IN TOUCH WITH SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
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Contents InTouch – Winter 2011/12 P6
In the news
P9
Enterprise and Impact
P10 Spinning out successfully P12 Collaborative consumption – Cover Story P14 Community assets P16 Making the most of our people P18 Economies of scale P19 Profit from your premises P20 Crowd funding P21 Social investment P22 Online learning for social enterprise P24 New support service for social enterprise P25 RC Women on transformation P26 Business matters – outsourcing and insurance
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Welcome Your cooperation is requested Issue 36 Spring 2012
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2012 is the International Year of Co-operatives and, as you may have guessed, this edition focuses on aspects of global co-operative activity; the scale and diversity of co-operative business, the ethics and values of co-operative business, and the potential relevance of such a business model in a time of anxiety about the social and economic benefits of business in the UK and the deconstruction – some might say, demolition - of public services. As you will discover the range and nature of co-operative business is extraordinary and its history is rooted in a universal, commitment to mutual benefit; a powerful expression of collaboration and self-help. Shared principles and values link all co-operatives and this is not only an expression of agreement but also of solidarity; not a word you hear a lot these days. The ‘Rochdale Pioneers’ established the first co-operative society in 1844 in Lancashire, UK. Reviewing their ‘practices’1 (later to become known as principles, but I quite like the action implicit in the term ‘practices’) : 1. Open membership. 2. Democratic control. 3. Distribution of surplus in proportion to trade. 4. Payment of limited interest on capital. 5. Political and religious neutrality. 6. Cash trading. 7. Promotion of education. I note they have been refined a bit into the shared code of today but this list still expresses an elegant statement of collaborative political commitment; small p, of course, note practice number 5. I am also delighted to see the ‘promotion of education’ on the list, even more so as this ‘appeared in 1854 after the Registrar allowed co-ops to set aside monies for education. Prior to that the co-op had illegally set aside money for education.’2 Illegal community education funded by local business for mutual social benefit now there is a radical logic I can grasp. The times may not be so simply defined these days; understandings of terms such as class and politics have all become a bit fuzzier. We are all a bit conflicted about these issues though this may change sooner rather than later. But reading these pages I am struck by the powerful identity shared by co-operatives and wonder if this may be a useful message for the broader social enterprise community to think on?
Ben Higham SEEE Chair 1 http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/articles/2004-01-09/co-op-principles-then-and-now-part-2 2 Ibid
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Social enterprise roundtable Cambridgeshire social enterprise leaders gave up their time to contribute to a two-hour forum to update Future Business and local change management consultants on their current business position to enable them to identify the business support needs of the sector and how to respond with relevant services.
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Current social changes and economic forces are clearly having a destabilising effect on social enterprises in 2012, making life extremely challenging and their need for a different business approach essential, both internally and externally. The discussions revealed that social enterprise staff have a strong emotional commitment to their organisation. Leaders value their teams’ talents and gifts but are often unable to draw a reasonable, and consistent, salary in order to meet the short term financial requirements of their organisation, especially whilst certain traditional funding sources have dried up entirely. Furthermore, participants expressed a great need for a vibrant local support network to provide the resources needed to grow strong, viable businesses. There was positive dialogue about joint working, mentoring and sharing of skills, experience and expertise amongst peers.
Welcome New Affiliate Member coaching4change provides services for individuals and organisations who want or need to make changes in their personal or professional lives. Eileen Scott has extensive experience of working in the public sector as a Careers Adviser/Manager and has recently trained as a Life Coach. Coaching4change offers services to enable SelfAssessment, Job Search and Applications, CV writing, Interview skills, personality profiling (MBTI) and personal development in work or life in general. For more information visit www.coaching4change.me.uk
Whilst the conversations contained a mix of optimistic and pessimistic views, an overall message prevailed- that it is good to meet, share and support one another. Read the full report for free at http://www.futurebusiness.co.uk/?p=1220.
Meeting the standard Two more social enterprises in the East of England are now proudly social enterprise mark holders LimeSkills CIC At LimeSkills we offer specific accredited training to the Health and Social Care sector across East Anglia, in addition to generic accredited statutory courses for every business. We have a Training Suite based in Ipswich and access to a number of venues across the region. Courses include First Aid, Food Safety and Infection Control. LimeSkills prides itself on using surplus funds to provide free of charge training to those who care for others, championing the work of family and voluntary carers. Companies investing in their staff with courses from us are contributing to the support of unpaid carers in their local communities. For more information visit www.limeskills.co.uk Mentis Tree CIC Mentis Tree CIC was founded in April 2011 by Sue Jay MBE, as a not-for-profit organisation with the social aim of providing low cost counseling for the people of East Anglia . Sue has worked in mental health services for 16 years and has a wealth of experience in service delivery and a proven track record which was recognised with the award of an MBE in 2010 for services to Mental Health Care in West Suffolk. With a team of experienced associates on board covering all aspects of mental health and wellbeing, appointments can be offered quickly, thus eliminating the added stress of lengthy waiting times to see a therapist. For more information visit www.mentis.org.uk or check out their new online bookshop www.books.mentis.org.uk
SEEE members reap success!! 1. Anglian Community Enterprise (ACE) secures new contract
Anglian Community Enterprise (ACE) Community Interest Company has been awarded a one-year contract by NHS West Essex to provide a community Health Trainer Service in West Essex. ACE provides community healthcare services to the population of North East Essex and some Learning Disabilities Services across North Essex. The community Health Trainer Service in West Essex will be based on ACE’s highly successful Health Trainer Service that they have run for the past 3 years in North East Essex. The Service aims to support people to make healthier choices and adopt healthier lifestyles, particularly those in hard to reach groups and in deprived areas. More than 400 volunteer Health Champions have been trained in North East Essex. They promote healthy lifestyles and signpost people to health improvement services in their communities. More than 50 workplaces have active volunteer health champions and there are also nearly 100 volunteer Youth Health Trainers in 9 secondary schools in North East Essex. The service in West Essex, which commenced in April, will benefit from ACE’s expertise and resources and will be carefully designed to meet the needs of the population the area.
2. Aid to Hospitals Worldwide scoop prestigious awards
3. Radical success
Aid to Hospitals Worldwide in Bury St Edmunds are winners of the British Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Award for their work refurbishing and recycling h o s p i t a l equipment. They were also awarded £ 1 0 , 0 0 0 as runner up in the Outstanding Business Achievement award.
In partnership with the Observer newspaper, and using an expert panel of judges, Nesta (the UK’s innovation foundation) have identified 50 people and organisations they think are changing Britain for the better; those applying fresh approaches in practical and scalable ways, through social, technological, scientific and artistic methods.
Other achievements in 2011 included £2.6 million worth of medical aids donated, 128 tons of waste saved from landfill or specialist disposal and over 15 million people in the developing world whose healthcare has been impacted. For more information visit
www.a2hw.org.uk
Join them at their new website
www.dementiaadventure.co.uk
4. A real honour In this exciting year of our Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, we are delighted to announce that Jeannie Gordon RMN, BSc (Hons), PGCE, MA, Principal and Executive Director for The Ministry of Parenting CIC has received the prestigious title of Queen’s Nurse (QN). Jeannie, who lives in Colchester, is one of a select group of Nurses, nationwide, who have been awarded the title.
Sue Felgate, Health Trainer Service Lead at ACE said “We are thrilled to be awarded this contract by NHS West Essex and look forward to providing the best possible support and access to services for the residents of West Essex”.
Given by community nursing charity, the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) title was reintroduced in 2007 after a gap of 40 years. The title was re-instated, in part, as a response to the new challenges facing community nursing and to help safeguard and promote high standards in patient care. Community nurses operate in an ever more challenging world and The Queen’s Nursing Institute’s role is to support them as effectively as they can.
For more information visit
For more information visit
www.acecic.co.uk
Dementia Adventure is one of Britain’s 50 New Radicals. Dementia Adventure is an award winning social enterprise based in Essex but working nationally with an international following. They specialise in connecting people living with dementia to nature and give people a sense of adventure in their lives. They provide training, research and consultancy services all with nature in mind. Surplus income from these activities along with donations and grant funding provide adventures from park walks to sailing holidays.
www.theministryofparenting.com
for their latest information, including new Sponsorship programme for organisations
Stop Press: Business as Mutual: a conference for social enterprises, charities and voluntary organisations 12 September 2012 in Cambridge. Social Enterprise East of England and 3rd Sector Futures have teamed up to present this special event which is themed to coincide with the UN international Year of the Co-operative 2012. With keynote speakers and sessions on topics from setting up a social enterprise to empowering your clients, Business as Mutual promises to be the event of the year for social enterprises in the East. You can register your interest now at www.businessasmutual.co.uk– our bookings team will then make contact when the conference programme is confirmed.
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Decentralisation and the Localism Bill: an essential guide Department for Communities and Local Government Crown Copyright, 2010 2010
December
ISBN: 978-1-4098-2716-0
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Report exposes impact of public sector reform A new report funded by the University of East Anglia and sponsored by SEEE puts the impact of relentless public sector reform under the microscope to reveal damaging levels of motivation amongst senior public sector professionals in the wake of unprecedented government cuts, notably in the NHS, education and social care sectors. The report calls for higher quality services to be at the centre of government policy rather than the wholesale hollowing out of core services. The report examines the erosion in confidence amongst front line professionals from the pace of change, the depth of the funding cuts and the inconsistency of messages from government driving the policy agenda. The report recommends a new training approach to improve resilience and motivation levels, as well as the need for a more honest dialogue between policy makers and practitioners to achieve a great sense of shared purpose. Read the report in full at www.seee.co.uk /resources
It was one of the first initiatives promised by the Coalition Government in May 2012. It is part of the Big Society agenda. The Localism Act 2011 has now come into being, and with it some very real benefits for Social Enterprise Organisations. Through decentralisation away from central government towards local people, communities have new rights and powers to be able to challenge some decision making from local authorities, who in turn, now have new freedoms and flexibilities to be able to consider, review and if appropriate proceed to procurement in partnership with community groups or social enterprises. For a more comprehensive guide to the Localism Act 2011, visit www.communities.gov.uk/ documents/localgovernment/ pdf/1896534.pdf Under this new legislation a new Voluntary and Community Sector Partnership Board has been established. They met for the first time in December 2011 and to find out more about how several social enterprise organisations are contributing to the national strategic policy formation, visit www. communities.gov.uk/whats new
Co-operative Development Essex A major week-long event being held in Chelmsford Central Library 25th – 29th June 2012 With representative from a host of co-operatives and co-operatives support organisations providing information and advice on how to set up as a co-operative. Come along and find out what co-operation is all about. If you want to find out more about this event please get in contact with Keith Grinsted on 07530 927815 or at keithmr@chelmfordstar.coop
£600m for social investment announced Insert Big Society capital logo The Prime Minister, David Cameron has announced the launch of the Big Society Capital – the world’s ‘first social investment bank’. Its chair, Sir Ronald Cohen has stated, “Social investment empowers social entrepreneurs to help those whom our society leaves behind’. The investment fund has been drawn from dormant accounts and contributions from high street banks to back social enterprise organisations that prove they can repay investments through their income. Prime Minister David Cameron stated that “Just as finance from the City has been essential to help businesses grow and take on the world, so finance from the City is going to be essential to helping tackle our deepest social problems”. In his view, philanthropy has a part to play but now is the time for the City’s social investment to deliver. Although it is likely to be warmly welcomed by some in the Social Enterprise sector, it has been greeted by others with reservations. Dan Corry, Chief executive of New Philanthropy Capital regards the fund as “a drop in the ocean” referring to the 70,000 jobs lost over the last year within the sector. Corry calls for further policy changes such as Fair Tax Treatment for Social Enterprises, increased awareness and uptake of the Community Invest Tax Relief and tax relief for individuals who invest in social enterprise, and claims these measures are required to maximise the benefit of the social investment fund. For further information about the Big Society Capital, link to www.bigsocietycapital.com Power to the People! Social Enterprise & the Localism Act 2011 “The time has come to disperse power more widely in Britain today.” David Cameron and Nick Clegg May 2010
Co-operation – where it all started. Nicky Stevenson - The Guild
In October 1998 I was standing on a hillside in Emilia Romagna in central Italy. It was part of a transnational European programme and we were visiting a social co-op, set up in a 15th century villa by a group of parents of adults with learning disabilities to give them a safe and secure environment to live in as the parents grew older. The residents worked in the vineyards, in a plant nursery and raised pheasants, all of which we overlooked. One of our hosts gestured across the landscape and said, “This is Rochdale”. This seems at first sight to be an extraordinary remark. But what he meant was that this region is the home of co-operatives in Italy, as Rochdale is the home of the international co-operative movement. Today we can visit Toad Lane in Rochdale which is a museum to the movement and see the visitors’ book is full of signatures from around the world. It is a moving and humbling experience and one I believe more people should know about. Co-operatives, in the form of small, informal mutual organisations were set up by groups of consumers at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries in Northern England and Scotland. The first formal coop, that established core principles of co-operation, was set up in Toad Lane as a response to factory workers in the industrial north seeking to buy non adulterated food. The local shops belonged to the mill owners and they were known to mix flour and other staples with other substances to make a bigger profit. A group of workers got together to make joint purchases of these goods so that they could pay less and be sure of getting good quality foods. The so-called Rochdale Pioneers set up their shop in 1844 and from that site grew the movement we know today. There were 28 members and they started with £28.
Gradually more and more small cooperative societies were set up and in 1864 they became affiliated across the north of England, establishing the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) in 1872. This eventually became the Co-operative Group that we know today running the supermarkets, department stores, farms, the Co-operative Insurance Society, the Co-op Bank and the Co-op Funeral Directors. Co-operation also developed as a form of utopian socialism, led by Robert Owen, a mill owner in New Lanark in Scotland. Appalled by the conditions in which his workers lived, in the early 1800s he introduced education for children and adults and improved housing and other forms of welfare. His aim was to prove that a contented and motivated work force would create a more profitable business. In the 20th century, worker cooperative models began to develop, often through philanthropic owners converting existing businesses into co-operatives, such as Scott Bader Ltd, a multinational chemical company based in Northamptonshire. It was gifted to its workers in 1951 and is now owned by a trust, governed by the employees. In the 1970s and 80s worker co-operatives were fashionable with governments
as a way of combating recession and unemployment. In the 70s, Tony Benn as employment secretary, attempted to save failing businesses such as Triumph Meridan and the Scottish Daily News, by converting them into workers co-ops. Although this was unsuccessful, it did raise the profile of co-ops and in 1978 a National Co-operative Development Agency was formed. This spawned local co-operative development agencies that were set up throughout the 1980s, supporting thousands of new start worker co-ops doing everything from childcare to taxi driving, from selling wine to structural engineering. The co-operative movement has set up a number of organisations, such as the Co-operative Women’s Guild and the Woodcraft Folk, as an alternative to uniformed youth movements, a co-operative college (sadly no more) and the Co-operative Party to represent co-operatives in parliament. Today there are 800 million members of co-ops in 100 countries. The principles of co-operation are accepted as an international standard, amended from the initial declaration made in Toad Lane in 1844. Those co-operators look to Britain and to Rochdale as the home of the co-op movement and it makes me for one, very proud.
800 MILLION PEOPLE
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International Year of Co-operatives The United Nations International Year of Co-operatives 2012 is now in full swing and is helping to highlight the contribution of co-operatives to socio-economic development right across the world; particularly their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
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The International Year of Co-operatives is a unique opportunity for co-operative businesses and their members and supporters to come together as a global movement to promote how cooperatives can build a better world. Throughout 2012, the lid on some of the world’s biggest secrets will be lifted. For example, did you know that FC Barcelona is a co-operative football club? That over 55 million farmers in India are members of the Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Co-operative? Or that 75% of all Fairtrade goods are produced by cooperatives of smallholders? Co-operative businesses are everywhere from Argentina to Zambia and they are huge, making a difference to tens of millions of people. Co-operatives are businesses owned and run by and for their members, whether they are customers, employees or residents. As well as giving members an equal say and share of the profits, cooperatives act together to build a better world through co-operation. The International Year of Co-operatives is being co-ordinated by the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), the global voice of co-operatives. There are over 1.4 million co-operative businesses – large and small, local and global – across the world. Between them they have nearly 1 billion members and over 3 million people secure their livelihood through co-operatives. This international event aims to boost understanding of co-operatives throughout the world. In the UK, there are over 5,450 independent co-operatives. From football to fashion, healthcare to housing, community owned shops to credit unions, wind farms to web designs; co-operatives work in all parts of the economy.
The benefits of co-operatives are far-reaching and firmly rooted in ethical and social principles – offering a better alternative, a better way both economically and socially of doing business.
Throughout 2012, the lid on some of the world’s biggest secrets will be lifted. For example, did you know that FC Barcelona is a co-operative football club? That over 55 million farmers in India are members of the Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Co-operative? Or that 75% of all Fairtrade goods are produced by co-operatives of smallholders?
To mark the start of the International Year, Cooperatives UK, the national trade association that campaigns for co-operation and works to promote, develop and unite co-operatives, launched a new report to highlight the power of members businesses. ‘Global Business Ownership 2012’ shows that there are three times as many member owners of co-operatives - 1 billion people - as there are individual shareholders worldwide 328 million people. These figures underline the scale of commitment from consumers and workers to retaining ownership and control of businesses that are dedicated towards sustainable, long-term success. In the UK 14.9% of the population has direct ownership of shares, compared with 21.1% who are owners or members of a co-operative. More than six million people are members of The Co-operative Group alone, the UK’s biggest mutually owned business which has a turnover of more than £13billion. In addition, the global figures in the Cooperatives UK report include a three-year growth in the UK’s co-operative economy that has outperformed the UK’s GDP by 21%. The organisation has also seen an 18% growth in membership between 2008 and 2010. Now co-operatives everywhere are gearing up for Co-operatives Fortnight, a peak of co-operative activity during 2012, which begins on 23 June and culminates on 7 July, International Co-operatives Day. And in the week of 29 October, people from around the world are expected to attend Co-operatives United, a world co-operative festival and expo in the city of Manchester – the culminating event of the International Year of Co-operatives. In the words of the United Nations, together co-operatives help to build a better world and 2012 promises to be a very happy and extremely co-operative year. Ed Mayo is Secretary General of Co-operatives UK, the national trade association for co-operative enterprises. www.uk.coop/2012
Co-operatives around the world Andy Brady takes a tour of some of the world’s co-operative hotspots Over 1 billion people are co-operative members worldwide Half the world’s population depend to some extent on co-operatives for their livelihood.
(Sources: International Co-operative Alliance; Co-operatives UK)
Charles Leadbeater, in his recent pamphlet (‘It’s Co-operation, Stupid!’1) argues fiercely against the currently fashionable assumption that we are all born selfish, and continue to act selfishly throughout our lives. On the contrary, according to Leadbeater: “Cooperation does not go against the grain of our nature; it is written into who we are.We are hardwired to care about the wellbeing of others.” The continued role played by the co-operative movement around the world lends tangible support to this argument, and in this International Year of Co-operatives, it seemed appropriate to take a look around the globe at some examples.
successful alternative model Mondragon presents was highlighted in a recent Financial Times article3, which pointed out that the group’s chairman earns no more than 8 times the salary of the lowest paid worker-owner. The company has survived the downturn at least in part due to the willingness of its staff to repay this investment by working more flexibly and relocating to other roles. Cocoa-operation in Fair Trade Sales of fair trade products in the UK amounted to just £50.5m in 2001. In 2011 they were worth over £1.3bn. Many InTouch readers will be aware of Divine Chocolate, the UK chocolate social enterprise. The company is in fact 45% owned by the Ghanaian farmers’ co-operative Kuapa Kokoo. As well as a democratic structure and a commitment to treating its producers equitably, Kuapa
Mondragon’s Den In 1956 a group of five students at a technical college in the Basque country established a co-operative for the manufacture of domestic equipment. Through five decades, a period spanning the death of Franco, the establishment of democracy in Spain, and the economic boom and bust of the 21st century, Mondragon has grown steadily to become one of the top 10 companies in Spain (based on sales). With a turnover of 14 billion Euro and a workforce of 83,0002, the
Kokoo has extended its services to include a credit union for members, and educational workshops and investment to encourage entrepreneurial activity among Ghanaian women. The co-operative now has 45,000 farmer members and covers 1200 villages in 26 areas.
It extends to New Zealand In New Zealand a group of three retailer co-operatives dominates the grocery market with a 57% share. Foodstuffs operates through over 680 stores, ownership is 100% from New Zealand and the company employs over 30,000 people. With membership structures incorporating workers, small scale producers, companies and of course consumers, it is little wonder that the flexible co-operative model has flourished across all industry sectors and all around the world. The International Year of Co-operatives is an opportunity to find out more at www.2012.coop.
SEEE member Anglia Farmers is the largest agricultural buying cooperative in the UK with 3,000 members and a turnover in excess of £200 million. Working in collaboration with other groups such as First Milk, Anglia Farmers has increased volumes and delivered savings to the benefit of both groups and continues to work closely with other organisations to provide innovative solutions and reduce the cost of agricultural inputs.
1 Published by Co-operatives UK and the Institute for Public Policy Research. The pamphlet can be downloaded at: http://www.uk.coop/ sites/default/files/It%27s%20co-operation%20stupid.pdf 2 Figures from the company’s website www.mondragon-corporation. com 3 Johnson, M. (2012) ‘Mondragon: collective approach pays big dividends’ The Financial Times 27 March 2012, available at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a9859070-72b1-11e1-9be9-00144feab49a.html
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New challenges face the social care sector: Now is the time for co-ops & mutuals 12
New challenges face the social care sector: Now is the time for co-ops & mutuals With the residential care system rocked by allegations of abuse and the collapse of one of the country’s leading private providers of residential care, the situation has never been more demanding for a radical rethink of how health and social care might be delivered safely and securely. Significant challenges The health and social care sector is facing significant challenges relating to: Demographic pressures The personalisation agenda – the drive to put service users in control of their own budgets, and purchasing their own care The move to outcomes-based commissioning – the idea that social care should be purchased by ‘outcomes’ rather than blocks of time Major re-organisation of the health service These challenges are underscored by overall public sector fiscal constraint, and significant budget pressures across public sector spending on health and social care. Such a challenging environment demands a new relationship between public sector commissioners, people who use health and social care services and care providers.
Rethinking health and social care Traditional paradigms focus on the public sector delivering all, and the public sector commissioning private providers to deliver ‘some to all’ of our health and social care needs. Care and Share Associates (CASA) is striving to strike a ‘mutual balance’ between the needs of social care’s main stakeholder groups, who are workers, commissioners and people that need support. We do this because, as an employee-owned social enterprise, we put people before profit. Social enterprise providers, such the CASA group of employee-owned franchise companies, are in a great position to meet these challenges by drawing on their underlying values of: People before profit Openness and transparency Concern for community No external shareholders means reinvestment of surplus to improve service quality A genuine desire to improve people’s lives through innovation and service redesign Commitment to education and training CASA was established in 2004 to provide essential support services to older and disabled people, through developing a franchise network of majority employee owned social care providers. It is based on the award winning Sunderland Home Care Associates model, which has been delivering quality domiciliary support since 1994. CASA is the UK’s leading social enterprise in the social care sector. It
currently operates employee owned services across six locations and delivers over 7,500 hours of personal support per week, principally commissioned by the public sector. CASA’s underlying co-operative values result in: a) Low staff turnover, thus making a significant contribution to continuity and quality of support b) Greater investment in staff training and development; c) Commitment to service innovation with commissioners, in particular the development of self directed support services. d) A genuine desire to create employment in excluded communities The CASA mission statement is: CASA, through its employee owned franchise companies, aims to become the UK’s leading employee owned provider of high
quality Health and Social Care services. This will be achieved through robust competition with the private sector, and close collaboration with the public sector. What CASA is finding is that during these times of rapid change and significant budgetary pressure, there is an opportunity for mutual providers, like the CASA group, to design entirely new relationships with commissioners, service users and their families – relationships that are capable of generating creative and effective support systems. A creative LIFE Take, for example, CASA LIFE. Living Independently for Everyone (LIFE) is designed to provide bespoke support packages for individuals with complex needs, often 24-hour one-to-one support. Evolving from the principles that everyone has three fundamental needs for a full and happy life, LIFE addresses: somewhere to live, something to do and someone to love. It focuses on the ‘something to do’ element, and supports disabled people to live within
their communities, helping them to attend college, evening classes, engage in self-employment or enterprise activities and develop fulfilling domestic circumstances so they can enjoy life to the full. A unique aspect to LIFE is that, as part of an employee-owned organisation, it allows support workers to be shareholders in the business, and have a share in success. Such mutualisation directly contributes to loyalty, commitment and pride – all factors for a high-quality positive support experience. Neither public nor private sectors can offer genuine employee ownership. The current financial crisis has been referred to as a ‘burning platform’, which will ultimately result in more creative provision. Although not comfortable for those on the platform, there are undoubtedly opportunities for those in the mutual sector to start rewriting the how-to manual for health and social care. Dr Guy Turnbull Director, Business Development & Investment Finance Care & Share Associates
Help is at hand A briefing paper called ‘New Organisational Models for delivery health and social care’ has been produced to pull together information on the development of employee ownership and social enterprise in the health and social care. This provides a comprehensive read following the development of social enterprise in the health and social care sector but us also a useful reference to support and guides now available and will save you time on google. The report can be found at http://www.hscpartnership. org.uk/Resources/ personalisation/NEW%20 ORGANISATIONAL%20 MODELSbriefing1.5.pdf
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Consumer co-operatives have expanded from high street shops and cover all sorts of services; examples include funeral care, phone, energy and banking.
Co-operatives come in all shapes and sizes. Some for example are owned by their customers, some by staff and others by suppliers or the local community. Those owned by their customers are referred to as consumer co-operatives.
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The consumer co-operatives represent some of the largest co-operatives in the UK. The top 11 each have annual turnover in excess of £50m. The largest, in the UK and indeed the world, is The Co-operative Group. It has a turnover in excess of £13 billion, staff of 110,000 and members in excess of 5.8 million (Source Co-operatives UK). SEEE Member Anglia Regional Co-operative Society is the sixth largest consumer co-operative in the UK. It has a turnover in excess of £220m and 240,000 members. The common link between all co-operatives is that they abide by internally agreed principles, co-operative values and ethical values. These are: Principles
Co-operative Value
Ethical Values
Voluntary and Open membership Democratic member Control Member Economic Participation Autonomy and independence Education, Training and Information Co-operation among co-operative Concern for the community
Self help
Openness
Self responsibility
Honesty
Democracy
Social responsibility
Equality
Caring for others
Equity Solidarity
Co-operation among co-operative Solidarity Concern for the community We can use Anglia Co-operative to illustrate how this works in practice. Membership is open to anyone wishing to shop in any of our food, travel and optical stores. Members simply pay £1 to join. As a member they are entitled to attend our AGM or even stand for election to the Board of Directors and have a say in how the business is run. All consumers receive an annual dividend which is a share of the profits made. The dividend is linked to how much the member has spent in the store. Anglia Co-operative interacts in many ways with the community it serves. Each store participates regularly in fund raising activities. We have the
Anglia Co-operative Community Fund. The key objective of this fund is to support as much as possible charitable community activities organised by individuals, voluntary organisations or charities. Funds are raised predominately from donations from our members. Over £700,000 has been donated to good causes so far. In addition the Society operates an education fund, makes regular visits to schoolsandsupportslocalbeekeeping societies and other worthy initiatives. Operating a consumer owned model puts the needs of the member first. But this goes further than just looking after their immediate retail needs, which is of course critical to the commercial success of the co-operative. The consumer co-operative will look wider and look to support the member in all aspects of their life.
Co-operatives actively look for ways to improve the well-being of their members, communities and colleagues. Or in the co-operative
words
of
Anglia
“Together we make the difference”. *Source “Co-operatives UK”
Produced In Norfolk
is a social enterprise and cooperative run by and for food, drink and craft producers in Norfolk who make with substantive creative input, using local supplies wherever possible. For the past 4 years we have been self sustaining, due to the generous support of advertisers, supporters, volunteers and the many partners who work with us on festivals, events and projects to promote our aims. info@producedinnorfolk.com www.producedinnorfolk.com
Vision
Keith Grinsted, Member Relations Officer of Chelmsford Star Co-operative Society Ltd, explains why young people are catching the co-operative bug
Co-operative Trust Schools From the earliest steps in the education process children are taught about the importance of the following values, which also underpin the co-operative movement:across the world:
• • • •
Honesty Openness Social Responsibility Caring for others
It is no wonder then that there is an increasing move toward schools becoming Co-operative Trust Schools, with a distinctive structure (designed by the Co-operative College) which enables schools to embed co-operative values into the long term ethos of the institution. Co-operative Trust Schools combine long term institutional partnerships with a membership structure that enables parents, learners, staff and community organisations to be directly involved in the trust. Stakeholders drawn from these groups are elected to a Forum which holds the Trust to account, helps shape its policies and elects a proportion of trustees.
The Vision is for the Youth Council to enable greater participation amongst younger people in the life of the Society and to be an investment in developing the next generation of cooperators who can become effective advocates for Chelmsford Star and the wider Co-operative Movement. The stake-holding model puts the community at the heart of education provision, based on the belief that it is only through the active engagement of communities that the aspirations and expectations of educational achievement can be transformed. The co-operative trust model is being adapted and adopted by trusts throughout the country, from small single school trusts to large community-based clusters. There are now well over 100 Co-operative Trust Schools. In Essex we have two such schools – St Clere’s in Stanford-le-Hope, The Anglo European School in Ingatestone – both of which enjoy a close working link with Chelmsford Star.
Youth Council When Chelmsford Star set about establishing a new Youth Council it turned to these two schools for support. In May 2011 the Society’s Youth Council met for the first time – a significant milestone after two years of planning and preparation. This Council comprises 12 representatives aged 16 – 22 drawn from the Society’s staff and the two trust schools. It is planned that membership will, in the future, be opened to the wider membership of the Society.
This proposal is based on the belief that all young people should feel respected and able to influence and inform decisions which affect their lives or upon which they have strong opinions. It is anticipated that this initiative will build upon and recognise the informal contribution that young people already make to the Cooperative Movement both locally and nationally. This includes those who are already members, customers and employees, those involved with Fairtrade and other campaigns.
Why? The Society believes that young people are the next and indeed the current generation of potential cooperators; it is important we invest in them. They are incredibly passionate, energetic and inspiring when given the chance to be. The Society continues to work with schools at every level, running sessions on Fairtrade and healthy eating alongside mock interviews and CV workshops. As for the Youth Council, well, within one year of its establishment one of the founding members is already standing for election to the Society’s next governance level, the Members’ Council. Who knows, perhaps a potential Board Director in a few years?
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Co-operative Development in the East of England 16
by Austen Cordasco, Co-operative Assistance Network Limited
When a group of people come together to set up a democratically governed enterprise, it is quite likely that the only experience they will have had of co-operatives will be of their local Co-op shop. They may not even realise that what they are proposing is actually a co-operative. Without help from within the co-operative sector, they may end up with an inappropriate legal form, co-operative values and principles will not be embedded in the governing documents and they will not be networked into the wider co-operative movement. They will struggle to realise the full potential of the co-operative advantage.
Fortunately, help is at hand. Co-operative Development Workers exist to help new co-operatives get off the ground, and also to help existing co-operatives gear up and scale up, and to help businesses that are not co-operatives convert into co-operatives. They generally have many years of experience of working in the co-operative sector and are well networked. Co-operative Development Workers tend to organise themselves into Cooperative Development Bodies (CDBs) – professional organisations that offer a comprehensive range of services to a variety of sectors: worker co-ops, housing co-ops, community groups, credit unions, energy co-ops, secondary co-ops etc.
The Co-operative Gateway East of England (CGEE) is a consortium of CDBs which exists to ensure and co-ordinate the delivery of co-operative development services, so that wherever you are in the region, if you need any kind of co-operative development service, CGEE will be able to find a CDB to help you. CGEE are here: www.cgee.coop.
“ They will struggle to realise the full potential of the co-operative advantage. �
Without development workers, the co-operative movement would not propagate into subsequent generations. But how is this essential work to be funded? Start up groups have no reserves and other customers are by definition in need of some help. It is incumbent upon the larger, mature and successful co-operative enterprises to fund co-operative development.
The largest co-operative in the UK is the Co-operative Group. They have set up The Co-operative Enterprise Hub specifically to support co-operative development in the UK. They support new starts, existing co-ops and conversions. On their website, www.co-operative.coop/enterprisehub, you will see that they have an excellent track record of helping start ups in particular. Applications to the Hub are made online. The application is sent to a Regional Co-ordinator, who will appoint a CDB to visit the applicant group and assess the viability of the proposal. If the assessment is passed, the group can be awarded up to four days (28 hours) of free advice and training tailored specifically to the needs of the client and delivered by professional Cooperative Development Workers. There is a special package for co-operative conversions. The trick to a successful application to the Hub is in the timing. An application will be rejected if it is too early and cannot demonstrate a good level of feasibility. You should wait until you have a committed steering group with a fairly decent plan for the project and you need input from an experienced Co-operative Development Worker to make sure that a robust co-operative enterprise results. That is how to get the full co-operative advantage.
Cambridge Wood Works is giving timber a new lease of life by offering a re-use and recycling service in Cambridge and its surrounding area. The co-operative that started trading in March 2010, collects waste wood and timber that would normally be put in skips. The material is sorted and used in the most environmentally beneficial way. The co-operative sells reclaimed timber for DIY use and also makes a variety of products including picnic tables, compost bins, briquettes and bird boxes. Cambridge Wood Works also hold events with community and residents association, offering informative and engaging experiences to work with reclaimed wood. Cambridge Wood Works was the first business in the East of England to use the Co-operative Enterprise Hub. David Ousby, one of the directors said “the Enterprise Hub was particularly helpful with advice about Company structure. Cambridge Wood Works ended up with a company limited by guarantee with a co-operative management structure which is also a CIC”. When asked why it was important to have a co-operative management structure David Ousby stated “to ensure everyone has an equal share and say in the way the business is run but what is also important are the co-operative seven principles and in particular the principle of no discrimination.” He went on to say that “In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others” For more about Cambridge Wood www.cambridgewoodworks.org.uk
Works
co-operative
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Local Food (& More!) Co-operative – Little Canfield, Essex We set up our Co-operative in January this year and will be launching our Community Café and Seasonal Growing Programme in June. Having received support from Co-operative Assistance Network via The Cooperative Enterprise Hub, as well as attending training sessions on legal set-up by Co-operatives UK, we opted for a ‘multi-stakeholder’ model as this suited the social aims and objectives for our proposed business. It means that we can have different levels of membership – User Members (ie customers), Supporter Members (in our case, local businesses who want us to market their products and/or advertise for mutual benefit) and Worker Members (ie volunteers and future paid employees). The Co-operative ideal of keeping the business (and any profits!) local and owned by members, fits well with our ethos – we want to provide local people with an opportunity to source and purchase good quality, locally-produced food from ethical sources. We hope that this focus on ‘local’ will enable us to be sustainable – collaborating with as many other small, local businesses as possible to create a vibrant, alternative enterprise for our community. For more information, please contact Sally Brady – Project Coordinator, Local Food (& More!) Co-operative, sallybrady@mac.com Project Blog: http://localfoodandmore.wordpress.com
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“to ensure everyone has an equal share and say in the way the business is run but what is also important are the co-operative seven principles and in particular the principle of no discrimination.”
Community Enterprises Power to the People 18
For small businesses there is a saying that “people do business with people not with companies” - this is never more true than when applied to a community or social enterprise. The success or failure or your enterprise will largely be determined by the people you get involved and how they interact with each other and the wider community. Studies of the development of teams show that they progress through four phases; Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. This is a natural process whether you are pulling together a new project team at work, starting a new business, putting on a pantomime or starting a new cricket season. With limited time and resources the Forming stage is essential. Take time to think about who you will need in the team at an early stage; don’t give in to the temptation to simply get cracking with those enthusiasts nearest at hand or you will be in danger of having to retrace old steps. When Will Hitchcock and I first had the idea for GEN we did a bit of research, convinced ourselves that there was a genuine opportunity and on the way home from a meeting with John Taylor from Suffolk Greenest County we brainstormed about who we would like to have form our initial team. We realised that we lacked business finance experience and some of the authority that comes with ‘grey hair’. We also wanted to expand our network of personal contacts as wide as possible so we didn’t want to recruit from our immediate acquaintances. With our initial four Directors on board we sat down to work
through the formation of the company, the finances, the communications, etc. The fact that we did not immediately see eye to eye was definitely an advantage in the long run, frustrating though it was at the time. All of these debates and false starts were in fact an essential part of the Storming phase. We got to know each other much better, understand our respective backgrounds and to a degree anticipate expectations. Of course a few glasses of James’s wine helped the process along too! The strength developed in this Storming phase was self evident by the time we came to launch our public meetings. Subsequently our members commented on how we displayed confidence and knowledge at these early meetings making it an easier decision to invest. After getting our investors on board we have a new expanded team to consider and we’ve held a number of investor meetings and an open lunch to try to get to know them better, understand their motivations for investment and make them feel part of
something special - it is now their community enterprise. We are now on the verge of launching our second project and this will inevitably bring in a new set of investors from a slightly different community. This will take us back to the Forming / Storming phase and we have to remember that the new leaders for this project do not share the same experience as the pioneers. At an early stage we realised that our influence would only extend as far as our community links did and set ourselves a guideline of only seeking local projects. This was really brought home to us with the reaction from neighbouring villages where we were met with a great scepticism - they clearly view us as coming from a different team entirely but over time we have been able to break down barriers and overcome suspicions through sheer doggedness. It is easy to get embroiled in the facts and figures of Feed in Tariffs, company structures and financial models but our experience suggests that it’s mostly about the people.
Business Accounts at Credit Unions In the coming months, you will notice that some credit unions are widening their coverage to include co-operatives, social enterprises and voluntary groups. After a long wait, the new legislation has passed, and each credit union will consult their membership about which aspects of the new rules to adopt. Larger credit unions have already stated their intention to offer corporate accounts, which includes local authorities, social enterprises, faith groups, charities and unincorporated voluntary groups. SEEE member’s Ipswich and Suffolk Credit Union Ltd and Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union have a waiting list of organisations keen to open an account so they can move some of their money away from large banks. Small credit unions may wish to limit their offering to deposit accounts to take advantage of this ability to receive funds, larger credit unions will wish to offer transactional accounts which could include debit cards, loans, and BACS transfers. You can search on www.findyourcreditunion to see which credit union covers your area. Did you know that 43 credit unions in three UK are now offering a credit union branded pay as you go Visa debit car. In our region, this includes Hertsaver in Hertfordshire, Ipswich and Suffolk Credit Union in Suffolk, and Rainbow Saver Anglia Credit Union in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and South Norfolk. The Move your Money campaign aims to encourage people to move their current and savings accounts to local, mutual and ethical banks including credit unions. It is a campaign that has already seen 10 million account holders in the US take action. For more information visit www.moveyourmoney.org.uk Its early days yet, but several credit unions in the region report large increased deposits in March.
Features of the card make it easy to budget, and members can choose to load the card weekly, monthly, or even daily. It is particularly useful for people who are bankrupt, have credit problems or has been refused a full service debit card by a bank Chris Mole, General Manager of Ipswich Suffolk Credit Union commented “we have loaded over £54,000 onto members Debit cards since launching it in February 2012, and new applications continue to come in. We are delighted with the Visa card and it is clearly popular with our members”
You can download Co-operatives UK’s new informative short guide to ethical banking, the Little Book of Money. www.uk.coop/moveyourmoney to help you with your move . The guide includes: • A short history of banking • A short history of mutual finance • An outline of the key co-operative and mutual baking options • Why move your money • How to move your money
Your money in safe hands
Across Great Britain, there are now 465 credit unions that serve 870,000 members. £600 million is saved in credit unions. Building societies have £220 billion of UK savings. The UK Move Your Money campaign can aim to achieve the success of co-operatives on the continent. In the Netherlands, half the population is with the highly successful co-operative Rabobank, while in Germany co-operative banks have 30 million members. Overall, European co-operative banks have 20% of the market. (source: Co-operatives UK)
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The financial wisdom of the crowd
A Renaissance for Co-operative Sector With a surge of interest in co-operatives, the national trade association for co-operatives - Co-operatives UK has launched a new online support service for start-up co-operatives.This service offers a unique set of tools, advice and resources, to help guide people through the early stages of turning a business idea into a new cooperative business.
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The new online support service for startup co-operatives will include: An accessible guide through all of the basic steps to consider before setting up a co-operative; • Case studies; • Relevant resources and publications; • Access to specialist business advisers.
Future online services will follow in the coming months focussing on how to grow a co-operative business and then support for business advisers working with co-operatives. To access the new online support service for start-up co-operatives, please visit www.uk.coop/start This support incorporates the Co-operative UK’s suite of Simply guides all avaialbe on PDF downloads from www.uk.coop/simplyseries consisting of: Simply Legal - Legal and organisational structures for community Simply Finance - Options for financing a community enterprise Simply Governance - Structures and systems for the running of a community enterprise. Simply Start-Up - a guide to the process of starting a co-operative or community enterprise.
This guide provides the knowledge, confidence and inspiration to make any social entrepreneur’s idea a reality. Social Enterprise UK has produced a practical guideextracted from leading social entrepreneur Craig Dearden Phillip’s book ‘Your chance to change the world ‘ Social Enterprise UK has also produced a guide to social value and what the new law will mean in practice for social enterprise, public bodies and voluntary sector organisations. To help those working in local government Social Enterprise UK has produced a guide to explain how social enterprises can help meet local authorities’ strategic objectives, and gives practical advice about how to engage, procure and commission from social enterprises. These guides and others are free to download at www.socialenterprise.org.uk/about/ guides-publications.
SEEE Member The Guild and Middlesex University have researched and developed a new set of resources for the Making Local Food Work programme aimed at helping community food initiatives explore their impact. This resource including a set of on-line videos appears on the whole relevant and useful for any social enterprise. If you are thinking about your impact take a look at http://www.makinglocalfoodwork. co.uk/Exploringyourimpact.cfm
An online guide to social investment for voluntary organisations has been created by NCVO with expert content from CAF Venturesome. Look for the ‘Social Investment Made Simple’ section on KnowHow NonProfit. http://www.knowhownonprofit.org/ funding/social-investment-1
Reflections from the Edges Sally Reynolds, former Chief Executive of Social Firms UK, wonders why social enterprise products aren’t seen in the same way as social enterprise services, and sets a first challenge for the new Crown Representative for Voluntary. Community and Social Enterprise. Many social enterprises offer market-led products and services e.g. printing, soaps or ground coffee that have nothing to do with delivery of public services, yet initiatives to help them access procurement opportunities and enter into public and private sector supply chains are lacking compared to the ones designed to deliver public services such as health and social care. A recent example is the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 which says “It applies to all public services contracts and those public services contracts with only an element of goods or works. It doesn’t apply to public work
contracts or public supply (goods) contracts.” There is mention of approval for public bodies considering social value in all forms of contracts and that is as far as it goes. For more see the guide produced by Social Enterprise UK: www.socialenterprise.org.uk/ advice-support/guides-publications . Another example where delivery of ‘goods’ looks as if it’s been missed out in favour of the more generic term ‘public service contracts’ is the Investment and Contract Readiness Fund run by The Social Investment Business (www. thesocialinvestmentbusiness.org/ourfunds/beinvestmentready). It would be good if this is not the case but the currently small number of words on The Social Investment Business doesn’t instil confidence. I’m not undermining the importance of initiatives
designed to help social enterprises deliver more public services if that is what their core business is; what I am saying is that these initiatives need to encompass those that rely on the sale of their goods and/or businessrelated services, not just public services. Let’s not sleepwalk through this – we need to keep plugging for attention on this area so that the government, the media and general public don’t mistakenly believe that social enterprises only get involved in public service delivery. The Work Programme question has come up recently and in the context of the soon-
can be seen here: www.cabinetoffice.gov. uk/content/crown-representative-smesstephen-allott . An obvious first step for the VCSE Crown Representative would be to see how the initiatives already introduced for SMEs could be broadened out to include VCSE organisations, or at least use the same framework, to save time and resources that the government apparently does not have. The issues of SMEs accessing public procurement opportunities are not a million miles away from what the issues are for VCSE organisations.There are some areas, however, like the Work Programme that would require
to-be-appointed Crown Representative for the VCSE sector. The Cabinet Office wants an individual to challenge and work with the 17 central Government departments so that more purchasing is made from the VCSE sector (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise). Refreshingly, in contrast to the wider drive of focussing social enterprises on delivery of public services, this role would apply to all goods and services produced and offered by the VCSE sector. It presents a significant opportunity for VCSE organisations to have a voice around the table around how contracting and procurement from the sector can be increased.
some radical and brave thinking if VCSE organisations were to be more engaged. Marrying the driver of efficiency reform (a posh way of saying ‘cost savings’) with increasing the purchasing levels from the VCSE sector is also challenging. At least we have the added social value as the sector’s USP, if the government can grasp and articulate that it is actually saving money whilst paying the same level of money out for its goods and services.
The progress that’s been made by the Crown Representative for SMEs, Stephen Allott, is interesting and the initiatives that have been introduced since his appointment last year
Email: sallyreynolds@adviser.uk.com
A challenge to be relished indeed and we’re all waiting to hear who our sector’s Crown Representative is going to be.
Twitter: @SallySocialEnt
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Strength in numbers?
RC Women, Nicky Stevenson and Sally Kelly, discuss the theme of co-operation
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The theme of co-operation makes us reflect on how best to face the slings and arrows of spending cuts, unemployment and recession. Are we stronger alone or in alliance with others? Well, naturally we think that getting together with others to make a case or make a difference is the better option.
Increasingly though, we find ourselves in an individualised environment where people don’t want to co-operate. If social enterprise x has the opportunity to bid for a contract but knows that social enterprise y will also be bidding, is it best to think, “well, we’ll bid on our own and get £50,000 of work” or might it be better to approach social enterprise y and make a joint bid, getting £25,000 each? The danger is that social enterprise x will only have some of the skills required to deliver the contract or won’t have the capacity to meet all the outcomes and nor will social enterprise y. So the result is that private sector business z wins the contract and the social enterprises get nothing. A friend of ours once described partnership working as an unnatural act performed by non-consenting adults, and while it is true that working with others can be difficult and time consuming, it can also bring many rewards and specific benefits to our customers. Importantly working with others can also enable
us to share costs and save money on infrastructure and administration, keeping more money for frontline services. It has always struck us as odd that some charities see it as a badge of honour not to spend money on administration – as if being disorganised and badly managed is a badge of merit. Surely good administration helps an organisation to do what it does better? Public services are currently being ‘freed from the yoke of bureaucracy’: GPs will have to manage contracts, head teachers will have to look after all the employment contracts – wouldn’t it be better if they were seeing patients and teaching children? The admin jobs don’t go away, they just get reshuffled so someone else has to do them. In our experience many people behave as if power is a finite property – if you have some power, then I don’t. We think that power is infinite, we can all have some and it doesn’t diminish your power if I have some too. Frequently, those with money and resources have tried to divide and rule less powerful organisations, not realising that empowered groups with strong voices can improve outcomes for everybody. Infrastructure is not a necessary evil, taking money from frontline services; it can be a force for good, making sure services are well-run, well-managed and well-monitored. At this time it is very difficult for small organisations to respond to all the pressures on them and we think it is more important than ever to be part of networks and consortia, to be working in partnerships and finding more and better ways to co-operate.
A new business has arrived which will be providing financial expertise to the social enterprise sector. They are called “Pilot Fish Partnership” and based in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire.
23 The management team have until recently held senior finance roles at Anglia Regional Co-operative but decided it was time to go it alone and offer their skills to the sector more widely. They aim to support the growth of social enterprises, member organisations, co-operatives and businesses with a clear environmental or community based mission. They provide high quality Finance Directors, Financial Controllers and Risk Managers on a part time or interim basis. Managing Partner, Richard Jones says, “We are all very excited about this opportunity. We have all been working with co-operatives and social enterprises for a number of years and are passionate about seeing them be successful. We feel there is a lack of high quality finance support available and we hope to provide that. Our success will be measured by the success of our clients.” Find out more about what they do and how they may be able to help you at www.pilotfishpartnership.co.uk From left to right: Richard Jones, Deborah Short, Steve Dixon