Growing Well

The nature and Intensity of support

The original visit to County Durham took place in November 2002.  Development began soon after and was completed by June 2004 – a period of some eighteen months.

During 2004 the start up process involved grant approvals, structures being put in place, management processes set up, land-use issues resolved etc.  The company opened for trading on the 1st July 2004 and employed Beren that autumn.

It is difficult estimate the time spent by Beren on behalf of Enterprising Communities but it appears to have been about fifteen hours per week for eighteen months – a total of about 100 0 hours – equivalent to 133 days – or 27 weeks of work during the development phase. If Growing Well had been started by a typical social entrepreneur this would have been unpaid voluntary work.   In addition to the paid time Beren was able to offer through Enterprising Communities there were voluntary contributions by potential board members and by Beren himself.

A typical social enterprise supported by Enterprising Communities requires about ten days of support.  The key difference here is that the remainder of Beren’s time appears to have been to support him to develop the social enterprise in the role of social entrepreneur.

In this case Beren’s has shouldered more of the development load for the social enterprise than is normal in most cases, and as a result has very much been the “leader” of the enterprise and at the front of its development. Acting in this lead role – whether in a traditional enterprise or a social one – can often lead to feelings of isolation and exposure for the individual concerned.  But Beren had no such feelings, and if anything, felt the opposite noting, “I was paid for the bits most social entrepreneurs would do for nothing – so I avoided burn out”.

Its latest annual report shows the transition between grant and contract cultures. Beren’s comments reinforce the early reliance on grants. When asked to identify the high and low points associated with the project development process Beren focuses wholly on the finances, stating “The main highs and lows were around the funding process. For a period of about six months there was a feeling that we may or may not receive the funding for the project and that went backwards and forwards many times. We had been through those high and lows so often that when we actually received the offer letters it was a bit of an anti- climax.”

Beren describes Growing Well’s progress to date as “an established start-up, nearly two years through its first three-year business plan. When asked about the results and achievements of the project to date, his innate caution in these matters comes through when he says simply that “volunteers are now beginning to progress” and “the organisation is doing something very different very well”. These comments underplay the information in the 2005 Annual Report. Here volunteers are referring themselves to Growing Well, contracts are being negotiated and secured, school parties are beginning to visit, relationships are being forged with local colleges and employers and produce grown and sold.  

Beren was ask what he thought would have happened in respect of Growing Well had the support from Enterprising Communities not been forthcoming in the way that it was. He believes that the enterprise would not have come into existence – and that he would have left for another salaried post. He also thought that he would have gained the knowledge and expertise he was seeking from having worked with Enterprising Communities, and that he and James would have continued to work on the idea. Turning the idea to reality he thought “probably would have taken another 5 – 6 years to get the idea off the ground”, although Beren noted “the idea would be unlikely to happen now – as I happened to hit a post-Foot and Mouth Disease funding window”. The importance of his role in gaining the monies is again reinforced when asked about possible differences in his approach to supporting the development of this social enterprise alongside others. Here he clearly sees his roles as offering more than a traditional Business Link Advisor.  But that said, here his comments are also important because they differentiate between his role as an Enterprising Communities Development Worker, and as the social entrepreneur driving forward Growing Well. Here he comments “I think the way I developed Growing Well, using my own contacts and networks would not have been possible in a normal advisor situation. When doing regular advisor work (i.e. Storth Shop) I wouldn’t have approached friends and colleagues for advice and time gratis. It was only because I was investing something myself that that process worked.”