Social Enterprise Employment - Case Study 2006 by Social Enterprise East of England

Case Studies – Overcoming employment disadvantages

Introduction: Social Enterprise East of England, SEEE, is a network of social enterprises, advice and support organisations, local authorities and other groups with interests in Social Enterprise – particularly in its promotion and development. It covers the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The Eastern Region has some outstanding examples of social enterprise and innovative approaches to providing the sector with advice, support and funding. The SEEE network has been established to promote, celebrate and share these successes and assist in implementing best practice throughout the Region. Are you interested in the development of Social Enterprise in the East of England? Would you like to know more about the services available? Would you like to get in touch with other social enterprises? Would you like the opportunity to influence policy in social enterprise? For an informal discussion on how SEEE may be able to help you, contact

Peter See Development Manager, Social Enterprise East of England T: 01727 813401 peters@exemplas.com

InTouch SOCIAL ENTERPRISE EAST OF ENGLAND

Case Studies – Overcoming employment disadvantages O

n e o f t h e s t re n g t h s o f s o c i a l enterprises is that their social aims may include providing supported employment on either an intermediate or longer-term basis. With an emphasis on valuing and developing their people, social enterprises can offer real employment to people

who are unable or not yet ready to enter the open employment market for whatever reason. In the examples given here, very different types of occupation are described, some offering long-term support, some with examples of people moving on to the open employment market.

Paving the way as a social firm

Internet: SEEE’s Web partner services are at: www.seee.co.uk www.nearbuyou.co.uk The SEEE network is co-ordinated by Business Link Hertfordshire InTouch is financed by SEEE (funded by the European Social Fund ) and published in its support by Business for People in partnership with Creative Touch, both of which are social enterprises. All case studies written by Andrew Saul unless otherwise credited. Layout by Lorraine Peacock.

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4 Archers Court Stukeley Road Huntingdon PE29 6XG 01480 455200

The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers or of Business Link Hertfordshire, Business for People Ltd or Creative Touch. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an information retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the publishers. This publication has been prepared using information provided by contributors and, while we make every effort, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. SSEER is unable to accept any liability for the consequences of any inaccuracies, errors or omissions in this publication. No representations, warranties or endorsements of any kind are intended.

Silver Fern can offer learners construction courses to level 3 thanks to the installation of a new concrete mixer

ilver Fern Concrete started as a regular business in 1982 manufacturing paving slabs. In 1994, owner/ manager Kelly Boutcher began giving work opportunities to people with learning difficulties, and since then has developed the business into a true social firm and is a member of Social Firms UK. Silver Fern sells directly from its site to builders, landscape gardeners and DIY enthusiasts. In 2002 the business made £40,000 from the sale of the concrete products. It supports two full-time employees with learning difficulties and seven learners, ranging from those on permitted work rules to people who come in one day a week for social inclusion. They range in

age from 21 to over 60, with mild to severe learning difficulties. Each has an individual learning plan, and can study up to NVQ level 1. Silver Fern Trust is now a charity, and Silver Fern Concrete is its trading arm. With g funding, it has been able to replace its aging concrete mixer. The enhanced safety of the new mixer means that Silver Fern can offer construction courses to level 3. Kelly’s long term vision is that the company will be wholly run by its beneficiaries. “They take part in every stage of the manufacturing process” says Kelly, “and there is no reason in the wide world why disabled people can’t run all areas of the business side as well”. Andrew Saul

Overcoming employment disadvantages

Speaking Up! is moving up! At what point does a charity become a social enterprise?

hat has been the question Speaking Up! a Cambridge based charity, is trying to address. Faced with a world in which 150,000 different charities are competing for the public’s money, Speaking Up! realised that the best way to progress was to move over to earning most of its income as a business, rather than relying on donations. Currently, the charity makes about onethird of its income from business. The aim is to increase that to two-thirds within three years. “When you come to interview me in 2008, we will be mainly a business, though we will continue employing vulnerable people as trainers and consultants”, Chief Executive Craig Dearden-Phillips told me.

From small beginning

Speaking Up! started ten years ago as a group of volunteers, some of whom had disabilities, meeting in a living room. The charity has been so successful that it won the 2002 Guardian award for Charity of the Year. “It told the world that Speaking Up! is a pretty good charitable organisation, and helped us get venture philanthropy backers,” Craig commented.

A varied business portfolio

The aim of the charity is to help people with learning difficulties, disabilities or other disadvantages to gain control of their own lives, and get involved in the services provided for them. The organisation intends to retain its charitable purpose, and has been careful to develop businesses that are compatible with the aim of the charity. One of these businesses is Speaking Up! Training and Consultancy Services. Speaking Up! sends people who are themselves disabled to help organisations to work effectively with disabled clients a n d c u s t o m e r s. Co n s u l t a n t s f ro m Speaking Up! have helped the National Patient Safety Agency to find out what people with physical disabilities and learning difficulties think of the NHS. It's not only a difference that Training

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and Consultancy is making. In 2003-04 it netted £140,000 in contracts, of which £50,000 was profit after expenses. This represents a profit margin of 40%. The profit is re-invested in the business and used to m costs on the charity side. The other business being provided by Speaking Up! is in the form of advocacy contracts. There are many o such as housing associations and the NHS, who want to ensure the views of people with disabilities are heard. These organisations n e e d t o k n ow t h e y a re meeting the needs of those with learning difficulties, and treating them with sensitivity and understanding. Speaking Up! make this happen by, acting as an independent advocate. Depending on the contract, this ser vice can make a profit of between 5 to 15%, and the business turns over about £200,000 a year. Craig forecasts a turnover of about a million pounds for this business by the financial year 2006-07.

Retaining social purpose

Craig emphasised that Speaking Up! will always trade for a social purpose. However, he feels that the most important thing for a social enterprise is to stop the social goals overwhelming business goals. “I see it happening all the time, social enterprises run by social workers who don’t give a fig about building businesses. Any successful enterprise needs at least one fanatic, who doesn’t actually care as much about social goals as business ones. “Offset this fanatic with someone with a social focus and your social enterprise has a chance”. Craig has a pointed message to the

Case Studies – Overcoming employment disadvantages

region’s social enterprise sector. “Genuine social enterprise is about building business and making profit just as much as doing good, but many enterprises define funders as their customers, their trainees as their outputs and grants as their success indicators. Growing a profitable business on the back of increasing sales is often the last thing on their minds.” Funding regimes, Craig believes, e x a c e r b a t e t h i s p r o b l e m . “S o c i a l enterprises are paid to expend all their energy on social programmes rather than improving their businesses. We need more funders who are willing to see their investment as risk-capital. Then we might see enterprise outcomes as well as social ones.”

Overcoming employment disadvantages

Publishing and multimedia:

two social firms collaborate

usiness for People and Creative Touch are the sister social firms responsible for publishing InTouch for SEEE (Social Enterprise East of England). One does not usually just sit down and determine to start a social firm – very often it is the result of a particular ethos, a history of development and some challenges and unforeseen circumstances along the way.

Creative Touch springboards from Business for People

Business for People started life six years ago as a specialist guidance agency assisting people disadvantaged from e Initially it was entirely grantfunded, directly from ESF (European Social Fund); ESF joint-financed from Job Centre Plus, LSC (Learning and Skills Council) and IAG (Information Advice and Guidance); and from SRB (Single Regeneration Budget). Under the leadership of Joint MD Margo Lloyd, the agency side of Business for People has

c met and exceeded demanding targets for helping disadvantaged people into employment and training using under-utilised, yet more effective means, such as tapping the unadvertised job market. It is from one of BfP’s projects that Creative Touch was ultimately born. Austin Bambrook was employed by BfP to run an innovative multimedia project to give training and employment opportunities to disadvantaged residents of the Huntingdon Oxmoor Estate. This acclaimed project formed the basis of a number of successful employment and training outcomes, including a write-up in the Daily Mirror’s Adult Learning Week supplement in 2003 about the support given to a budding rap artist. At the end of the project BfP and Austin had to regrettably part company, but Austin wanted to continue to use his c experience and qualifications to help people disadvantaged from employment. He started Creative Touch

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About Town, Huntingdon Town Council's newsletter, is well on its way to costing the council nothing to produce.

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Case Studies – Overcoming employment disadvantages

Overcoming employment disadvantages with a first contract from Cambridgeshire County Council to design and produce the Oxmoor Opportunities Newsletter with which he was able to continue to help develop the skills of people he had worked with at BfP.

Two major projects bring the two social firms together

David Lloyd, the other Joint MD at BfP, was in the meantime working on various publishing and marketing projects in the charitable and social economy sectors. David had the vision of a publication to further the work of SSEER in developing the social economy in the East of England. When BfP was awarded the contract, part of SSEER’s rationale was to give social enterprises every opportunity to be involved. Creative Touch was the logical partner for the multimedia and editorial training work, and a marketing sub-committee and editorial team came together to oversee the new publication, InTouch. At the same time, BfP was able to use its ESF funding for one of Creative Touch’s talented beneficiaries to design the SEEE logo. B for People was recently part of a s consortium led by Business Link for Cambridgeshire that won a Job Centre Plus Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) bid. This contract enables BfP to work in the long-term with the disadvantaged and long-term unemployed – its speciality. Some of its client group are people with creative talents and aspirations, and there was a need to find real and meaningful employment for them – enter Creative Touch again. Under the scheme, Austin was able to take on some of BfP’s clients to work on its growing range of publications and to develop their talents in journalism, design, arts publishing, video and media sales. Margo Lloyd joined the board of

Creative Touch as director of HR and business development in April when it became a company limited by guarantee. Because of the synergy and close collaboration between the two organisations, Creative Touch moved into the same premises as Business for People in June this year. The two organisations maintain their distinctiveness, but the proximity has created a healthy synergy. The creative buzz and easy-going, friendly atmosphere is already benefiting the talented client group.

A varied portfolio moving away from grant dependency

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SOCIAL ENTERPRISE EAST OF ENGLAND

Inside:

centre pullout –

From the Editor

Regional strategy and procurement policy – are social enterprises being involved in the discussions?

Trading and sustainability

Trading is increasingly seen as an answer to diminishing funding, but there is a perceived lack of both skills and support.

Social and community enterprise programme

Six workshops address key issues faced by social enterprises.

Civic Champions in Three Counties

Want to make a real difference in Essex, Norfolk or Suffolk? Help is at hand to help you develop your goals.

STEnG – a lesson for us all

Nine organisations are setting an example of collaborative working for the benefit of adults with learning difficulties.

Focus on …

Andrew Saul takes the bus to look at five Bedfordshire social enterprises.

Networks unlimited …

News and upcoming events from the Region. Tell us what you’re doing.

NHS as a corporate citizen

NHS is a major economic player in the East of England. And they’re looking for sustainable development pilots.

Credit union first launched 12

Social Enterprise, Italian Style In a special four-page feature, Sarah Charters reports on the final study visit of the three collaborative ESF Equal projects.

Procurement, Local Government and Social Enterprises

t is getting on for a year now since DTI Social Enterprise Unit published the Public Procurement: A Toolkit for Social Enterprises. In that time the buzz around procurement has been steadily developing; so much so that we are now seeing a plethora of activity which will, over time, see a positive shift within local government to further enable social enterprises to bid for contracts and deliver public services. I would like to present a picture of some of the activity going on at the moment in the procurement arena which is affecting the social enterprise sector. I have included website and publication references at the end of this article.

government. I would highly recommend anyone wanting to have their say on the procurement needs of the sector to contact the Social Enterprise Unit. The overall aims of the strategy are to: • increase evidence of social enterprise experience in procurement • influence procurement policies where there is particular potential for social enterprise • work with the Small Business Service to tackle barriers to procurement opportunities The key activities planned under these themes are to evaluate the [procurement] toolkit, capitalise on wider support for SMEs in procurement, increase skills, raise awareness and promote the business case (to local authorities), define broader outcomes in local authority specifications and measure added value, and open up the NHS market to social enterprise. Discussion focused around three points; primarily the need to educate legal and finance � page 2

at Harlow Foyer As always, there are problems and needs. InTouch requires New support for regional 12 co-operative council more advertising to ultimately become self-sustaining, and the What is the Social Enterprise Unit expansion of Creative Touch doing on procurement? has led to a surplus of talent, Internet: so it could do with another newsletter or magazine contract and more video work. But both o recognise the need to move away from grant dependency writing contracts via David, while Margo and are encouraged by the support being also works as an employment assessment given by support agencies and fellow expert with insurance companies and social enterprises. Creative Touch does solicitors in such areas as acquired injury, not rely directly on grants at all, although as well as providing NVQ training in it benefits from the ILM project. guidance to level 4. The ILM project is being piloted in Creative Touch Cambridgeshire and provides paid Austin Bambrook austin@creativetouch-cambs.org e for up to a year. The eligibility Tel 01480 433302 criteria are long-term unemployment and Business for People disadvantage due to single parenthood or Margo Lloyd because of health – or disability – related margo@businessforpeople.org.uk. Tel 01480 455200 issues. If you want to make a referral into David Lloyd t project contact your nearest Job Centre david@businessforpeople.org.uk Tel 01480 861607 or speak to Margo (see below). Business www.businessforpeople.org.uk for People has a number of editorial and

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InTouch

July/August 2004 • Issue 5

Financial responsibility and ownership start young in Harlow

Cambridge CDA passes the regional secretariat baton to Harlow CDA

SEEE’s Web partner services are at: http://www.nearbuyou.co.uk http://www.socialenterprise-east.org.uk

On 1st June I attended the Unit’s consultation meeting on their draft procurement strategy – Increasing Public Procurement Opportunities for Social Enterprises. Unfortunately only one social enterprise attended, the rest of the group was mainly from local and central

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Case Studies – Overcoming employment disadvantages