In the past decade, interest in social enterprise has grown steadily. Governments and public bodies are looking to social enterprises to deliver sustainable services and get local economies moving. This calls for successful partnerships between local authorities and social enterprises.
Social enterprises have been delivering public services for years. The social enterprise approach is seen as a way in which commissioners can find innovative solutions to unmet needs.
Social enterprises build social as well as financial capital; they provide essential, cost-effective services for the public sector. Distributing profits to shareholders is never the priority for social enterprises – the majority of profits are reinvested and so resources remain rooted in communities, creating multiplier effects when spent.
There are some great examples of local authorities working in partnership with social enterprise to benefit the communities they serve.
Barnet's innovative approaches to delivering services
Barnet council, like many local authorities, is under pressure to cut spending while continuing to improve services for local residents. To tackle these conflicting demands, the council encourages individuals and groups of people to put forward solutions as part of an initiative that could see local residents set up their own social enterprises.
In June 2011 the council launched the Big Society Innovation Bank, which will distribute £600,000 over three years to local people who have ideas for tackling challenges in their communities. The aim: to provide solutions to local problems and enable communities to take responsibility for roles, services and assets that have traditionally been managed by the state. While not intended to replace public sector delivery and commissioning, it is seeking to pilot new ways of working that give more power to the community.
Applications for the first round of funding closed at the end of July 2011, by which point the council had received 79 bids totalling £1.87m. In addition to making financial support available, Barnet council will provide successful applicants with business support.
West Lindsey district council's economic regeneration
West Lindsey district council was named social enterprise partner of the year at the Social Enterprise Awards 2011, after being nominated by the social enterprise Hill Holt Wood, with which it worked in partnership on the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) initiative. The initiative launched in 2010 to provide six-month work placements to the long-term unemployed, supporting them back into employment.
Hill Holt Wood favours a whole person approach, tailoring its work to suit the needs and abilities of each individual. It has a strong track record delivering successful outcomes and through the FJF partnership, 45% of those involved went on to secure permanent employment. Impressed by the results, the council now seeks support programmes for the unemployed that use a whole-person approach.
Using their expertise in sustainable building, Hill Holt Wood is now helping the council to renovate poor quality housing stock in the south west ward of Gainsborough. This is an area with high unemployment, low income and lacking in green space. Renovation will significantly improve standards of living for local residents, boost sustainability and act as a source of economic regeneration.
Hackney's sustainable inclusive communities
Hackney in east London is a social enterprise hub. Home to some of the largest and most successful social enterprises in the UK, the borough is a shining example of what can be achieved when councils engage with social enterprise.
Hackney council has a strong track record in contracting local social enterprises, and has long been a supporter of the sector. Its relationship with transport provider HCT Group dates back 25 years. The council's early support of the HCT helped it to expand to deliver transport services across London and in other parts of England.
In 2006, Hackney went a step further and established a social enterprise to manage the borough's 33,000 plus council homes and tenancies. Hackney Homes works closely with residents and has both tenant and community representatives on its board. Resources are kept within the community rather than distributed to private shareholders, and tenants are actively encouraged to play a part in the way their housing is managed and developed.
Knowsley identifying new markets
Knowsley council spent three years developing a comprehensive support structure for local social enterprises, motivated by the belief that social enterprise can, and will, play a key role building community resilience as public spending is cut. The council first established the Knowsley Partnership, made up of key bodies including the local housing trust, chamber of commerce, Knowsley Community and Voluntary Services, and its own business and community units.
The partnership established a unit for social enterprise, which implemented a social enterprise development strategy and built a social enterprise supply base. Markets were identified in which social enterprise could play a role – play and youth provision, recycling and the green economy, reducing re-offending, employment and skills development, and care services.
In each of these markets a task group was established involving commissioners and social enterprises. They worked with social enterprises already operating in the area, asking if they required any additional support in order to meet future local needs.
Celia Richardson is the director of communications at Social Enterprise UK, which has published a new guide for local authorities
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