Dr Bob Doherty and Professor Steven Broomhead of Liverpool Hope University
Social Enterprise has been identified as a key part of the Big Society policy initiative. This research will investigate how Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) could develop and improve the performance and growth of the social enterprise sector to create a fairer society and more balanced economy. The study will result in a Social Enterprise Toolkit guide for LEPs which will be distributed through the British Chamber of Commerce. This tool kit will be available via a Toolkit website developed from this project. The study will compare and contrast the different approaches to stimulating social enterprise activity in both recognised social enterprise hotspots e.g. Blackpool and across 4 different UK LEP areas. We will be particularly interested in how LEPs could generate improved entrepreneurial performance by the social enterprise sector. The research will also be interested in how potential social enterprise growth could reduce the shortfall in employment due to public sector job losses and also look at the potential for public bodies to move to social enterprise status (e.g. mutual’s).
The findings from this study will be disseminated across the 34 LEP regions to create strong Knowledge Exchange. The findings will also be disseminated via the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC), which is acting as a facilitator for the LEP network.
Dr Isobel O’Neil of Nottingham University Business School, Professor Deniz Ucbasuran and Ms Holly Birkett of Warwick Business School
The aim of this research is to analyse the process underlying individuals’ career transitions to social enterprise (SE) from another employment context. This research is timely as recent government policy relating to the "Big Society" indicates that SE will continue to expand its role in the delivery of public services. This, combined with third sector organizations' increasing emphasis on profit-making and growing private sector interest in SE, suggests an increased need to support SE careers.
We seek to build knowledge on SE careers through proximity to those experiencing these career transitions (N = up to 20 individuals). Our inductive study will draw from relevant identity frameworks as we evaluate the demands and challenges of recent entry into SE.
By pooling the applicants' expertise with that of Social Enterprise East Midlands, this research exchange partnership will deliver outcomes to inform a wide range of SE stakeholders (e.g. policy-makers and service providers). Existing support for SE largely focuses on raising finance, establishing the appropriate legal structure and growing the venture (e.g. Business Link). Our approach complements this by delivering two resources: (1) guidance material for individuals anticipating and experiencing new careers in SE (as either employers or employees) and (2) guidelines for SE leaders on how to attract new employees and support them as they adapt to the SE context.
This project contributes to aims to enhance the effectiveness of SE organizations (ESRC, 2011) by delivering evidence on how to support a core SE resource - people.
Ms Nicky Stevenson of The Guild, Professor Fergus Lyon of Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research and Third Sector Research Centre, Middlesex University and Ms Michele Rigby of Social Enterprise East of England
The project is an exploration of the changing circumstances in which voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) operate in relation to the government’s Big Society agenda. VCOs appear to be expected to move from a grant culture to one of earning income through trading, specifically to deliver public services, thus adopting the social enterprise model.
The main research question to be addressed by study is: How can traditional VCOs make the transition to public service delivery social enterprise? Sub-questions are:
• To what extent are they making this transition?
• What is the nature of the process of transition?
• What are the challenges of change faced by organisations and their services?
• What support is required?
• What is the role of the stakeholders in the co-production of social enterprise
public services?
The research will consist of interviews with thirty VCOs in the East of England, operating in the health and social care sector. In addition the researchers will seek the views of ten key stakeholders in the roll out of the Big Society.
The research team consists of academic researchers, with specialist knowledge of social enterprise and VCOs, and practitioner organisations: The Guild, a specialist third sector consultancy and Social Enterprise East of England (SEEE), a membership organisation that promotes and supports the sector. This combination will enable the knowledge to be generated through action research and disseminated effectively within the third sector and to inform those that wish to work with them to develop the Big Society.