A presentation by Amanada Johnston from Social Enterprise NI helping participants understand more about what social enterprise is, what you need to consider if thinking about starting a social enterprise, what support is available and gave some examples of local social enterprises.

2. Mission
To be the voice of Social Enterprise across
Northern Ireland, connecting, supporting,
developing and sustaining vibrant businesses to
create social change.
Vision
Social Enterprise is recognised and valued as a
business model through which society profits.
●

3. Government definition
• A social enterprise is a business with
primarily social objectives whose surpluses
are principally reinvested for that purpose in
the business or in the community, rather
than being driven by the need to maximise
profit for shareholders and owners.”
• A social enterprise is a community

4. However they all have
three things in common
• Business Focus – surplus from trading
• Social Purpose – local jobs / services
• Social Ownership – not for individual gain
• Profits are invested back into the business
People Profit Planet

5. The Social Enterprise
umbrella covers
• Consumer co-operatives (circa 1840s)
• Housing associations (1900s)
• Trading arms of charities (1940s)
• Credit unions (1960s)
• Workers’ co-operatives & employee-owned firms (1960s)
• Community businesses & community enterprises (1970s)
• Development trusts (1980s)
• Social firms (1990s)
• Intermediate labour market projects (1990s)
• Social businesses (1990s)
Dates in brackets indicate when this type of enterprise first started In the UK
Did you know?
The 6th most popular coffee brand in the UK is owned by CaféDirect
The Co-operative is Britain’s biggest farmer with 85,000 acres of land

6. Diversity of Social Enterprises

7. • DETI mapping estimates in the region of 470 Social Enterprise
across NI. (Pwc 2012)
• Social Enterprises make up 12% of the Third Sector and contribute
49% of the sectors turnover.
• Social Enterprises employ 40% of those working in the third sector
some 12,200 people and 13,400 volunteers
• 68% of Social Enterprises reported a profit/surplus in 2010/11,
compared to 54% of C&V organisations
• 77% were planning expansion
•Highest density of SE’s emerging in Belfast and
Derry/Londonderry
Northern Ireland

8. “We already know of the work of social enterprises, charities,
community and voluntary organisations in partnering with the
public sector to provide services.
They do exceptional work to a very high standard and
frequently cost far less than similar but less effective services
provided by the public sector. They are a growing part of our
economy and are dealing with social issues in ways in which
government simply is not able to.
“It is my firm belief that it is time we examined how we could
make even greater and better use of this sector in supporting
us in government to achieve the outcomes we have agreed are
necessary for Northern Ireland.
Minister for Finance Simon Hamilton
Political will

9. Councils role in
making it work locally
 Senior level buy-in and activity linked to local policy and
strategy
 Creating opportunity through commission and
procurement
 Encourage and supply chains
 Lead in innovative approaches to problems
 Consult and broker relationships with SE
 Meet and Greets with all Super Councils

10. How do they
differ from
Charities?
Charities and SE’s have a lot in common
• Independent from Government, not answerable to
shareholders or investors
• Both aim to create social value
However
Social Enterprises take a
• Business approach – focus on earning income from sales not grants
• Legal structures – Non Charities have more flexibility and different
options of ownership, entrepreneurial leadership, and ability to access
finance.
• Unrestricted Income

11. Legal Structures
There are many legal structures and selecting the right one
is important. It will define how you do business, who is
involved and what you with your profits.
Frequently used legal structures include
• Company Ltd by Guarantee
• Community Interest Companies
• Co-operative models

12. How many legal
structures
are there?In Principle…..
• Sole Trader or self employed
• A partnership
• A limited Liability Company – share and guarantee
• Franchises
• A limited liability partnership
• A Co-operative (Industrial and provident society)
• A Community Interest Company

13. Challenges for
Community
Groups
• Concept of profit a Non profit Atmosphere
• The Absence of Business Skills and
Knowledge
• Behaving Like a Business
• Maintaining Competitiveness
• Attracting the right social entrepreneurs
• Leveraging social finance – share capital

14. 3 Essentials
• Have a clear and researched business
model
• Be clear what your social aims are
• Make a profit and use it to further
your social aims

15. Top Tips
• Don’t rely on grant alone to sustain you – don't put
all your eggs in one basket
• Innovate around new income streams
• Increase revenue
• Reduce costs
• Don't trade on being a SE, trade on quality and
community good
• Market what you do with profits
• Show the social good

16. Social Value in Public Expenditure
What do we mean by Social value?
Social Value is about maximising the
the impact of public expenditure to get
the best possible outcomes
Social Value measures more than just
Financial transactions and direct
purchasing or goods and services
It includes additional benefit to
communities…
• Health
• Happiness
• Wellbeing
• Inclusion
• Empowerment

17. If £1 is spent on the delivery of goods,
services and outcomes, can that same £1 also
be used at the same time, to also produce a
wider benefit?
Social Value asks the question:

18. “Instead of paying for failure, which is
what we have been doing sometimes,
we'd start to pay for success.
We construct contracts in such a way that
the company or charity or social
enterprise who are delivering for you only
get paid when they hit certain measured
outcomes," Simon Hamilton.
Social Value and
Payment by results

19. • Grants
• Service Level Agreement’s
• Procurement
• Investment
Income Streams

20. Grants
• Given to a charity/ social enterprise / for a specific project or
purpose.
• You won’t need to pay a grant back, but there’s a lot of
competition and funding can be very restricting and at times
make it difficult to meet your social purpose.
Service Level Agreement
• A service level agreement (SLA) is a contract between
a service provider and the Customer (i.e Health Trust, Council
etc) that defines the level of service expected from
the service provider.
• SLAs are output-based in that their purpose is specifically
to define what the customer will receive.
Income Streams

21. eTendering is the use of secure, web-based collaborative tools by buyers ands suppliers to
conduct the tendering process online
https://e-sourcingni.bravosolution.co.uk
Gov’t Procurement / eTendering

22. • Improved efficiency (faster response/evaluation and reduced
timescales)
• Reduce tendering costs (no ccourier / printing costs)
• Compliance with EU procedures and procurement best
practice
• Improve tendering visibility and governance (access 24/7)
• Robust audit trails and reporting
• Supplier profiling and response prepopulation
Key Benefits of
eTendering

23. • Local Banks – in particular Ulster Bank are
very keen to support Social Enterprises and
and recently ran an Investment Readiness
Workshop
• Charity Bank - http://www.charitybank.org
• UCIT - http://www.ucitltd.com/ni-home.html
Investment

24. How the
successful ones
do it• Highly Entrepreneurial, Innovative and Responsive
• High-quality care at affordable prices and generating
economic and social benefits
• They are rooted in local communities
• Local services responding to local need e.g. shift patterns
• Able to act quickly when they see a problem
• Create jobs in local communities
• Don't DO IT to the communities, DO IT WITH

25. Where to get
support
• Social Enterprise Hubs – 11 hubs across NI
• Unltd if you are a social entrepreneur
• Local Super Councils
• Local Enterprise Agencies
• Rural Development Programme

26. QUESTIONS ??

27. Amanda Johnston
07734 286 211
amanda@socialenterpriseni.org
Office: 028 9046 1810
Contact us

28. Thank You
www.socialenterpriseni.org