How might social enterprise be scaled in order to make a significant contribution to current social issues ?

Enterprise and enterprising behaviour have long been perceived as vital aspects of our business environment; entrepreneurs are recognised as key players within an increasingly competitive global market; enterprise is viewed as having an equal potential relevance to the social market; social enterprise has sought to match the business acumen of the entrepreneur with the social priorities of society.
The resulting hybrid has had some success. Individuals, demonstrating a still unusual entrepreneurial flair within the voluntary and charitable sector, have formed enterprises that make tangible and real contributions to the social issues they seek to address.  However, thriving and successful examples of social enterprise businesses within the third sector remain scarce.  Examples of successful models that can be scaled are even rarer.

The “big question”?

The “big question” is how to build on this fledgling industry to enable it to make a rapid and tangible contribution in the current economic climate when growth and jobs are needed urgently?
Several possibilities and options can be considered but they all come back to one contention:

If the social enterprise industry is to deliver its potential, it is not going to be the Third Sector that will lead it.  It will be experienced business entrepreneurs who are prepared to apply their proven skills to generate social returns to investment in the same way that they had previously driven financial returns in their successful businesses. So how does one create a critical mass of these new social entrepreneurs?

The “big idea”?

The big idea is that government should invest less in so-called social enterprise organisations of the Third Sector that rarely make profit and more in individuals from the business sector who come up with ideas that can address some of society’s issues.  The investment should be measured against the social returns achieved and the profits derived from the management of a successful, profit-making business. In other words, government “investment” follows the individual and not the organization.
So, where will these successful social entrepreneurs come from?
Society in the UK is facing the prospect of three million unemployed by the end of 2009. Many of these unemployed people will have previously managed successful businesses. They will possess vital skills needed to build and grow enterprises. They will have the experience and the track record to manage resources and will know how to get the best out of them.  The experience of unemployment and the sense of loss that comes with it is likely to drive many to question their lives in quite fundamental ways. For some it may lead to exploring an alternative lifestyle that combines their business skills with a heightened sensitivity of wanting to “give something back” or by applying their skills to help make a difference to society. The role of the social entrepreneur may well have come of age!

What can Government do?

The opportunity here for the government will be to find ways to tap into a current mood of people wanting to take advantage of the life change forced upon them  to combine work with philanthropy. By supporting redundant people, with proven business skills and entrepreneurial flair, the Government may be able to tap into a reservoir of talent and ideas; of people with the skills, the talent, the experience and the passion to generate both social and financial returns on investment.
The role of Government would be to provide start-up funding, or match-funding, for proven entrepreneurs who are able to come up with solutions to social problems:

• To invest in individuals and not in organisations
• To support business proposals that can demonstrate triple bottom-line viability
• To incorporate an apprenticeship programme as a fundamental business
• To invest in business models that re invest all profits back into the business
• To draw on the expertise of business angels, philanthropy and social investment to help build capacity

 
The returns on investment could be measured against tangible outputs such as:

• The number of jobs created through the new social business
• The number apprenticeships made available on an annual basis
• Impact measured against tangible benefit to society
• Profitability and scalability.

The idea is not a new one.  It is, in fact, one that Training for Life has been successfully pioneering for the last 14 years.  It is proven.  It works.

Keynote speaker: Gordon d'Silva

Gordon D’Silva is the founder and CEO of Training for Life.  As a committed social entrepreneur, he created an organization where all profits and surplus income is re invested back into the charity.  He has been twice named London Social Entrepreneur of the Year (in 2003 & 2006) and was a finalist in the 2004 National Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In 2006 he was inaugurated as Visiting Professor in Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Northampton and in the following year was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Thames Valley University for his contribution to business. He was named as one of the top seven social entrepreneurs in the country by the Guardian Newspaper in 2008.