Lesson learning
One size does not fit all: the case for specialised social enterprise support
Social enterprises need support that is flexible, capable of accommodating their particular circumstances, which are specific and often even ‘hybrid’ nature. The conventional wisdom is that that the greatest need for support exists at the ‘business end’ of social enterprise development. The project has shown that a more holistic approach, one that does not neglect the social objectives, for example the delivery of services in difficult circumstances or the creation of employment and the more social means of organising characterised by group structures and elements of democratic control, is essential.
How much does it cost, and how long does it take to get a new social enterprise started?
Enterprising Communities carefully documented the time they invested in each new start social enterprise . They found major variations in the time these fledgling social enterprises received - from 41 hours to nearly 250 hours. Likewise the cost ranged from £2,840 - £11,200 per start up.
The 1st two year review
Half way through the overall life of Enterprising Communities (EC) and towards the end of the first round of Phoenix Funding a review was commissioned. The work was carried out by Freiss Ltd, led by Daniel Start with support from Peter Ramsden. The Enterprising Communities Team made a substantial contribution.
What follows is an edited part of the report that focuses on the survey evidence and the key findings relating to impact on the enterprises assisted.
Download the whole report as a PDF document
The Year 3 & 4 report
This section contains the final donor report to the Phoenix Development Fund (for more about the fund see www.sbs.gov.uk/sbsgov/action/layer?r.l1=7000000166&r.s=tl&topicId=7000000170).It covers Years 3 and 4 of the project and gives a good overview of what was achieved