Tag Archives: news

All you need to know about submitting a successful CIC application

From the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies

Sign up to our “All you need to know about submitting a successful application ” webinar taking place on 25th February 11am-12pm here

webinar attendee at the keyboard...image
Preparing for my webinar!

‘This is your chance to get some tips on how to complete a successful application of incorporation or conversion to a community interest company, and to acquire further information on what the Regulator looks at when considering an application and solutions to the common errors that we see.’

 

 

You can sign up for this helpful event here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5109013132460694030

Webinar image: Austin Distel, Creative Commons, Unsplash

 

Re-building the economy, the feminist way?

The organisation, UN Women, has just published a new report arguing for economic development in a new era, the purpose of which is to ‘…support the survival and flourishing of life, in all its forms’.

The quotation above comes from a web article by Jayati Ghosh, on the web pages of Social Europe, in which Ghosh argues that the world economy needs to rotate 180 degrees and become focused away from the notion of market forces. Forces which can bring riches or disaster according to some unseen lottery of life.

If we live in an economic and deterministic world all we need, Ghosh argues, is the will to restructure institutional forms into better, more humane and democratic models.

Feminist plan for sustainability and social justice cover image
A resonant new model…download a copy here…

It is a telling argument, well supported by the UN document – Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice. (.pdf)

The chapters in the report are challenging and an informative read, providing not only argument, but examples of how economic change can be restructured in the post-Covid landscape.

The report is not, in itself, a social enterprise driven map for the future.

Rather, we would argue, that social business and community enterprise can play their full part in re-modelling of local and national economic agendas, in the feminist mirror the UN paper holds up to us all.

Post-Covid, the illustrations and challenges of the report are already the common currency of ideas in the re-build agenda. Ideas and directions of travel that will already be familiar to the SocEnt community.

  • Economics that support the livelihoods of women.
  • Putting Care, note the capital C, at the heart of economic and community change.
  • Making the instruments of finance and economics gender-just.
  • Creating a new feminist global politics for the post-Covid era.

We recommend it as a formative read this winter.

Discover the article by Jayati Ghosh here.

Discover UN Women on the web here, global champions for gender equality.

 

 

The social entrepreneur skill landscape ahead?

The future, post-Covid and all the economic and social change that lies ahead, will need to bring with it a commitment to both training and re-skill for many, but also a distinct, hardy and tenacious set of practical and soft skills for the enduring entrepreneur.

Image, looking to the future
Looking to the future: Image by Benjamin Davies, Creative Commons, Unsplash

This is the message contained in a useful and perceptive series of articles to come from Pioneers Post. It is a landscape of compassion, certainly, given the context of the work, but also a landscape of uncertainty that will be managed through endurance, creativity and a survival ethos.

List of skills updated: 6th June 2021 – see below…

A heady cocktail of needs for the social entrepreneur looking to the future.

See the original article here: https://www.pioneerspost.com/business-school/20210331/how-no-regrets-skillset-can-arm-social-entrepreneurs-uncertain-future

‘Experts have warned that half the world’s employees will need to be reskilled by 2025. But with which skills? In our new series, Emerald Works’ Kevin Dunne and Social Enterprise Academy’s Claire Wilson set out seven critical, “no regrets” skills that social enterprise leaders will need to flourish in the post-Covid-19 landscape.’

The seven key skills, promoted by the authors of this thinking are sound and relevant  – especially if you are on the brink of leading your new SocEnt project up the enterprise foothills to sustainability.

We were worried, diving into the article, that this was a promotional pivot for a hardened, corporatist lean-into enterprise for good. We should not have worried. Vigorous commitment to the seven principles espoused can, we see, develop individuals with strong technical skills.

Skills that allied with the compassion that got them into the sector in the first place, may well be the key to all our survival.

Read the Pioneers Post article and see if you agree with the position? We do!


Update: 06.06.2021

Resilience, the first skill in the survival argument – see more https://www.pioneerspost.com/business-school/20210331/survival-skill-no-1-resilience

Adaptability – the second skill for survival – see more https://www.pioneerspost.com/business-school/20210512/survival-skill-no-2-adaptability

Creativity – the third skill for survival  – see more

https://www.pioneerspost.com/business-school/20210604/survival-skill-no-3-creativity


Social Enterprise and the UN SDG’s 2030

This brief article provides information about a University of Derby free event for Social Enterprise organisations, which provides a detailed and reflective focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

SocEntEastMids is a proud supporter of the event, and we are completely aligned with the aims of the day – and in supporting participants and partners beyond the confines of this single event too.

Creating a more sustainable, compassionate world.

 

Date and time
Thursday, 17 June 2021
10.00 – 13.00

Location Virtual online event

You can find full details, speakers list and book your place herehttps://www.derby.ac.uk/events/latest-events/social-enterprises-and-their-contribution-to-the-sustainable-development-goals-2030/#d.en.133377

‘This free event is aimed at social enterprises, to engage them with the sustainable development goals (SDGs), the targets identified by the United Nations to achieve global peace and prosperity.

The event includes a series of talks from academics, policy experts and social enterprises in the field. It will also feature a learning activity, where social enterprises can learn about mapping their social impact and identifying untapped future potential using the SDGs, by reflecting on how these link to forms of wealth that a social enterprise can generate.’

Source: University of Derby


Some key web links to inform your decision to attend:

What are the sustainable development goals?

See https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

What is the Fair Share model?

See https://fairsharemodel.com/the-fairshare-model-launches-a-movement-to-reimagine-capitalism/

 

Globe: Image by Kyle Glenn, Creative Commons, Unsplash

Community Wealth Building Summit 2019

‘This June, join CLES for the second annual Community Wealth Building Summit!

CLES progressive economics - image and web link
Discover CLES thinking here…

 

UPDATE 17th June 2019

Due to demand the venue has changed. Now at…

The Florrie, (The Florence Institute), 377 Mill Street, Liverpool, L8 4RF


6 steps to build community wealth - booklet cover image and web link
Get your copy here…

Anna Birley and The Co-operative Party have produced a really useful guide to what Community Wealth Building is, in terms of definition, ideas for local action and how to campaign for effective local policy change.

You can view, print or download a .pdf copy of this booklet here

This CLES Summit is the UK’s only community wealth building event dedicated to celebrating successes, sharing ideas, exploring challenges and building the Community Wealth Building movement‘.

Source: CLES web pages       Get your ticket here

See new venue above!

The event will also feature the launch of the Community Wealth Building Centre for Excellence – a place to think about ownership, surplus distribution and the local economic flow in an entirely new way.

Who is the event for?

‘The Summit is for anyone who wants to build an economy that works for all. Over the last ten years, Community Wealth Building ideas have been taken up and applied by an ever-growing number of socially minded businesses and social and public sector organisations across the regions and countries of the UK.

This event will bring together people from across these sectors and places, from local authorities and credit unions to community owned football clubs and hospitals’.

We will be there? Will you? Make a long weekend of it and support the local economy in the North West too!

The SocEntEastMids team:

 

 

Good Deals + Beyond Good Business

‘For the second year running, Pioneers Post and Hatch Enterprise, the organisations behind the Good Deals + Beyond Good Business conferences, bring you the leading event in social enterprise and impact investment in the UK’.

Good Delas + image and web link...
See more here…

Taking place on May 21st, 2019 at Mary Ward House in London, the organisers aim to delve ‘…into different practical support that can allow all organisations to progress towards a healthy and sustainable future, while also making sure that we don’t forget about our own well-being and the human behind the social entrepreneur‘.

Early bird tickets are just now available and you can see the range of ticket types available for this significant SocEnt event here.

You can see the key themes of this year’s conference, and review the speakers of note from last year’s event on the BGB web pages. See more: https://beyondgoodbusiness.co.uk/

Perhaps we’ll see you there?

Hatch Impact Accelerator

Hatch, a South London charity,  design their peer accelerator programme to ‘…facilitate learning experiences with successful social entrepreneurs (those who have come before), where they can share their wisdom, knowledge and network with those who need it next‘.

Designed for existing social enterprises, keen to grow, with a small number of staff, but who are aiming to seek social investment or crowdfunding resources in the next year or two.

Their programme of support centres around the following thematic deliveries…

  • Peer-to-peer learning environment
  • Pro-bono legal consulting
  • Procurement prospects
  • Financial coaching
  • Crowdfunding project
  • Funding opportunities

Here at SocEntEastMids we specialise in pro-bono support to the micro-enterprise or the nascent, yet to be connected, social entrepreneur.

However, we recognise that the Hatch Accelerator model offers professional and profound structural advancement for social entrepreneurs and social enterprises who are approaching critical mass.

You can discover the full details of this programme, and the fees and duration of the support here: https://www.impact.hatchenterprise.org/

Registration closes: 1 April 2019 – Programme starts: 12 April  2019

As places are limited to 15 delegates per annum, there is a short expression of interest questionnaire, helping Hatch advise you directly on your application to the programme.

See more here – and if you do, good luck with your application!

Community Business Trade Up Programme

The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) have, this 2019 New Year, published details of new, free learning and development courses for the leaders of the community business sector in the UK.

Free learning at SSE...image and web link
Free learning at SSE…see more

“Applications are open for the Community Business Trade Up Programme, run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with Power to Change.

This programme helps the leaders of community businesses in England. It focuses on growing income from trading, to improve impact and sustainability. It offers:

  • A learning programme: 12 days spread over nine months
  • A Match Trading grant of up to £10,000
  • A community of people running organisations like yours

There is no cost to you at any point”.

If this learning and funding opportunity is of interest to you and your community business, you can see the guidance and application notes here.

SSE are offering taster sessions across the regions, so that you can explore the opportunity, and you can find a taster session booking form here.

This learning programme runs from June 2019 to March 2020. 

The deadline to apply is 1pm on 14th February 2019. Explore all the details at SSE here.


Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Programme - image and web link
Read more here…

Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Programme

This SSE Programme may also be of interest to our readers. You can discover the details of the learning and support on offer from the programme partners here.

  • A learning programme (14 days spread over a year)
  • A grant
  • Mentoring
  • A supportive community

You can register your interest, and be notified when this year’s applications (2019/2020) are open on this web page at SSE…

https://www.the-sse.org/lbsep/


Social Insecurities and Resilience

View, print or download a pdf copy here...download link and cover image
View, print or download a pdf copy here…

Eurofound publications on the quality of life inside Europe, offer profound insights into the global ‘state of the nation’ on matters that affect the individual, society and economy.

Social Insecurities and  Resilience, the latest policy brief to be published, highlights how insecure even those perceived as comfortable and secure can be, across Europe.

Eurofound (2018), Social insecurities and resilience, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. (.pdf)

Authors: Hans Dubois and Tadas Leončikas

Whether being old and feeling exposed when out after dark, or in full employment but doubting that the employment will continue beyond six months hence, the report offers a defining argument for the deployment of economic and social initiatives that put people, their sense of well being and compassionate economic energy at the heart of government thinking.

It is interesting that even across international borders, within Europe, the similarities in unease and concerns are duplicated across communities, whatever their defining local language.

‘Most of the insecurities reviewed in this policy brief have an economic component but are influenced by other factors too. For instance, perceptions of housing insecurity are influenced by tenant protection law, perceptions of old-age income insecurity are influenced by long-term care provision, and perceptions of healthcare insecurity are influenced by the presence or absence of healthcare coverage’.

The significance of having a ‘secure’ life is widely recognised. The United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights tells us that everyone has the right to ‘security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his (or her) control’ (Article 25).

In the key findings of the report it is stressed that ‘…only 1% of the EU population enjoys the highest level of security in all five types of social insecurity studied in this brief: personal, housing, healthcare, employment and old-age income. If more types were added, there might be nobody in the EU who feels free of any form of social insecurity’.

The five key measures of insecurity that the report comparatively assesses are…

  • personal insecurity – of being personally unsafe (from crime, for instance)
  • housing insecurity – of losing one’s home
  • healthcare insecurity – of being unable to afford healthcare
  • employment insecurity (for those in employment) – of losing one’s job and
    being unable to find a new one
  • old-age income insecurity – of not having an adequate income in old age

In their policy summary the report authors point out that government and state actors in the provision of services ‘…should be careful not to underestimate how widespread feelings of social insecurity are, especially more moderate forms. These may be early indicators of problems, so preventative policy-making should try to detect better, more
muted levels, as well as higher levels of insecurity’.

This report attempts a broad assay of community feelings across Europe. No small scoping exercise in itself, but when executed as here, then it provides a wealth of evidence and support for the argument that the social enterprise model should become the defining economic and civitas service provision model.

We would argue!

Start-up Day 2018

A series of free events at your local Business & IP Centre, from the British Library and local authorities.

Startup Day 2018 - image and web link
Book your free place in Nottingham here…

Not overtly dedicated to the Social Marketplace, but a day of free engagement, idea exploration and support-signposting from a variety of key players in the enterprise and tech market encouragement sectors.

DATE AND TIME:  Thu 20 September 2018    09:00 – 16:30 BST

LOCATION: Nottingham Central Library, Angel Row, Nottingham, NG1 6HP

Other venues and events are available on the day. See more at…

Birmingham, Cambridge, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Sheffield.

Book a place and get that inspirational spark for your idea!