-loan
fund for housing association residents.
The pilot is being developed with a
number of partners including Community
Development Finance Association (CDFA),
regional community development finance
institutions and Big Society Capital to
create loan funds to support residents
looking to start up their own businesses.
Another initiative is the Green Light
Project, a partnership between
the National Housing Federation,
Groundwork UK and Aspire Foundation.
Green Light seeks to identify the breadth
and scope of sustainable social enterprise
development by housing associations,
Groundwork trusts and others. The
project also aims to identify sustainable
employment opportunities for young
people, residents and others in the
community, through social enterprise8.
The “Placemakers” group of 100 housing
associations plan to develop this project
over the next 12 months. An innovative
supply side example to larger RSLs
is that of the construction company,
Wates. Working with Social Enterprise
UK (SEUK) it has set up a procurement
system9 designed to make it easier for
social enterprises to tender to supply the
company with goods or services. “Wates
have set themselves a target of having
a social enterprise supplier on each of
their new construction sites with a total
spend of £5 million by 2015. SEUK will be
helping Wates to identify relevant social
enterprises, broker deals and promote
Wates’ procurement opportunities across
the sector”10. The scheme intends to
set the benchmark for social enterprise
procurement, getting high numbers of
social enterprises into Wates’ corporate
supply chains. It also aims to make a
significant difference to local job markets
and communities where Wates works.
Raising a clear bar for social enterprise
delivery, this brokerage service is seen
by Social Enterprise UK as having
the potential not only to influence the
construction sector, but the wider business
community too.
At the community level, RSLs engaging
in social enterprise development in order
to achieve local objectives are finding
surprising results. For example, Tower
Hamlets based RSL Poplar HARCA
(Housing and Regeneration Community
Association) helped to develop the social
enterprise Sapiano’s. Originally a single
hair salon serving the Poplar community,
it is now expanding to develop a range
of hair and skincare businesses11, and a
hairdresser training academy.
All of these examples have something to
teach us, are resources to work with and
social capital to be accessed, whether
your perspective is that of an RSL, social
enterprise or provider of social enterprise
business support.
1.2 Introduction to First
Steps in Social Enterprise
model
1.21 Olmec: A migrant–
led social enterprise
rooted in the housing
sector
To understand First Steps in Social
Enterprise and how it developed, it
is important to understand Olmec
and its origins. Olmec was set up by
Presentation Housing, a BAMER12 led
Housing association that was originally
founded to meet the needs of Black,
Asian and minority communities who had
moved to the UK. Presentation Housing
founded a number of subsidiary charities,
including Olmec which was established
in 2003 to address issues of extreme
disadvantage faced by minority and
refugee communities primarily living in
social housing. From that point onwards,
Olmec began to establish a range of
programmes to meet its aims in various
fields: social enterprise, employment
and training, community development,
community leadership, equalities and
diversity, and community arts.
Programmes developed by Olmec are
therefore rooted in an approach to social
change which prioritises economic and
social justice and the empowerment
of communities. Olmec is in a unique
position to understand the complex
needs of migrants, and help them
tackle the many common barriers they
face when starting a business, seeking
work or accessing training. But more
than this; through working with migrant
communities, through its research and
through the personal experience of
its staff, board members and other
stakeholders Olmec has developed a
good knowledge of the ways in which
people from particular communities face
very specific barriers to employment,
enterprise and to the many services which
most people can take for-granted. Many
of its delivery staff, board members,
partner-BAMER organisations each
have first-hand experience of facing and
overcoming these barriers.
Olmec is therefore able to help migrants
tackle barriers through providing a
cultural brokerage as an inherent
element with in its service, enabling its
social entrepreneur clients to access
business support services, partners, bank
managers, grant funding and other
resources otherwise denied to them.
From the opposite perspective, Olmec’s
unique aptitude not only enables it to
help funders, business services and
suppliers to open up a dialogue with
migrant entrepreneurs, but can help RSLs
to engage the diverse communities they
serve, more effectively.
Likewise, because of its social
enterprise perspective, Olmec is able
to help migrants to design dynamic
organisational structures which embed
their community’s social aims, channel
surpluses to meet social objectives and
foster active stakeholder involvement.
But this process needs a period of
learning. When recruiting for First Steps
in Social Enterprise, Olmec has used a
big tent definition of social enterprise,
which includes individuals, groups and
sole traders considering using a social
enterprise model. At first, they are
typically unaware of available legal
structures, innovative business models
and various investment options. They
therefore need a period of coaching to
reach the point where they can test the
viability of their idea, before they are able
to consider which organisational structure
is most likely to enhance the ability of the
enterprise to meet its community’s needs.
Cultural brokerage approach to the
development of all programmes is an
inherent to Olmec. Cultural brokerage
refers to organisations that are able to
provide a bridge between mainstream
institutions, resources, social capital
and opportunities and communities, or
communities of interest. Olmec itself is
both migrant and minority led, with a
diverse staff team. The cultural wealth
that is synonymous with this means that it
is not just that Olmec has an insight into
communities, but key decision makers
and the staff that shape and deliver
programmes are drawn predominately
from those communities. In addition,
Olmec works to both an equal
opportunities and diversity strategy
approach to all projects. Olmec, then, is
of and has access to migrant and minority
communities.
However, Olmec has access and has
been a player in the social enterprise
field and the race equality and Black
VCO sector. For example a member of
Social Enterprise UK, the Olmec CIC is
a member of Co-operatives UK and a
co-operative development body. Olmec
is also a member of the Coalition of
Race Equality, was formerly one of 26
organisations funded nationally under
the Tackling Race Inequality Fund. Olmec
then has access to mainstream institution,
resources, social capital and opportunities
Olmec has people who have benefited
it’s services on its Trustee Board, and
the sister Co-operative CIC is open
membership. Both are vehicles for
service beneficiaries to engage with the
organisation itself. For example, a current
Olmec CIC Director, is a former FSISE
graduate.
Cultural brokerage, then, plays out in
terms of the development and delivery
of the First Steps in Social Enterprise
programme, how communities are
engaged with, tutors and specialists
that deliver the programme, and the
opportunities that presented after
programme completion.
1.22 The development of
the First Steps in Social
Enterprise model for
migrant and minority led
social enterprises.
Olmec has supported minority led social
enterprise programmes since 2008,
working initially with Presentation Housing
and later with Notting Hill Housing Trust.
The programmes have been developed
from an equalities and diversity
perspective, drawing on both research
and the learning from partnerships
within the race equality, BAMER and
social enterprise sector. In the design
of its programmes, Olmec addresses
the various barriers encountered by the
different migrant and BAMER groups
and take account of the support needs
of social enterprises at different stages in
their development.
First Steps in Social Enterprise focuses on
emerging social enterprises which need
support to develop business plans or have
just begun trading. These are known in
business support terms as “pre start” or
“new start”.
The programme was developed as a new
strand after identifying a need to support
new entrepreneurs to develop their ideas,
explore the viability of their proposals and
find out whether social enterprise was the
right path for them.
The programme complements Olmec’s
services for “existing” social enterprises
including: the Step Ahead programme
which provides support to a network of
over 200 minority led social enterprises,
the Step Change programme through
which Olmec provides social enterprise
consultancy, and Co-operative Diversity
Action (CDA), a programme supporting
minority led co-operatives. CDA was
originally developed by the Co-operative
Group’s Values and Principles Committee
and Co-operatives UK before passing to
Olmec in 2011.
So far, very little formal research has
focused on the needs of either migrant-led
or BAMER led social enterprises and what
is available largely does not detail the
needs of specific groups. Existing research
generally describes the needs of Black,
Asian and Minority Ethnic communities as
one group, which broadly refers to Black
and Asian groups without direct reference
to white minority groups or refugees; and
is therefore limited in its application.
At a national level around 31% of existing
social enterprises are non-White British
owned. However, the proportion of
BAMER social enterprises in London is
likely to be much higher. Recent research
found that most social enterprises are
based in boroughs with the highest
BAMER populations and networks. These
boroughs report that around 60 to 80%
of social enterprises they support are
BAMER-led13.
Olmec conducted London based
mapping research in 2007 that led to
the establishment of a programme to
support minority-led social enterprises in
London. The research explored the social
enterprise activity amongst minority and
migrant communities and established the
support needs and access organisations
have to available support14.
These themes are echoed in research
that led to the establishment of the Cooperative Diversity Action programme by
Co-operatives UK in 2009. It followed
several research projects, undertaken
by the Co-operative Group and Cooperatives UK since 2001, into underrepresentation of minority communities15
among co-operatives.
In 2010, Olmec produced the research
report “Inspiring Change” which had 16
case studies of minority and migrant-led
enterprises. This identified barriers and
good practice in supporting migrant and
minority-led social enterprises run by
people from Bangladeshi, Polish, Somali
communities as well as minority-led health
and social care social enterprises.
Studies have demonstrated the particular
financial needs of BAMER social
enterprises. For example, the 2002
PACEC Survey of business finance needs
in Haringey’s Objective 2 area showed
that while 6% of businesses said that
access to debt finance was a constraint
to their business, this rose to 8% for BME
businesses16.
Some common themes emerge from
available research. Social enterprises,
often have specific needs due to their
multi-stakeholder composition and need
for legal structure advice. Those starting
up a social enterprise have been found
to lack confidence and need more
reassurance than private businesses, and
they are often unwilling to use bank loans.
Those organisations migrating from the
voluntary sector will also have specific
needs as they make this transition. It has
been found that there is a great lack of
affordable appropriate support available
to BAMER-led SEs which is a major
barrier to their development. Research
also indicates there is a need to engage
with particular groups such as migrant
and BAMER women. Because there is
very little systematic knowledge of the
needs of specific migrant BAMER groups,
aside from the specialist support provided
by Olmec, there is a great lack of tailored
support to meet this need.
1.23 Understanding
the migrant picture
of communities and
housing associations
There is a need to understand the
migrant element within the demographic
make-up of communities in order to
provide services effectively whether
engaging communities, providing
localised services, tackling housing
needs or addressing community cohesion.
Developing that understanding often
requires the engagement of BAMER
third sector organisations which have a
nuanced understanding of their needs
as a result of working with migrant
communities.
HACT has worked with Oxford
Consultants for Social Inclusion (OSCI)
using funding from Metropolitan
Migration Foundation to produce
analytical tools to aid this process:
Community Insight and Population Insight.
Population Insight is a free resource
combining a number of data sets
including those of Office for National
Statistics, the Department for Work and
Pensions, the Department for Communities
and Local Government, and the Department
of Health enabling access to data at a
local and national level.
Community Insight is a Geographic
Information System (GIS) based tool
providing online community mapping
and reporting for housing providers. It is
a subscription based product that offers
neighbourhood and community profiles
for housing providers covering key social
and economic indicators. Both resources
are in use by a rising number of housing
providers.
At a local level, effective relationship
building with migrant communities
requires engagement with local refugee
and migrant third sector organisations,
as well as the wider BAMER sector. At a
regional and national level, Olmec has
drawn on long established relationships
such as that with the Coalition for Race
Equality to promote the project.
The First Steps in Social Enterprise and
CLIMB projects took place in London and
in the East Midlands; both are complex
and changing communities with large
migrant populations.
The ethnic minority population in England
and Wales has seen an increase of nearly
50% over eight years; rising to 986,600 in
200917. This means that 9.1 million people
living in England and Wales - equivalent
to one in six of the population - are now
from a non-white background.
London is the most ethnically diverse
city in the UK with 34% of its resident
population made up of migrants (30% in
outer London and 40% in inner London).
In some areas of the capital the non UKborn population has even outnumbered
the UK‐born: in Westminster, Newham
and Brent, over 50% of the population is
born outside the UK.18
Home Office data for April 2010 to
March 2011 shows that 15 per cent of
Nottingham’s 302,000 residents were
born outside of the UK19.
Since 2000, Nottingham has seen
increased numbers of asylum seekers
primarily from Kosovo and Afghanistan,
but also from the Congo and other
former French speaking African countries,
Somalia and Turkey20. Home Office
estimates of population residents in the
UK by country of birth for April 2010
to March 2011 found that in the East
Midlands the countries of origin for the
largest five overseas populations are India
(65,000), Poland (56,000), Germany
(22,000), Pakistan (19,000) and Republic
of Ireland (18,000).21
The promotion and engagement
campaign for both First Steps in Social
Enterprise took into account knowledge of
the ethnic make-up of local communities
and used the strengths of programme
partners and various third sector networks
to maximise the impact of the existing
relationships. Partner organisations and
stakeholders promoted and engaged their
stakeholders.
1.3 Housing Association
models and procurement
opportunities for social
enterprise
Clearly, from a business perspective, the
housing association sector represents a
vast potential market into which social
enterprises could sell their services.
Active housing associations in the UK
number over 1,70022. In 2010, the gross
book value of housing association stock
amounted to £85.2 billion. In England
alone, 2.5 million RSL homes house over 5
million people and annually turns over in
excess of £10 billion. In Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales there are a further
0.2 million homes.
Across the London region, over 150
housing co-operatives, 13 ALMOs, and
24 TMOs and 280 other parent housing
associations (excluding subsidiaries)
together manage a stock of 433,000
homes. Four ALMOs and 20 other types
of housing associations operate across
Nottinghamshire 23.
According to the Home Office, RSLs act
as important agents of local economic
change by investing in neighbourhood
projects throughout the country24. They
also engage in and a range of community
development initiatives from employment,
education and skills to health promotion25
and renewable energy awareness26.
Potentially these offer contract and
partnership opportunities for social
enterprises.
The breadth of the RSL
market
However, the housing association
sector is a complex market for social
enterprises to navigate. RSL’s are highly
diverse in organisational structure, scale,
business model and their approach to
procurement.
RSL’s can be registered as industrial
& provident societies, companies, or
trusts. They can be either independent
or set up as a trading arm, structured
co-operatively or hierarchically, and be
commercially driven or else charitably
focused.
There is a huge variation in terms of
scale. In 2010, some twenty of the
largest housing associations together
accounted for 30% of the total UK stock
and four groups (Sanctuary, Guinness,
Circle Anglia and London & Quadrant)
each owned more than 50,000 rented
homes. Although some of these larger
associations have, in recent years,
absorbed a number of smaller and failing
associations, it is still the case that of
1,700 active associations, 84 per cent
own less than 250 homes .
They operate according to a wide range
of business models in terms of their stock,
the communities they house and the shape
and focus of its community investment.
Some RSLs manage long-established
voluntary sector property, or former
local authority stock; others buy, build
or convert; while a small but expanding
number build specifically for sale or leasepurchase.
There are RSLs which specifically
accommodate families, young people
or students; while others provide care
for the sick and elderly or hostels for the
homeless. Some aim to manage large
residential portfolios profitably, while
others see themselves working long-term
with a specific disadvantaged community
or in a particular locality.
Its business model will determine the
shape and level of an RSLs community
investment, which might be through
community regeneration schemes,
employment and training programmes or
else care and support programmes.
Finally, at an operational level, RSLs’
approach to procurement
will differ according to:
what functions they choose to contract
out rather than manage in-house
the level of financial resource
attached
to a specific service requirement
how those services are bundled
together within contracts and
the period over which a contract
might run.
Tender opportunities
All of these factors affect whether, when,
how and under what terms an RSL might
look to procure a service. However,
depending on what a social enterprise
has to offer, nearly all RSL’s present
opportunities.
Tendering web resources:
www.tenderalerts.co.uk
www.tendermanagement.
co.uk/cic.php
www.tendersdirect.co.uk/
Default.aspx
www.theguardian.
com/social-enterprisenetwork/
2013/mar/27/publicsector-bidding-socialenterprise
www.total-tenders.co.uk/
index.php
www.trackerintelligence.
com/about-us/
www.socialenterprise.
org.uk/news/housingassociations-socialenterprise-strongercommunities
www.socialenterpriselive.
com/supplements/
procurement-the-socialenterprise-solution
(Note: inclusion does not imply
recommendation)
For example, no matter what their size,
the majority of housing associations buy
office stationery and office services.
Where it is uneconomic to carry
out functions in house, the smallest
housing co-operatives and associations
sub-contract out such services as
administration, book-keeping, cleaning
and maintenance. Most RSLs, except
the very smallest, buy design and print
services. These examples present
potential opportunities for specialist cooperatives and social enterprises offering
ethical office supplies, back-office support,
or small scale cleaning, maintenance and
ground maintenance.
Social enterprises looking to tender
for medium to large contracts will
need to make themselves aware of the
procurement procedures being used by
the housing association. Depending on
the size of the contract, this might through:
competitive quotations on the
basis of price
competitive quotations on the basis of
the most economically advantageous
tender (MEAT) taking into account
factors such as price, quality,
technical merit & running cost
a tender which is restricted to bidders
who have been preselected or have
passed a prior expression of interest
stage on the basis of their economic,
financial or technical capacity
a framework agreement where the
housing association compiles a closed
list of qualifying bidders who operate
in a particular sector to whom it will
frequently offer tender opportunities
Where price is not the only factor being
considered, social enterprises need to
consider the quality standard required of
any contract, as well as any accreditation
or specific capacity they need in place
to compete both qualify to bid and to
compete effectively. They also need to
consider the size of the contract as a
proportion of their turnover. A contractor
is less likely to award a contract whose
value would represent 30% or more of the
social enterprise’s turnover.
On a positive side for social enterprises,
there is a growing use of social criteria
within contracts where they are relevant
to performance, for example: the
employment of local people, the use of
volunteers or the engagement of local
people. In some cases, this will offer an
advantage to social enterprises which
already employ local people, have strong
contacts with the local community and
incorporate volunteers in their business
model.
European regulations
When applying for a housing association
contract valued over £173,934, a social
enterprise may be competing against
bidders in other parts of the European
Union, and meet higher thresholds for
compliance, accreditation and capacity.
This is because housing associations have
since 2004 been subject to the European
Union’s (EU) public contracts regulations
when procuring goods and services.
These regulations require a minimum
level of transparency, equal treatment,
non-discrimination and proportionality
when contracts are of ‘certain cross
border interest’. Such contracts need
to be published in the Official Journal
of the European Union (OJEU) which is
published its 22 official languages (23
when Irish is required) across the EU.
European regulations apply to all
contracts for works (building) above a
value of £4,248,350 and to certain types
of contract for goods and services above
a value of £173,93427. The goods and
services to which they apply are those
likely to be of interest to suppliers Europewide such as contracts for computer,
accounting, architectural, consultancy and
similar (Category A) services. However,
the regulation relating to Europe wide
publicity do not normally apply to
contracts in health, education, recreation,
culture, sport and other (Category B)
services, unless there is a particular reason
these would be of interest to bidders across
the EU.
Since Category B services reflect the
sectors in which most social enterprises
operate, the full European regulations
would normally only apply to social
enterprises operating in the consultancy,
professional, technical, maintenance and
building sectors when they tender for
contracts larger than £173,934.
The value of such a contract is calculated
over its potential life. For example a
consultancy, cleaning, maintenance or
other type of service running over 3 years
with an annual cost of £60K would be
publicised through the OJEU because it
would have a contract value of £180K.
Steps to winning a
tender and retaining a
contract, Pre-tender
Sign up for contract alerts which
match your service
Only bid to deliver services that fit
your strategy
Ensure you are tender-ready (capacity
to deliver the scale & quality required,
a clean accounts filing record, policies
and procedures in place)
Research the procurer and the target
communities
Tender stage
Read the tender document, answer
every point
Demonstrate that you meet all
requirements
Demonstrate your ability to deliver the
service
Tailor your service to the stakeholders
involved
Demonstrate your unique strengths
Don’t rush your answers, meet the
deadline
If you win
Know your proposal inside out before
negotiations
Deliver enthusiastically, meet the targets
Identify and record unexpected
outcomes
Use these to develop your offer for
next time
PUBLIC CONTRACTS
REGULATIONS 2006 FROM 1 JANUARY 2012
SUPPLIES
SERVICES
WORKS
Entities listed in Schedule 11
£113,057
(€130,000)
£113,0572
(€130,000)
£4,348,3503
(€5,000,000)
Other public sector contracting
authorities
£173,934
(€200,000)
£173,934
(€200,000)
£4,348,3503
(€5,000,000)
Indicative Notices
£652,253
(€750,000)
£652,253
(€750,000)
£4,348,350
(€5,000,000)
Small lots
£69,574
(€80,000)
£69,574
(€80,000)
£869,670
(€1,000,000)
To find out about tender opportunities,
social enterprises can sign up to any
number of public or private sector tender
alerts, available on the internet.
Developments such as the Social
Enterprise UK and WATES brokerage
initiative and Green Light project are likely
to lead to an expansion of tendering
opportunities and resources to support
those social enterprises seeking contracts.
Community Investment
and smaller spend
RSLs which outsource community
investment, regeneration, employment and
training activities may offer smaller scale
contracts that fall outside the scope of EU
directives and be suitable for deliver by
local, community based or community-led
providers, including social enterprise.
The majority of emerging social
enterprises who applied for the First Steps
in Social Enterprise programme have
developed to meet specific community
needs, and provide good examples of
potential contract winners. Eat Club and
Daddy CPR, for example, won contracts
with housing associations after completing
the programme. Metropolitan’s
community regeneration team provide an
innovative and good practice example
proactively engaging in the social
enterprise agenda.
Section 2
Understanding the
social enterprise
sector
Over the past 10 years, as the social
enterprises sector has expanded and
developed, it has attracted interest from
different perspectives: government,
charities and private enterprise. This
has led to this basic definition being
interpreted, used and developed in
different ways.
2.0 Social Enterprise
Sector and definitions
There are many types of social
enterprise, ranging from co-operatives
to credit unions, from trading charities
to development trusts. They include
community enterprises, social firms and
most housing associations; and can be
incorporated as industrial & provident
societies, charitable incorporated
organisations or as companies (more
commonly as companies limited by
guarantee rather than by shares). Both
Companies limited by Guarantee and
Share Companies can register as
Community Interest Companies, so that
profits and assets are protected for social
objectives.
Social enterprises range in size from
large international businesses to local
community enterprises and operate in
every sector of the economy; but there
is little agreement as to how they are
defined.
The most consistently cited definition of
a social enterprise (in the UK) is that
published by the UK Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI) in 2002:
All agree that social enterprises must
trade, at least 50% of their turnover
being generated from service provision.
There is also wide agreement that social
enterprises should pursue double or triple
bottom lines: with their principal aim
being social or environmental, rather than
financial.
Some of the key questions which divide
the various camps concern ownership
and accountability. Should a social
enterprise’s aims be embedded in its
constitution? Can it be wholly owned
by private shareholders, even if profit
distribution is limited? Do they need to
demonstrate and account for their social
value to anyone other than their owners?
Or can it be assumed that a business
owned by a community will pursue the
common interests of that community so
long as it is governed democratically and
trades profitably?
“a social
enterprise is a business
with primarily social
objectives whose surpluses are
principally reinvested for that
purpose in the business or in the
community, rather than being
driven by the need to maximise
profit for shareholders and
owners”
Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) is the
national body for social enterprise. In its
paper: What makes a social enterprise a
social enterprise? SEUK avoids asserting a
strict definition, but instead sets out critical
factors that make an organisation a social
enterprise28. This paper states that social
enterprises should:
Have a clear social and/or
environmental mission set out in their
governing documents
Unlike the factors identified by
SEUK, the Social Enterprise Mark
list combines both organisational
characteristics and performance
indicators when registering members.
It states that social enterprises should:
have a social or environmental aim
have an independent constitution and
governance
Generate the majority of their income
through trade
earn at least 50% of revenue from
trading
Reinvest the majority of their profits
spend at least 50% of profits on
social/environmental aims
Be autonomous of state
Be majority controlled in the interests
of the social mission
Be accountable and transparent
The Social Enterprise Mark on the
other hand is concerned that there
is no UK-wide, legal definition of a
social enterprise, as “organisations
can just call themselves social
enterprises if they choose”29. The
Mark therefore sets out to certify
social enterprises: by checking their
characteristics against a list of criteria
it seeks to ensure that they guarantee
profits or surpluses are used to
improve society and protect the
environment.
Co-operatives are based on values of
self-help, self-responsibility, democracy,
equality, equity and solidarity.
They maintain ethical values of honesty,
openness, social responsibility and caring
for others. These values are reflected in a
set of principles which are embedded in
co-operative law and referred to in cooperative constitutions:
Open and voluntary membership
One member one vote
Member economic participation
Autonomy and independence
distribute residual assets to social/
environmental aims if dissolved
Education and training
demonstrate social value
Concern for the community
Unlike social enterprises in general, there
is international agreement and a clear
definition as to what constitutes a cooperative. The International Co-operative
Alliance defines a co-operative as:
“an autonomous
association of persons
united voluntarily to meet
their common economic,
social, and cultural needs and
aspirations through a jointly
owned and democratically
controlled enterprise.”
Co-operation with other co-operative
From a co-operative perspective therefore
social ownership and structure are key
factors. Transparency, accountability
and democratic control are also seen as
important. This perspective would have
social enterprises adopt an organisational
structure which:
gives primacy to its social
(or member) aim
or trading charities with a closed-trust
governance. (In comparison, the Social
Enterprise Mark definition does not
include certain types of co-operative).
Echoing this emphasis on accountability
and ownership by stakeholders is a
definition of social enterprise being
considered by the European Union for
proposed regulation 30.
“‘Social
enterprise’ means an
enterprise whose primary
objective is to achieve social
impact rather than generate profit
for owners and stakeholders.
It operates in the market through
the production of goods and services
in an entrepreneurial & innovative
way, and uses surpluses mainly to
achieve social goals.
It is managed
in an accountable
and transparent way,
in particular by involving
workers, customers and
stakeholders affected by its
business activity.”
limits the private distribution of profit
makes the enterprise open and
accountable to a community which
has a common interest in that social
objective being achieved.
This co-operative view of social enterprise
might therefore exclude enterprises
based on private (or private trust)
ownership such as ethically orientated
private businesses, Community Interest
Companies (CICs) not run by a community
At the other end of the scale is the big tent
definition of a social enterprise used by
Social Enterprise London when promoting
the concept ten years ago. By including
ethically focused companies and sole
traders, voluntary organisations which
trade and socially structured business,
Social Enterprise London was able to
attract many like-minded entrepreneurs
and organisations into the sector who
have since been able to develop and grow
successful examples of social enterprise.
2.2 Social Ventures
An alternative view is that which sees a
social enterprise as a business run by a
social entrepreneur who, irrespective of
the organisational vehicle or ownership,
adopts a particular mission with the aim
to create and sustain social value31.
According to their advocates, they
“solve social problems and provide
social benefits”.
The notion of the social venture therefore
incorporates a range of business models
and organisational forms which generate
social value, and roughly corresponds
to the big tent definition of social
enterprise. Venturesome has set
out a model to show the range of
“Social
forms defined as social ventures
entrepreneurs
(or loosely referred to as social
adopt a mission to create
enterprises), showing the range
and sustain social value. They
from trading charities at one end
pursue opportunities to serve
of the scale to, at the other end,
this mission, while continuously
private businesses which aim to
adapting and learning. They draw
generate a portion profits for a
upon appropriate thinking in both the
charitable purpose.
business and non-profit worlds and
operate in all kinds of organizations:
large and small; new and old;
religious and secular; nonprofit, for-profit, and
hybrid”
Organisations such as Clearly So, The
Young Foundation, School for Social
Entrepreneurs and UnLtd focus their
services towards the individual social
entrepreneurs rather than the social
enterprise.
This relates to the idea of a social
venture. A concept from the United
States, a social venture is:32
Rather than focusing on the
organisational structure, the focus
of a social venture is on the social
entrepreneur, the innovative business
model and the value of the social benefit
that the enterprise creates.
The concept of a social venture does
not address the important distinction
between, on the one hand, community
or co-operatively owned businesses and,
on the other, those owned by private
individuals who, in trading to meet social
aims essentially set themselves up in trust
on behalf of the business’s beneficiaries.
From the private trust ownership point
of view, community or co-operative
ownership risks adding unnecessary levels
of management, lines of communication
and additional bureaucracy which can
stifle the entrepreneurial spirit and slow
down the response to quickly changing
market conditions.
Each of the business models and
organisational forms in the Venturesome
model could indeed be owned in either
way. From the community point of view,
the private trust ownership forms lack
the benefits provided by community
governance and accountability which
can keep the business on track to meet
its social aims, and adapt with changing
needs.
The idea of social venture also includes
hybrid models in which the equity is
shared between a community or cooperatively owned social enterprise and
external investors. This could happen,
for example, if in order to expand into a
new market, a social enterprise accepts
external finance in exchange for part
ownership of the business or project.
From a social enterprise perspective,
trading ownership for investment in this
way breaks the principle of community
ownership.
It also risks the erosion and eventual
loss of the social ownership over time as
additional private capital is bought in
and consequential loss of its social focus.
In the UK, the Young Foundation
has taken this concept on board33.
It defines a social venture as an
organisation that tackles social
problems (for example: obesity,
educational disadvantage, poverty
or health), is financially sustainable
and aims to scale what works.
“an undertaking
by a firm or
organization established
by a social entrepreneur that
seeks to provide systemic
solutions to achieve a
sustainable, social
objective”.
Figure 1: Social ventures can take on a range of organisational forms
Charity
with
fundraised
/grant
income
Charity
with
on-mission
trading
contracting
Social
benefit
enterprise
Social
purpose
business
Socially
responsible
business
Business
generating
profit for
charitable
spend
Grey area in which organisations are often
loosely referred to as ‘social enterprises’
Based on source: Financing Civil Society; Venturesome (2009)
Commercial
enterprise
Every year Co-operatives UK undertakes
a survey of the co-operative sector.
The 2012 report was prepared at the
peak of the global recession, which
it characterises in terms of increasing
indebtedness, loss of confidence in the
free market, campaigns against the pure
pursuit of profit and increasing inequality.
In contrast to this, the report reveals a
sustained growth in the numbers of cooperative business start-ups despite the
financial crises. Between 2008 and 2012,
the number of co-operatives grew by
8.9% and the number of memberships by
19.7%. Since 2008, the turnover of the
movement has increased by 19.6% to an
inspiring £35.6 billion.
In addition, it presents statistics which
show that co-operatives are better
equipped than other small businesses
to meet the particular challenges of the
recession because they have a higher
survival rate, they are more often located
near disadvantaged communities and
are twice as likely to minimise their
environmental impact.
The report demonstrates that cooperatives can play many roles within
our economy. There are co-operatives
in every business sector with turnovers
ranging from less than £25,000 to over
£5M and including businesses owned
by workers, by consumers, by residents
and by enterprises. Co-operative
sectors which expanded despite the
recession include financial services, retail,
fishing, education and training, leisure,
tourism and
manufacturing.
The size of co-operative economy 2008-2011
40
35
30
25
29.8
32.6
35.4
£Bn 20
35.6
Based on
Source: The UK
Co-operative
Economy; Cooperatives UK,
(2012)
15
10
5
0
2008
2009
2010
The report goes on to describe how cooperatives can provide an antidote to the
recession as they are “designed to benefit
members, to benefit society and to benefit
the environment”.
Indeed renewable
energy schemes
and community
2011
shops are two
areas of very high
co‑operative take-up, both having been
stimulated by the growth in popularity of
community share issues as a means of
raising capital.
2.4 The People’s
Business: The State of
Social Enterprise Survey
2013
Also, while a higher percentage of
social enterprises (38%) than SMEs (29%)
experienced growth over the past 12
months, this was lower than the equivalent
figure for 2011, when it was 41%.
In July, Social
Enterprise UK
published its 2013
80
survey of social
enterprises. This
70
72
showed that like
60
co-operatives,
50
the number of
40
social enterprises
30
is expanding
20
rapidly. In fact,
10
in proportion to
16
12
their sector size,
0
they are starting
26-50
51-75
76-100
up at double the
Percentage ranges of income earned through trade
rate of other small
to medium sized
businesses. They also range significantly
The results of the survey demonstrated
in size with 11% of social enterprises
conclusively that despite having a social
turning over less than £10,000 while 8%
or environmental mission at the heart
of them turn over more than £5 million
of what they do, social enterprises are
per year.
profoundly unlike traditional charities.
Income earned through trade 2012
Percentage of social enterprises
2.3 UK Co-operative
Economy 2012
While the number of social enterprises
has increased to over 70,000 they are
not immune to the effects of the recession.
The median turnover of social enterprises
has decreased from £240,000 in 2011 to
£187,000. Since this decline is sustained
across all age-ranges of social enterprise
the report suggests this is due to the
challenging economic environment, rather
than being skewed by high numbers of
start-ups during 2013.
The report marks that social enterprises
earn their money through trade, just like
regular enterprises, stating that “The best
way to be a high-impact social enterprise
is to be an effective business.” Indeed the
report claims that 72% of organisations
describing themselves as a social
enterprise derive at least 75% of their
income from trading.
Based on Source: The People’s Business:
The State of Social Enterprise Survey
(2013)
Section 3 The First
Steps in Social
Enterprise Delivery
Model and Case
Studies
3.0 First Steps in Social
Enterprise Project Aims
and Objectives
The First Steps in Social Enterprise
programme was set up with 2 key aims:
to develop the capacity of migrant
communities and skills of individuals
to run viable social enterprises and to
facilitate access for those enterprises
to markets in a way which benefits
the migrant communities living in
Metropolitan Housing stock.
Central to the project was the need to
raise awareness of social enterprise
among migrant communities, particularly
those living in Metropolitan housing
stock, among Metropolitan Housing staff
and among other stakeholders from the
migrant, refugee and the wider BAMER
sector.
First Steps in Social Enterprise clients
are all at a pre-start or new start phase
of developing their social enterprises.
Pre-starts have noticed a local social
need and identified the kind of service
that might respond to it in an innovative
way. Many come along with little more
than the idea. Others have excelled in
a particular trade or profession, or have
developed skills which they want to use
for community benefit.
A typical profile of a new start joiner to
the programme is of a social enterprise
newly registered as a CIC or IPS, or
as a sole trader wanting to develop a
social dimension to their business and to
register. Often these social entrepreneurs
are balancing an existing job with the
demands of establishing a new enterprise.
They seek product development, and an
investment to take them to the next stage.
A central requirement of the programme
is to put in place a robust capacitybuilding process to enable those that
have access to a market to test-trade, to
develop embedded business planning
working practice and to identify the next
steps of enterprise development.
Key Programmes Targets 1 to 9
Phase 1 London Launch event
attended by 50 people
Phase 2 East Midlands Launch
event attended by 50 people
30 diagnostics will be developed
30 development plans will be
devised through the 12 week
programme.
30 feasibility studies will be
conducted by the programme
participants.
30 trainees will understand the
legal structure most appropriate
to their business idea
20 business plans will be
developed through the
programme
20 migrant social entrepreneurs
will commit more time to
business planning
30 clients will take part in
evaluating the programme.
Key Programme Target 10
Between 3 and 5 pre start social
enterprises will be ready to test
trade
3.1 Recruitment and
engagement
There were two launch events, one for
each phase of the programme. The
publicity campaign aimed not only to
publicise the events to potential clients
through RSL, BAMER and social enterprise
networks, but also to raise the profile
of social enterprise among the housing
association’s residents, staff and partners;
and among local third sector, race
equality and BAMER organisations. Each
event was promoted through a range of
channels including media advertisements,
strategically placed posters, BAMER-led
community organisations, Metropolitan
Housing and other partner organisations.
The target for each recruitment event was
50 potential clients.
The initial London launch event took place
in the London Borough of Lambeth in
12th June 2012. Following receipt of 73
bookings the target of 50 attendees was
achieved. This included 15 residents of
Metropolitan Housing.
Following the launch there were 51
applications for the London phase of the
programme, compared to an expectation
of 30. 19 applicants were awarded
places with a further 2 applicants
shortlisted. Of these, 17 initial diagnostics
were carried out and following one
further drop out, 16 trainees proceeded
through the course.
The publicity for the Nottingham event
was more highly focused in order better
to target candidates from migrant’s
communities. The event was promoted
widely through 146 Nottingham and
Derby based BAMER VCOs, social
enterprise and social housing focused
organisations. Media channels included
Kemet FM, BBC Nottingham, local press,
a feature in the Guardian SE network,
and the Social Enterprise UK website. The
event was also publicly supported by the
Sherriff of Nottingham. Olmec worked
exceptionally closely with community
regeneration teams in both areas.
The areas presented a different set of
challenges. Olmec has been established
in London for 10 years, and for the past
6 of those years specifically supporting
minority-led social enterprises. The
social enterprise infrastructure is more
developed in the capital which also has
more social enterprises than other cities in
the UK.
Recruitment was always going to present
a much harder challenge in the East
Midlands. This was addressed with help
and local knowledge of Metropolitan’s
regional community regeneration team
who supported Olmec’s community liaison
closely, and in the process became very
committed to the project success.
A repeat project in the East Midlands
would present less of a challenge
following this investment in the profiles
both of the pilot programme, and of
social enterprise in general.
3.2 Training Delivery
Across the two phases, the programme
exceeded the recruitment target of 30
clients. In total, 31 trainees joined the
programme with an initial diagnostic
carried out for each client during the
interview and selection process. Two
clients dropped out of the programme
near the beginning for personal reasons.
This reduced the potential number of mid
stage outputs such as development plans
agreed and feasibility studies completed
to 29. A further trainee subsequently
moved to the CLIMB
programme.
A number of these test traders have
gone on to access funding or negotiate
contracts for delivery. For example, EatClub won a contract from Metropolitan,
LAYEntertainment won a 2 year contract
with the Columbian Embassy, Bryon’s
Language Club are selling direct to clients
with support from a local school, First
Hand Training have moved to fully trading
and social enterprise Lon-art.org has use
crowd funding to raise £1,200 for an
event; and TPIZ (now called DaddyCPR)
has a contract to run workshops for
several housing associations.
The programme
however, exceeded initial
expectations on the laterstage outputs with 21
trainees writing business
plans, and 17 trainees
committing more time to
developing their business.
Each of these 17 reached
the point of test trading.
OUTPUTS TABLE
TARGET OUTPUTS
OUTPUTS ACHIEVED
Prime Objective
Between 3 and 5 pre start social enterprises will be ready to test trade (cohort
1 & 2)
17 pre-start enterprises have test traded
Between 3 and 5 pre start social enterprises will be ready to test trade (Cohort
3)
10 pre-start enterprises have test traded
27 pre-start enterprises have test traded
Secondary objectives
Phase 1 London Launch event attended
by 50 potential clients
50 people attended the London launch
Phase 2 East Midlands Launch event attended by 50 people
41 people attended the Nottingham
launch
51 people attended the Nottingham
launch
46 introductory diagnostics mapped
33 final diagnostics mapped
Phase 3 London Launch event attended
by 50 potential clients
45 diagnostics will be developed mapping the strengths, weaknesses and
developmental needs of each participant
45 development plans will be devised
through the 12 week training programme.
46 development plans devised
45 feasibility studies will be conducted
by the programme participants.
42 feasibility studies conducted
45 pre start social enterprises will under- 44 understood the legal structure
stand the legal structure most appropriate
to their business idea
Primary aim: Number of pre start ups ready to test trade
after the programme
18
20 business plans will be developed by
the social enterprises through the programme
33 business plans developed
20 migrants social entrepreneurs will
27 migrant social entrepreneurs have
commit to invest more time to ensure their invested more time following the probusiness plan is fit for use - establishing
gramme
viability
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Target
Actual number
45 migrant led pre start/start up social
enterprises will take part in evaluating
the programme.
44 migrant led pre start/start up social
enterprises have taken part in evaluating
the programme
30 migrant led pre start/start up social
enterprises will take part in evaluating
the programme.
44 migrant led pre start/start up social
enterprises have taken part in evaluating
the programme
CASE STUDY 1
CASE STUDY 2
LAYEntertainment is a social enterprise
led by young people of Latin American
origin. LAYE was set up in response to
the needs of the young Latin American
diaspora in London, people who often
find themselves in low paid work. The
social enterprise has been set up to create
meaningful paid work for its members,
whilst at the same time promoting a
positive sense of cultural identity of young
people, Latin Americans aged 14 to 18
in particular. This objective is achieved
through workshops targeting second
generation Latin Americans
Eat Club
“Olmec helped us to have an
overview of the business plan, a deeper
understanding of the available legal
structures to support our work, the tools to
develop market research and ultimately
assess investment options….
The programme provided tools to assess
the viability of the social enterprise.It began
by helping us focus our social aims.”
During the course of the programme
LAYEntertainment won 2 contracts to test
trade their work. Olmec continues to work
with the social enterprise and its parent
charity IRMO (the Indoamerican Refugee
and Migrant Organisation).
To get support in turning the project into a
sustainable social enterprise, the founder
of Eat Club participated in the First Steps
in Social Enterprise course that took place
at the end of 2012. Over the course of
ten weeks the knowledge they acquired
enabled the Club to create a sustainable
business plan. Olmec continues to support
the Club to help it towards financial
sustainability and incorporation.
Having secured a contract with
Metropolitan Housing, the Club is now
responsible for delivering cooking sessions
over the next two years in three of the
housing association’s London locations.
A pilot is currently taking place in a
community centre in Kings Cross. The
pilot will be evaluated to help to shape
the Club’s progress towards meeting its
objectives. Following the pilot, the Club
will seek to form further contracts with
organisations such as community centres,
local authorities and housing associations
to grow its operations and reach as
many of its young person target group as
possible.
www.eat-club.org
LAYEntertainment offer entertainment
packages at different scales, from
small parties to parades and carnivals,
offering a wide range of products
including face painting, animation,
DJ-ing, educational workshops, art
workshops, video production and
photography. The social enterprise
aims to offer its services to a
range of customers from private
individuals to corporate clients,
third sector organisations and
RSLs.
Eat Club has been formed to give
teenagers and young adults the
opportunity to experience that which is
too often lacking in our modern lifestyle
and food system. The Club aims to
improve the health and wellbeing of
young people, especially those who do
not have the opportunity to benefit from
regular family meals and good diet. It
will achieve this by through communal
cooking and eating workshops, thus
addressing issues of physical health and
social well-being.
www.prezi.com/8da5z7wamugf/layentertainment/
“Olmec helped
us work through core
elements necessary to
prepare an insight into
the business planning
process”
LAYEntertainment
CASE STUDY 3
Daddy CPR (Coaching
Programmes for
Resilience) LTD.
Since 2005, following demonstrations
of fathers’ activist groups on the issue
of fathers’ rights within family law; it
was recognised that there was a need
to educate particularly young fathers
of their rights and responsibilities with
respect to fatherhood. Daddy CPR Ltd
started in July 2013 to work with fathers
to help them remain in touch with
their children following separation or
divorce. In addition they offer a coaching
service for lone parent families from
BAME communities to help them raise
their children through adolescence and
equip them to navigate issues of sexual
exploitation, grooming and gangs.
The First Steps programme made a major
contribution in setting up Daddy CPR Ltd
by providing workshops that helped them
to:
Create a sound business plan that
identified multiple streams of income
Create a marketing strategy for creating
business opportunities
Finalise a legal business structure
Identify key products and services to offer
for sale.
Daddy CPR Ltd. is now in the process
of identifying prospective council
departments to work with in order to
widen the impact of their work with
fathers and lone parent families. They are
also looking at developing an accredited
facilitators training programme for clients
who may wish to work for the Daddy CPR
brand and provide continued support to
other parents and families.
Kevin J Brazant, company director, said “I
am excited about being part of a business
that reflects the very same people that it
aims to serve.”
Daddy CPR Ltd. has continued to receive
support within Olmec’s Steps Ahead
programme. The focus is to strengthen
the Daddy CPR brand and look at new
opportunities alongside other parenting
services arising from the government’s
Troubled Families Agenda.
“I am excited about
being part of a business
that reflects the very same
people that it aims to serve.”
Kevin J Brazant, Daddy CPR
company director
founded to reduce the deaths from
knife crime and reduce admittance of
children to A&E by offering free First Aid
and Paediatric Training to the London
Community. The social enterprise has
been working with various schools and
nurseries as well as a church in Haringey
and a children’s centre in Kent. To date,
HFT has trained 150 people, including
young children, teenagers and parents.
The members would like to grow their
company so that they can offer training
that directly leads to employment. also
supports its social objective by offering
First Aid (and other) courses to public and
private sector companies.
Following completion of the FSISE
programme Health First Training has
registered as a Community Interest
Company (CIC) and now has 3 directors,
4 trainers and a pool of trainers across
HustleBucks
is a design and print social enterprise
operating from Brixton village. It was
started by young people associated with
198 Contemporary Arts and Learning in
2010. Their idea was to create a social
enterprise for young people that will
provide opportunities to learn and acquire
new skills, and sell creative work. As well
as generating business and providing
work and training for its members, the
founders wanted to create a vehicle which
could voice the issues that affect their lives
and futures.
After attending the course, Natasha
Henry, founder and Director of HFT
(below) spoke at launch events in
Nottingham in December 2012 and again
in June 2013 highlighting the benefits of
the programme.
After receiving support
from the First Steps
in Social Enterprise
programme, HFT
reported progress in the
following areas:
Developed website
Won contract
Understanding of legal structure
Routes to customers and methods of
delivering on contracts
Market research and strategy
Diversified funding strategy
Operational management
HFT CIC faces the future challenge of
moving from test trading to establishing
itself as a sustainable business.
Assess and diagnose each stage of the
social enterprise’s development
Test the viability of the enterprise through
a market analysis and research strategy
Since collaborating to set up HustleBucks,
Olmec and 198 Contemporary Arts and
Learning have also worked together
to deliver employment, training and
youth services to Metropolitan Housing.
This means that Hustlebucks is not the
only organisation to benefit. The two
parent organisations have benefitted
by strengthening and developing their
working relationship.
HustleBucks.”
(Samuel Alebioshu)
Identifying stakeholder analysis as a
potential tool to understand business
Financial management
Choose a business planning format to
review and develop the social enterprise
These aspirations were communicated
through a youth fashion brand and
delivered through their retail business.
Young people receive training that
provides value in the creative and cultural
industries. They now have their own
“Working
retail space in trendy Brixton Village
with Olmec on the
offering graphic design, photography
development of the business
and bespoke printing and design
plan has brought a fresh
service specialising in T-shirt and other
perspective and new skills into
garments.
Developed a business plan
Have registered with OFSTED & H&S
executive
The First Steps in Social Enterprise
programme has enabled HustleBucks to:
www.hustlebucks.co.uk
Health First Training was
CASE STUDY 5
a range of other skills. The HFT business
model is designed to allow them to
respond to contract opportunities that are
complimentary to the core provision of
first aid.
www.hftcic.com/index.html
CASE STUDY 4
3.3 Learning from the programme
Olmec: Key Findings from First Steps in
Social Enterprise
Methodology
Olmec’s key findings
are based on the
following; Participant
evaluations:
programme
evaluations from
attendees at 2
engagement events
featuring 8 taster
sessions, 31 prediagnostics carried
out with 31 migrant
led social enterprise
programme
beneficiaries and 27
exit diagnostics with
trainees that completed
the programme; and
well as full programme
evaluations completed
by programme
beneficiaries.
The Olmec report “Social
Entrepreneurs on the First Steps
in Social Enterprise Programme”
by Mayford, Millington , Hui
and Wood (primary research
interviews with RSLs/secondary
research: scoping SE, RSL, sector,
evaluation of SE business support
models).
Focus on migrant–led social
enterprise
All the programmes developed
by Olmec since its inception are
rooted in an approach in social
change through race equality
through economic and social
justice programmes
Olmec only works with minority/
migrant led, or minority/migrant
benefiting SEs.
Olmec model of cultural
brokerage, community
engagement prior to an
engagement event, followed by a
competitive recruitment process
resulted in 80 applications for 30
places.
Evaluation of methodology led to
30% take up of the programme by
Metropolitan customer’s content.
Olmec employs a cultural
brokerage model of engagement,
which is only possible because
Olmec is a minority – led social
enterprise, rooted in the social
housing sector.
If the RSL sector fails to address
migration, the business risk is
failure to deliver services that
meet the needs of communities,
address issues of community
cohesion and relationships
and keep pace with changes in
population and RSL customers.
Cultural change within Metropolitan
Olmec provided 2 training sessions specifically for
Metropolitan staff
Awareness of national social enterprise federal bodies &
practical resources
Metropolitan staff attended 20 weeks of the FSISE
programme
Metropolitan staff sat on FSISE interviews panels for
both programmes
The programme was promoted in partnership with
employment and training teams across housing stock in
London & Nottingham
Metropolitan staff from procurement & community
regeneration departments provided workshops at FSISE
engagement events
In Nottingham & the East Midlands, the programme
raised the profile of
Metropolitan and working
Impacts on Olmec as a
relationships with Migrant
delivery organisation
& refugee sector
Procurement team engaged
in the programme
Employment & Training,
Community Regeneration,
Financial Inclusion and
Social Enterprise delivered
holistically
Programme meets Olmec
mission of race equality
through economic and
social justice
Olmec supported 45
migrant led social
enterprises
The FSISE enterprises are
engaging with Olmec as
well as Metropolitan
Development of the FSISE
delivery model
Programme Impacts
on social housing
residents
Promotion of the
programme through
5000 door to door
visits in Metropolitan
homes
Services are
being delivered to
Metropolitan by
migrant – led social
enterprise supported
by FSISE enterprises
Engagement
through community
development has
increased awareness
of social enterprise
as a solution to
employment and
meeting economic
need.
91 attendees at 2
engagement events
Linking First Steps in Social
Enterprise case studies with
socio-economic impacts
4 out of 5 FSISE case studies have
won contracts to deliver services
to Metropolitan residents
First Hand Training have
moved to become a fully trading
enterprise and has delivered
services to Metropolitan
residents
HustleBucks provides training
to Metropolitan, 198 delivers
services to Metropolitan
Eat-Club won a contract from
Metropolitan, delivering services
to Metropolitan residents
LAYEntertainment won a 2 year
contract with the Columbian
Embassy
Daddy CPR has a contract to run
workshops for several housing
associations
A unique element of First Steps
in Social Enterprise has been the
provision of a holistic service that
responds to entrepreneurial and
employment need
Access to new social capital and
resources such as the Co-operative
Enterprise Hub (funded by The Cooperative Group) and Step Ahead
(funded by City Bridge Trust)
programmes
Implementing Programme Change
Since delivering the London and East Midlands cohorts
of First Steps In Social Enterprise, Olmec has attracted
investment from the RBS Group to run another cohort of
training in partnership with Metropolitan.
Following an internal programme evaluation, Olmec has
improved the programme in the following ways;
Use of two legal structure sessions instead of one in the
programme
Use of two finance sessions instead of one
Intensive work on “embedded business planning
working practice”
Evaluated work with community regeneration teams to
promote and engage residents and stakeholders
Olmec is currently delivering
training in London to a
new cohort of 15 migrant
Olmec is currently
led social enterprises
delivering training in
having incorporated
London to a new cohort of 15
the FSISE learning.
migrant led social enterprises
having incorporated the
FSISE learning.
Socio-economic impacts resulting from
the programme Phase 1 and 2
17 from 31 First steps in social enterprises
supported by Olmec have test traded
winning contracts & grants
8 First Steps in Social Enterprise clients
drew further support from the Olmec Step
Ahead programme funded by City Bridge
Trust
Olmec help 3 Nottingham beneficiaries
revise their legal structure post programme
Eat Club is providing services to
Metropolitan’s community regeneration
team
198 & HustleBucks work with
Metropolitan’s community regeneration
team
First Hand Training is a fully trading
social enterprise and won a contract with
Metropolitan’s Community Regeneration
team
Daddy CPR attended Step Ahead training
and provides service to another Housing
Association
Olmec is working parent charities 198
(HustleBucks) & IMRO (LAYEntertainment)
expanding service provision to
Metropolitan residents
First Steps in Social Enterprise
attracted a further investment
by the RBS Group to support
Two First Steps
a new cohort of 15 migrant
programme beneficiaries
led beneficiaries
contributed to
30% of current
Olmec’s Bronze Woman
beneficiaries are
celebration
Metropolitan residents
4.0 Conclusion
The partners in First Steps In Social
Enterprise and CLIMB have learnt much
from the development and the delivery of
the programme. This initiative has been
delivered at a time in growth in the cooperative and social enterprise economy.
Key RSL players on a national scale,
such as the Green Light project, with the
support of over 100 housing associations,
HACT (the Housing Associations’
Charitable Trust), National Housing
Federation and Social Enterprise UK
are responding to the social enterprise
agenda, and at a local level there are
many examples of smaller housing
associations engaging social enterprises.
The need to address the changing needs
of our communities, it can be argued,
transcends the needs of RSLs and social
enterprises themselves, in the sense that
for our society to work, the institutions
and opportunities all around them. With
1 in 3 Londoners born outside the UK,
for example, and 15% of the population
of Nottingham having moved to the
UK, society needs to work for the whole
community, including our complex
migrant communities.
Yet for the social enterprise agenda to
meet the agenda of RLS’s the business
case and market needs of both have
to meet. This is not an easy process.
The players from both sectors have
commonalities, but vary in business
model, ability to spend, and capacity to
respond.
In order to empower migrant social
enterprises to respond to the needs of
both RSLs and the communities they
serve, partners need to draw from
the learning of programmes such as
First Steps in Social Enterprise and to
share and to develop good practice.
However, we have much to learn from
the migrants themselves. Having already
taken that great entrepreneurial leap
over oceans and continents to escape
tragedy and transform their own lives,
they are well-appointed to teach us to
run the social enterprises of the future:
responding to needs, adapting to change
and transforming our communities,
environment and economy.
Indeed, we have much to learn from each
other.
Summary
FSISE model has been highly successful:
resulting in
migrant led SEs delivering services to
Metropolitan residents,
cultural change within Metropolitan, with
wider employment and training, financial
inclusion and community regeneration
benefits
FSISE has been developed at time of
growth in the SE sector with 100s of RSLs
responding to the joint agenda
Key need for RSLs, SE federal bodies,
CDB & intermediary projects to share
good practice & learning to inform the
development of the RSL / migrant agenda
SEs and RSLs need to understand each
other’s complexity and heterogeneity
RSL’s need to work hard to understand
the opportunities that working with social
enterprises present, and have a service
model and procurement process that
engages the social enterprise community.
(Endnotes)
1 http://www.housing.org.uk/policy/investing-in-communities/federation-support-for-community-investment/greenlight-project
2 Government estimate for ‘very good fit definition’ social enterprises from BMG Research, Social Enterprise: Market
Trends, Cabinet Office (May 2013) and based on the BIS Small Business Survey 2012. [Quoted in The People’s Business
15 http://www.uk.coop/blog/linzi-nedoszytko/2011-11-02/building-bridges-bame-communities-uk
16 Access to Finance for Micro and Social Enterprises in Haringey Local Futures CDFA Sarah Forster Claire Caffrey
July 2006
17 Office for National Statistics, May 2013
SEUK 2013]
18 2011 Census, Office for National Statistics
3 973,700 according to BMG Research, Social Enterprise: Market Trends, Cabinet Office (May 2013). [Quoted in The
People’s Business SEUK 2013]
19 Office for National Statistics, May 2013
4 Government gross value added (GVA) estimate derived from: Annual Small Business Survey 2005, Department
20 New Migrants in England and their Needs: Nottingham Locality Study, Refugee Support 2007.
of Trade and Industry (DTI); The Annual Survey of Small Businesses’ Opinions 2006/07 (ASBS 2006/07), Department
for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) (February 2008); Annual Small Business Survey 2007/08, BERR
(2009); and the Annual Business Inquiry 2008, Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2010). DTI and BERR are now
21 2011 Census, ONS
22 Purkis, Andrew (2010) “Housing Associations in England and the Future of Voluntary Organisations”
known as the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). [Quoted in The People’s Business SEUK 2013]
23 http://www.housingnet.co.uk/
5 https://www.gov.uk/government/news/significant-boost-to-social-enterprises-as-the-social-value-act-comes-intoforce; http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/psd/commissioning/social_value2; Commercialisation for Social Value: Extending
the Use of Social Enterprises in the supply chains of private organisations (New Economy Manchester/AGMA) March
2013
6 Migrants are defined as anyone born outside the UK who is now residing here.
7 hact.org.uk/micro-loan-finance
8
http://www.housing.org.uk/publications/browse/green-light-creating-jobs-through-housing-enterprises
9
http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/blog/getting-social-enterprise-into-supply-chains/
10 http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/blog/getting-social-enterprise-into-supply-chains/
11 http://sapianos.co.uk/
12 BAMER - Black Asian Minority Ethnic and Refugee
13 Access to Finance for Micro and Social Enterprises in Haringey Local Futures CDFA Sarah Forster Claire Caffrey
July 2006
14 Sam Obeng, Olmec 2007
24 Home Office (2011) European Economic Area data tables Immigration Statistics July - September 2011
25 http://locality.org.uk/blog/poplar-community-tackles-diabetes/
26 http://www.24dash.com/news/housing/2013-07-10-Family-goes-green-to-win-energy-saving-competition
27 http://www.out-law.com/page-5964
28 http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/advice-support/resources/what-makes-social-enterprise-social-enterprises
29 www.socialenterprisemark.org.uk/
30 http://evpa.eu.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ECNL-on-socent-in-Europe.pdf
31 Elkington, John and Pamela Hartigan (2007). The Power of Unreasonable People: How Social Entrepreneurs Create
Markets that Change the World. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
32 Martin, Roger and Sally Osberg (2007). “Social Entrepreneurship: The Case for Definition.” Stanford Social
Innovation Review, Spring:28-39.
33 http://youngfoundation.org/publications/growing-social-ventures/