Social Enterprise Day news bonanza
1st December 2008, 2:03 pm
Social Enterprise Day (20th November) saw a range of news:
– The Office of the Third Sector is support a new project on Social Return on Investment, Measuring Social Value, to be run by a consortium led by SROI UK. Aims include standardising the approach to using SROI, increasing accessibility for social investors and third sector organisations, and developing a network of practitioners. News item at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/news/news_stories/081120_sroi.aspx.
– Social care charity Turning Point has published a report bringing together good practice for community-based social enterprises. Written by the Centre of Excellence in Connected Care team (http://www.turning-point.co.uk/centreofexcellence), ‘Elements of Success’ gives inspiration and useful business advice to those who want to deliver health and social care services. Download (pdf, 1.18MB) or see press release.
– The Social Enterprise Coalition has worked with Department of Health Social Enterprise Unit to develop guidance to support NHS staff who are thinking of taking up the ‘right to request’ to set up a social enterprise to deliver healthcare services to NHS patients. More information and download summary or full guide ‘Social Enterprise - Making a Difference: A guide to the right to request’ from DoH.
– The Social Enterprise Support Project, with over seven million pounds of funding, is be delivered by the Wales Co-operative Centre to help the growth of social enterprises in West Wales and the Valleys, http://new.wales.gov.uk/news/latest/0811207million/?lang=en.
– The Office of the Third Sector is to fund four action research projects by government departments to test social enterprise solutions. Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform department will working with community development finance institutions to explore ways of making them more sustainable, National Offender Management Service will be scoping social enterprise activity within probation settings, the Department of Health is to look at social return on investment (SROI) of social enterprises operating in mainstream healthcare and Communities and Local Government will be examining the potential of community share and bond issues, which could see people own shares in their local buildings. News release http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=384916&NewsAreaID=2.
– A final report on two projects to investigate ways to promote private investment in social enterprises has been published by the Office of the Third Sector - pdf, 188KB from http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/84357/social_investment_pilots.pdf (news item).