Monthly Archives: November 2014

Elvaston Castle, development Chair sought…

Elvaston Castle and Country Park, in Derbyshire, has been working to establish through consultation, with a wide variety of communities of interest and partners, a clear ‘vision document’ for the Castle.

This has been achieved and now the Castle is looking to appoint a Chair of a new advisory Development Board, to prepare the estate for the next phase of its sustainable future.

Working with The National Trust, Derbyshire County Council have delivered a profile and terms of reference for the new Chair and the Development Board.

internetIconMini You can see the original recruitment documents on the web pages of Everything Elvaston Castle here.

This Community Interest Company  (CIC) has been established to play its own partnership role in developing and broadcasting news and information to the Elvaston community and its hinterland.

(Roger Moors of SEEM, has through his work with the community and DCC, as well as the Elvaston team, been instrumental in the creation of this new inclusive community presence, designed to inform everyone about the new future for the Elvaston Estate).

internetIconMini  You can discover more about ‘The Future of Elvaston’ on the web site www.futureelvaston.co.uk here.

Ethical business with a social dimension...
Ethical business with a social dimension…

Social Finance and Human Capital

From the SEEM archive:

Addendum: February 2019

Below is an article from 2014 that argues for social investment in education. With the current crisis in university finances, the poor uptake of social investment tax relief (SITR) and so on, perhaps the new energy framed in this paper is still a highly pertinent reflection?


Dateline: 2014
Roger H. Moors and Justin Beresford have published a new paper on Social Finance and Human Capital: the case for social investment in higher education. The paper presents an interesting argument, namely, that higher education offers the opportunity for private investment and hence that human capital can be viably classed as an investible proposition.
Read the full paper here...
Read the full paper here…pdf

This is a new model of education. Making the process of investment in human capital a social finance initiative, which might offer tax incentives for pension fund investment, whilst reducing state spending on H.E. The model could offer real wage increases over time, enhancing the fiscal strength of generations in the future.

The abstract:

“The markets for both education and retirement planning are characterised by market failure and hence are dependent on state intervention. However, an ageing population and a commitment to make university the norm for most young people have led the state to withdraw wholesale funding.

This paper discusses the potential for social capital to be used as a funding mechanism for university tuition. A solution is outlined in which investor’s pension contributions are used to fund university tuition. Graduates pay a higher marginal rate of tax over their working lives and contributions are drawn down by retirees from these repayments. Wage growth over time, motived by induced investment in human capital, means that each successive generation is able to recoup more than it put in.

The external benefits outlined allow the facilitating institution to be classified as a social enterprise and hence investment is motived by tax incentives as well as the promise of high private returns”.

The argument:

This is a timely paper. With some £9 billion spent on higher education in England, student debt and the future shape of university finances all currently in debate. It has been mooted that universities might, for instance, buy the student loan debt of their own students. Much criticism has been engendered, however, as some suggest this will lead the institutions to only take on low risk students from wealthy backgrounds. Further promoting social divide and a non-inclusive higher education process, as they reap the later financial benefits of students taking up highly paid careers as their lives unfold.

The Moors/Beresford thesis holds that benefits can be accrued from the creation of a ‘savings pension pot’, which could be used to fund university tuition fees. The model for a fully funded scheme sees investor savings used to invest in university tuition fees, rather than being invested in financial market instruments.

The graduating student will repay their tuition fees by accepting a higher rate of marginal income tax over a fixed number of years. The Moors/Beresford multiplier would kick in if the ‘…rate of growth of participating students earnings continuously outgrows interest rates’, leading to a continuously rising scale of skill and economic productivity to foster more growth for future generations.

Read the paper, join the debate, support a new model of education for future generations.

About the authors of this proposition:

Roger Moors was CEO at SEEM (Supporting Social Business) based in Nottingham. Researching the development of new models and applications for ‘social finance’ across a range of social and environmental issues.

Justin Beresford is an economic adviser at the Malagasy Ministry of Finance Department for Budget Programming and Coordination. He was an assistant economist at the UK Ministry of Justice (Analytical Services Directorate).

Don’t forget Good Deals 2014

Registration for the Good Deals conference taking place on the 24-25th of November 2014 at 30 Euston Square London will close on Wednesday the 19th of November.

Our partners Matter&Co are once again organising the UK’s biggest gathering of social entrepreneurs, civil society leaders, corporates and social investors.

Keynote speakers include Jacqueline Novogratz, Vince Cable, Safia Minney and Liam Black. Please visit http://www.good-dealsuk.com/ to book your ticket online and for programme and venue details.

As a partner to the event we are delighted to offer all of our members a 25% discount ticket to the conference using the promo code SEEM14.

If you can’t wait, give a member of the team a call on 02085338892.

We are really excited about this year’s event and we will be there in full force. We hope to see you there too.

Women, navigating the digital divide…

Zeros and Ones

A free panel debate:   Friday 14th November, 2014 – 3.00 to 4.30pm, followed by an informal networking event at the Mezz Bar and Lounge at Broadway.

The event promises some great insights and conversations exploring if, and how girls and women are moving forward in the digital creative industries, with thoughts and opinions on overcoming potential barriers as a women starting out in the digital industries.

The event will be energised by a distinguished panel. Keynote speaker, Helen Darlington founded creative agency INK Digital . A Finalist for 2014 Digital Entrepreneur of the year; and winner of 2013 Female digital entrepreneur; Helen will be joined on the panel by Joy Francis Executive Director of Words of Colour Productions, and co-founder of Digital Women UK, Jo Welsh, Diversity and Inclusion manager at Creative Skillset, Annie Hayley Founder and Director of Nottingham based App development company Multipie, and Artist and Curator Candice Jacobs.

You can see the booking information for this free event on the Broadway calendar pages here.

You can also visit the pages of the Projector Project too. Projector is Broadway’s Business support Programme for the creative and digital content industries, ‘…offering 1-2-1 business advice, business sessions and workshops and residency opportunities; the programme is funded by ERDF therefore participants do not have to pay for any of the business support provided’.

Friday 14th, 2014 – a diary date for all female creatives in Nottingham?

Ethical business with a social dimension...
Ethical business with a social dimension…