UK: The world of social enterprise

Social enterprises are dynamic and sustainable businesses with social and environmental aims. This is how the English Government defines the fastest growing force of its civil society. Last year, on November 15th, Gordon Brown launched the government’s new social enterprise action plan promising new funds and support for social entrepreneurs. A promise that has become one of his priority as Prime Minister.

A growing force
According to the Social Enterprise Coalition, the UK’s national body for social enterprise, today there are at least 55,000 social enterprise in the country with a combined turnover of £27 billion per year. Social enterprises account for 5% of all businesses with employees and contribute £8.4 billion per year to the UK economy. Almost 1% of annual GDP.

Find out more: www.socialenterprise.org.uk

The roots

The idea of social enterprise goes back to the early cooperatives and mutuals, which used a business model for collective self-help. More recently, social enterprises have emerged from the voluntary and community sector. A very successful example of this is the ECT group, which began life as a small community transport operator. It still runs community transport services, but combines that with a £50m business spanning waste and recycling, health, community rail and a London bus route.

The CIC

In 2005, The Government has created a new form of limited liability company specifically for social enterprises: the Community Interest Company (CIC).?The CIC complements existing legal forms for social enterprise, such as the Company Limited by Guarantee or Shares and the Industrial & Provident Society.?There are now over 1000 organisations registered as CIC’s. ?City Healthcare Partnership, one of the Governments pathfinder projects for social enterprise in the healthcare sector became the 1,000th registered CIC on the 14th June 2007.

The future
Three factors will affect the development of social enterprise in the near future: government support, legal structure, social accounting and social audit.
Interested in finding out more about the challenges to social enterprise? Read our interview with Alpha Communication’s David Parker:

Young social enterprises
On november 15th 2007, Minister for Third Sector Philip Hope and Minister for the Cabinet Office Ed Miliband, will launch the Youth Commission for Social Enterprise: a group of leading young social entrepreneurs who will be a collective voice for young people in the social enterprise world.

Find out more:

– Oxford University launches global call for young social entrepreneurs (click here)

– Social enterprise makes it onto the education agenda (click here)

– Make your mark: Change lives campaign (click here)

 

Leading social enterprises
Well known examples of social enterprise include The Big Issue, Cafèdirect and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant.

Interested in best practices? Try reading:

– Women Like Us: the Best New Social Enterprise Award (click here)

– UK: Chocolate Company: a sweet profit to help society (click here)

– The Unreasonable’s, a blog for unreasonable people (click here)