News from Social Enterprise Yorkshire & Humber

• Free Social Enterprise Workshops
  

  Business Link Yorkshire offers free social enterprise workshops across the region covering a range of topics from general introdutions to social enterprise and legal models to more specialised sessions on social accounting, health and social enterprise and social firms.

  Workshops are managed in quarterly programmes and can be booked via a social enterprise adviser or online at www.businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk/events and search for social enterprise.

  
  
  
• Social Enterprise Award Winners
  A go-kart track and a former railway station building are among the winner’s of this year’s Social Enterprise in Yorkshire and the Humber Awards.
  Pit Stop 2000 won the social enterprise of the year title for its outdoor activities project for disaffected young people. It began with a single
  go-kart and now owns its own racing track, providing a range of activities – from karting to beekeeping – to help youngsters from deprived backgrounds
  improve self-esteem and confidence.
  
  The Station won the top award for innovation in social enterprise. A preservation trust run by unpaid community trustees, it transformed a historic railway station building in Richmond, North Yorkshire, to house a range of activities including a cinema, restaurant and shops selling local produce.
  
  Morgan Killick was named social entrepreneur of the year. His organisation, ESP Projects, delivers ethically responsible and financially sustainable ICT services for charities and not-forprofit groups.
  
  The title of start-up of the year went to Cream Catering, which provides high quality meals to people in sheltered housing, while a new award for social enterprise in education went to Cockburn High School in Leeds, where a group of students run The Glassroom, a social enterprise producing glassware products.
  
  Anthony Radley, head of social enterprise at Business Link Yorkshire, which organises and sponsors the awards, said that he was impressed by the ‘extremely high standards’ of this year’s entrants. ‘There are examples of best practice that would be groundbreaking in more traditional commercial businesses,’ he said.
  
  
  
• The Guardian Misinterprets Social Enterprise Data
  

  The Social Enterprise Coalition have quickly responded to an article in this week's Society Guardian entitled “Survival challenge for social enterprises” - that states “Social enterprise companies are twice as likely to fail as conventional for-profit companies, according to new research.” ( http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jul/09/socialenterprises )

  Caroline Borge at the coalition replied "This is a completely inaccurate interpretation of research released today by Delta Economics, and launched at the Coalition’s BAME event."

  A letter has been sent to The Guardian by Dr. Rebecca Harding, Managing Director, Delta Economics which states:
  
  
  
  To the Editor,
  
  
  
  The article published today “Survival challenge for social enterprises” stated: “Social enterprise companies are twice as likely to fail as conventional for-profit companies, according to new research.” This is entirely inaccurate, as the particular research used by Guardian Society to reach that conclusion was not comparing social enterprises with conventional for-profit companies, but social entrepreneurs with the UK population as a whole (in other words, everyone of working age).
  
  
  
  There is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that social enterprises are more likely to fail than mainstream businesses. On the contrary, social enterprises are a powerful and growing part of the UK’s economy, and what our research actually shows is that social entrepreneurship continues to gain momentum across all communities.
  
  
  
  Our survey, (published by Delta Economics, not the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor as stated in the article) compared social entrepreneurs with mainstream entrepreneurs and found that in the past 12 months social ventures were less likely to have shut down than mainstream entrepreneurial ventures.
  
  
  
  In addition, our related research over the past few years actually points to greater employment, higher turnover and greater wealth creation potential among social enterprises.
  
  
  
  Jonathan Bland Chief Executive of the Social Enterprise Coalition said, “This data re-affirms that social enterprise is a sustainable business model essential not only for positive social change, but for the UK’s economy. What is needed is more support mechanisms to allow them to flourish.”
  
  
  
  We agree with Mr. Bland, as our survey also found that if social entrepreneurs fail to gain finance, it is more likely that it was not because of problems with their business plan or management team, but because of a lack of understanding about what social enterprise is.
  
  
  
  The survey over the last 5 years has demonstrated the importance of social entrepreneurs as drivers of positive social change in the UK economy and as a vital feature of the UK’s entrepreneurial landscape. Without doubt, the study has illustrated just how important these people are. We now need more work to establish the motivations and drivers of social entrepreneurs so that we can better understand how the support structure in the commercial and public sector should be supporting them.
  
  
  
  Yours Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Dr. Rebecca Harding
  

  
  
  
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• Community Empowerment Workshops
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