II. Business Development and Support

We have identified four main projects around the area of business development and support which we believe will most add value to existing activity, and is best carried out by this Partnership:

	Register of consultants Investigation of disincentives in the benefits system Resources for training advisors and managers of social enterprises A programme of learning from abroad.

1. Register of Consultants  [top]

The social enterprise sector has a high need for specialist one-to-one consultancy and related advice, to develop successful businesses and organisations. Examples include: feasibility studies, marketing analysis, business planning, legal advice, quality systems and social accounting, design, surveyor and architect services, project design and management, financial management, etc.

A large number of individuals and organisations offer specialist consultancy services of this type to social enterprises. However, most social enterprises have only an extremely limited knowledge of what is available in their area or beyond. We aim to provide a register where consultants can offer their services and set out their track record, in a form which is easily accessible and searchable by social enterprises, on-line and in paper form. We will also provide guidance notes to social enterprises on selecting, quality assuring and managing consultants. For more information see Consutlants Register. (link this to 5. Register of consultants)

2. Investigation of Disincentives in the Benefits System  [top]

Working with King’s College London the Partnership will examine disincentives in the benefits systems for those wishing to work in the social enterprise sector, publish a clear statement of the issues, contrasting the situation with that in other European countries, and disseminate findings to national and regional government and other policy makers, identifying further action required.

Purpose

	The purpose of this project is:To define the impact of the current welfare benefits system on the capacity of unemployed people with disabilities and other disadvantages to move from social security benefits into employment; To make practical recommendations as to how barriers and problem issues could be addressed; To link to and build on past and current work carried out by various agencies and Government Departments that may have some relevance to this project; To describe the barriers, solutions and policy issues in a report that can broaden the understanding of the issues.

Aims

This project aims to:

	Consult with people with disabilities and the agencies that support people with disabilities into employment; Continue this consultation with some groups of people who are excluded from the labour market (and agencies that support them) for whom some of the barriers may be the same; Provide evidence of the impact of the welfare benefits system on the people wishing to work in open employment or social enterprises, but who are unable to do so due to financial penalties; Define the barriers in the system; Provide recommendations on how the system could be changed to increase the numbers of people with disabilities and other disadvantages moving into employment; Provide further evidence that ties in to work being carried out by the Department of Work and Pensions, ongoing work on benefits and barriers by the Institute of Applied Health and Social Policy at Kings College London and their partners, and research being conducted by “Mind the Gap” project in Scotland; The Project Report is aimed at broadening the understanding of the issues and is targeted at Government Officials within Department of Work and Pensions, the Treasury, Department of Social Security, the DTI, Benefits Agencies, Job Centre Plus, other Government and national/regional authorities responsible for employment and enterprise, the Social Enterprise Sector (and those who have little understanding of benefits issues in particular), and individuals and organisations interested in employment of people with disabilities.

Methodology

Consultation

	The consultant will be required to consult with people with disabilities and disadvantages throughout GB. An initial starting point will be the social firm sector as welfare benefits are a significant issue for many of the members of Social Firms UK and there is an established network to put the researchers in touch with individuals and organisations affected; Ethics Committee approval will be sought before commencement, as the issues being discussed are personal, confidential and their usage needs to be justified; The project will interview the European partners of the Social Enterprise Partnership, based in Germany, Sweden, Greece and Italy. This will identify if there are comparable barriers in these countries and if their experiences and practice can be of any assistance with solutions and recommendations in GB. Where data is gathered from individuals and organisations within GB this will be verified for accuracy with benefits authorities, wherever possible looking at the bigger picture as loss of one benefit may be compensated for by a tax credit etc. The Report will be widely disseminated by the Social Enterprise Partnership through member organizations, networks and with Government Partners.

 

Recommendations

The recommendations for change to the current Welfare Benefits system will be based on the experiences of the individuals and organisations consulted. This will take account of the issues they raised and statistical evidence produced. The recommendations will be pragmatic and will focus on change that may be achievable. That is not to say that dramatic change or significant policy shifts may not be recommended, but the Project will take account of changes that may be for instance require a change in legislation thereby delaying any action for many years. The organisation selected to carry out this work with the Social Enterprise Partnership is the institute of Applied Health and Social Policy at Kings College London due to their experience in this field and their ability to link recommendations with emerging policy developments from Government Departments.

Outputs

Outputs from this project will include:

	A written description of how the consultation will be conducted; A summary of the questions asked of individual and organisation; A draft report on the research; A final report and presentation to the Social Enterprise Partnership

Timescale

The research preparation commenced in November 2002 and discussion will take place early in 2003 to finalise the method and approval of the consultation. A draft report will be submitted by April 2003 and the Final Report will be completed by June 2003 and disseminated extensively thereafter.

3. Resources for Training Advisors and Managers Of Social Enterprises  [top]

Our Partnership has identified three areas where training for the sector is in high demand but where provision is weak:

	finance (especially helping social enterprises to understand and use a range of financial products including loans); governance (especially helping new social enterprises understand the institutional forms available to them, and developing good policy and practice in governance); procurement (helping social enterprises understand procurement markets and opportunities and maximising their competitiveness in winning contracts).

We will carry out further mapping to identify and analyse other competences. We will develop and field test training materials and modules which can be used to train advisers working in Business Links, local authorities, co-operative development agencies, community and voluntary sector training agencies etc. We will also develop and field test parallel resources for use by such trainers directly with social enterprise managers and trustees. We will also identify the best routes for accreditation for such training, and undertake activities which will strengthen the delivery infrastructure.

Aims

This part of the project aims to create a framework for professional development of social enterprise business advisers and for managers within social enterprises. The result will be a more extensive support infrastructure with more highly skilled staff. Both generic and specialist parts of the support infrastructure will benefit. There will be a particular focus on finance, governance and procurement as key subject areas. A range of delivery methods will be used.

In order to achieve maximum acceptance in mainstream business and business support communities, the programme will be accredited. This will enable all trainees to gain recognised vocational qualifications with ‘section 97’ status. It will also enable training programmes to access LSC and similar funding.

It is envisaged that this nationally developed professional development programme will be piloted and implemented through the regional partners.

There will be a transnational dimension to this activity through exchanges of knowledge about programme content and delivery methodologies.

The work will be shared by partner organisations and co-ordinated by the Co-operative Union. A range of specialists will be employed, for example to undertake the competency mappings and training needs analyses and to produce materials.

Identification Of Target Groups

Two main target groups have been identified:
a) Business advisers, both generic (such as those working in Business Links, local authorities, trade unions and voluntary sector support organisations) and specialist (such as those working in co-operative support organisations, development trusts, social firm support bodies etc).

b) Social enterprise managers, many of them working within organisations that are members of the SEP partner bodies – i.e. they are social firms, co-operatives or development trusts. There are of course social enterprises that are not associated with these three bodies. They have been the subject of extensive surveying and mapping in many parts of GB, and are therefore already well on the way to being identified.

We will further clarify and identify the main groups of beneficiaries, their numbers and location. This will involve partners surveying, checking within their constituencies and pooling the information. It will also involve consulting with bodies that employee these people, such as the Small Business Service, Business Connect and Scottish Enterprise, local government organisations, voluntary and community sector federations, BME representative bodies, etc.

Assessment Of Competency Requirements, Target Group’s Development Needs And Skills Gaps

The professional development and training resources that the project generates will be based on rigorous occupational mapping and functional analysis to establish the required competencies and the knowledge and understanding that underpin them. Many of these competencies will be no different from those required to manage or advise any kind of enterprise, but some will be specific and additional. The project will map these competencies in conjunction with the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI).

Once this has been done there will be a skill gap and training needs analysis amongst practitioners. The work in this section will be done in conjunction with the regional partners and SFEDI.

Review And Analysis Of Existing Programmes And Establishment Of Accredited Status For New Programme

We already know of some training programmes within this field, including some produced by transnational partners. We will check for others.

We will also liaise with relevant organisations to ensure that the professional development programme is widely accepted and recognised in ‘the trade’ as a high quality programme with broad application, albeit one that co-exists with some other training programmes in the sector. This will include liaison with professional, training organisations.

Production Of Professional Development Programme

The development of the training will consist of the creation, piloting and refinement of a number of modules, including governance, finance and public procurement. There will also probably be an induction module for newly recruited specialist staff. A first draft learning framework has already been developed.

There will be pilot workshops in three regions where sample training materials for both programmes, will be tested with business advisors and managers. They will be invited to give feedback to fine tune the modules and the materials to their needs. It will culminate in a brief report, setting out the scope and contents of the modules in the context of the QCA standards.

As well as a full professional development programme we will also develop an awareness-raising programme. This will be delivered to Business Link, local authority and other staff throughout GB, in conjunction with the Small Business Service, the Local Government Association and their equivalents in Scotland and Wales. We will also negotiate with accreditation bodies to ensure that the assessment strategies are acceptable to them and to ensure that the programme is fully accredited. We will analyse the pros and cons of different delivery methods (e.g. online, workplace training, away from the workplace training, residentials, mentoring/buddying) and then decide which of them to pursue.

Training The Trainers

The aim of the project is to create a professional development and training programme that is self-sustaining. As well as resources this needs a cohort of trainers that can deliver the programme, preferably based in the regions. We will therefore support the development of a network of trainers qualified to deliver and take forward the programme.

4. A Programme of Learning from Abroad  [top]

Through our partnership with two networks of social enterprise bodies spanning Italy, Germany, Sweden and Greece (Le Mat, and Squares), we will identify initiatives and practice in Europe which assist learning in England, Wales and Scotland, and arrange knowledge & skills exchange visits and seminars for practitioners and support agencies from the social enterprise sector. For more information, see Transnational Projects. (link this to 2c. transnational projects)