The School for Social Entrepreneurs

Friday round-up: entrepreneurs, ethiscores, e-stuff, etc

SSE is going on its residential this coming week: 90+ people descending from London, Liverpool, Fife, East Midlands, and Ireland to Dartington in Devon for a three-day learning session and networking. So don't expect too much blogging before Thursday (although if I get a connection / time, I'll try). Final swift run through news / links of interest...

- NESTA are running a series of articles from entrepreneurs (sponsored by BVCA: venture capitalists) which asks them that all important question, "what do you wish you'd known?" The first is from Peter Denyer (pdf).

- We often discuss scale on this blog, and the very few examples of successful scaling in this movement. So what happens to those ethical businesses who get taken over by the big players? Here's an interesting article examining exactly that, and giving them an 'ethiscore' for before and after takeover....

- More on technology and how online and offline need to work together: 'Is the information society a community catalyst or community liability?'

- On the same subject: Netsquared UK might be in the offing (web 2.0 meets social innovation?), although what the "third sector is broken" means remains a mystery to me. Lots more written about this on the bloggers that Nick Booth links to....

- Apples are Square. Meaning, apparently, that leadership qualities have changed: from 'control and compete' to 'service, humility, transparency, inclusiveness'. Check here for more.

- Much mention of the third sector in Parliament recently (my TheyWorkForYou alerts have been working overtime). VolNews points us to the debate about the third sector review, which apparently lasted 5 hours, and plucks out some highlights (Community Champions fund, or lack of therein, amongst them).

- Provocative title, shocking statistics, important debate: Philanthropy doesn't care about black people

- And finally, the Times have an Enterprise Network...who will offer you advice and wisdom.

Have a great weekend...

FOOTSEY 100: social enterprise in God's country

"Welcome to God's country", said one delegate to me over lunch, and I did feel welcome indeed. I've been meaning for a while to write down my reflections on the Footsey 100, officially the largest Social Enterprise Trade Fair in the UK. Held in York, at the racecourse, this was the 6th Footsey (the 'sey' of which stands for social enterprise yorkshire) and it has increased in profile and numbers each year. This year, over 100 organisations were represented, with nigh on 6-700 delegates depending on who you spoke to.

Generally, the event had a great dynamism to it. Whether this was because it emphasises the 'trade fair' rather than 'conference' aspect of the event, or simply because there is so much going on in the region, I can't say. But the buzz was palpable, and it was great to see the range of organisations and ventures on view: social firms, student-led initiatives, local-authority backed projects, regional CDFIs, CICs, development trusts of all sorts, shapes and sizes. Practitioners far outnumbered support agencies, funders and policymakers, which makes a big difference (learning, perhaps, for other large scale social enterprise events who shall remain nameless)...and the focus was on business and networking, not lectures.

Highlights for me? The Dragon's Den, which is now seemingly a feature of every social enterprise event, was done as well as I've ever seen it. Genuine cash on the table (from Adventure Capital Fund), heavy metal music to whip up the atmosphere, and a presenter/host who took great (almost unhealthy) pleasure in announcing "THE NEXT VICTIM" at many decibels. The panel grilled effectively, and the pitches were varied and interesting (a dog-walking social enterprise was a new one on me)....congratulations to Pit Stop, who won the day for their re-use/regeneration of a plot of land for their alternative educational activities.

I also enjoyed running into Mike Chitty  of the Progressive Manager's Network, who's doing some really interesting work at the Goodwin Development Trust (who'd won an Enterprising Solution award in London the evening before; amazing organisation simply getting things done). And Chris Hill and Kristy Swift at the Camberwell Project...I'd met their colleague Todd Hannula (and linked to his blog a few times), and it was great to hear about the building-related projects and activities they're developing. And much more networking besides....

It was interesting to note that, despite the size of the event, no politicians were present (though Ed Miliband appeared through the power of video). But, in a sense, this was in keeping with the day: the event embodied a maturing, vibrant regional movement, and was a celebration and recognition of that. It needed no political figure to endow it with authority or credibility on the day.

Lowlights were few and far between, although the tannoy was capable of deafening a rhino at 50 paces at times, and lunch briefly threatened to turn into a scrum before the doors opened. But those were minor blips on a really encouraging, enlightening day. It provided a very different view, and refreshingly grounded contrast, to the awards the previous evening in London. This movement, though, encompasses and includes, in all regions of the UK, and is all the stronger for it.

Finally, big congratulations to the organisers, primarily New Start, and sponsors, who you can read about here. SSE will be back there next year: look forward to seeing you there.

Wednesday round-up: patients, Plunkett, yoga and innovation.

Swift mid-week news round-up:

- SSE Fellow Paul Hodgkin's organisation Patient Opinion (which we wrote about here) has won funding under NESTA's Mental Health Innovation stream. Read more in William Heath's post here.

- The Plunkett Foundation are running the 7th Rural Social Enterprise Conference...should be a good event: they are an organisation that shares a similar mindset to SSE on social entrepreneurship. Nov 28th-29th in Cambridgeshire

- The first CIC in Northern Ireland is a yoga provider; something you might not have seen on the front page....

- Gordon D'Silva, the social entrepreneur behind Training For Life, is on TV tonight, talking about saving a building in my old stomping ground of Brent in North-West London. BBC1, 7.30pm, Inside Out (viewable for 7 days after transmission online)

- The Innovation Exchange website has kicked off with some most, ahem, excellent guest bloggers.

- Do we need leaders? Discuss....

- Here's a great list of environmental blogs, if you are ecologically-inclined....

Cheers...

I Am An Activist: Anita Roddick's memorial

My boss and several other people from the movement are heading off this evening to a memorial event for Anita Roddick, which will involve a march and a celebration under the banner "I Am An Activist".

It's an interesting word to choose, and very much in keeping with what she was about. As she famously said: "Do something. Anything." Got me thinking about the time when someone said to me that who I was describing sounded like a community activist, not a social entrepreneur; as if there were clear boundaries between the two, and well-defined archetypes of each. A great number of SSE students and Fellows are, at a fundamental level, activists. After all, a key characteristic of an entrepreneur is that they are prone to action rather than reflection: that they, basically, do stuff.

In this article related to the memorial event, Simon Fanshawe rails against those who claim to be doing their bit by clicking their mouse or going to a concert. And I have to agree largely. There's a huge amount of  what is called "Slacktivism" going around, currently perpetuated by large scale events with the word Live in or by countless social networking sites. Facebook won't solve social ills; nor will MySpace or Bebo or the next grand social networking site to come along. Nor will a big concert. What they might help do is connect, network and fund activists and social entrepreneurs who are doing things; not passively consuming them. I'm as much a lover of new technology as anyone, but let's not kid ourselves that this blog, podcasts or groovy new web 2.0 sites are going to change anything without offline activities that inspire, identify and support activists committed to making change in the real world. People who really can say "I am an activist" and know it's true.

"This is no dress rehearsal. You’ve got one life, so just lead it and try and be remarkable."
Anita Roddick

Swearing reduces stress and builds the team

I'm a sucker for oddball bits of research that somehow get funded and then make their way through to the real world (check out previous Ig Nobel winners for some gems like "Sword Swallowing and its Side Effects" and "Why woodpeckers don't get headaches"). Last week, a marvellous bit of leadership / workplace-related research came to light, with the title of "Swearing at work and permissive leadership culture: when anti-social becomes social and incivility is acceptable".

Basically, the research says that letting people swear can both reduce stress and also improve a sense of solidarity in the workplace. As this news item reported, the study stated that:

"Employees use swearing on a continuous basis, but not necessarily in a negative, abusive manner. Swearing was [seen] as a social phenomenon to reflect solidarity and enhance group cohesiveness, or as a psychological phenomenon to release stress"

Obviously, this isn't encouraged in front of customers (or, one might add, trustees / directors). As the Guardian adds somewhat needlessly, "But great care is needed. Swearing that is discriminatory is out. Employers have a duty of care so that staff have a reasonable working environment."

Needless to say, the SSE office is blasphemy and expletive-free.

Enterprising Solutions, cocktails and museums

A brief overview of the Enterprising Solutions awards which took place last Wednesday. Divine Chocolate was the overall winner (you can read about all the winners here on SEC's website) with McSence, Haven, Women Like Us and Goodwin Development Trust also picking up prizes. Congratulations to all, and to the organisers for an impressively smoothly run event: no doubt their celebrations went on into the early hours (at least that looked where it was heading... :0).

The event was at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is an extraordinary venue....and not a little imposing. Nevertheless, there was a good buzz and an air of confidence about proceedings which meant that it didn't overwhelm guests or overshadow the event. I'd spent the afternoon with the Ambassadors and they were pretty much all there, along with the new minister Phil Hope and all the usual suspects. I spent sometime chatting to Dave "Intelligent Giving" Pitchford and Cathy "Third Sector Research guru" Pharoah, who (combined) know more than most about the ins and outs of the charity world, particularly the funding and fundraising world. [Cathy actually came into our building last week to deliver a seminar on future sector trends, which I'll try and write up soon]

Little else to report, really: I couldn't possibly confirm the rumour that one prominent sector figure skipped the awards presentation and found him/her-self alone with all the booze; that would be scurrilous. Nor that the compere was far from being without compare... I can confirm that it was a successful event at a better venue (no popcorn at the iMax this year) which displayed the confidence of the movement, and that a good time was had by all....and no doubt many of you read further in the Observer supplement on Sunday. Of course, those of us who were going to York the next day (of which more soon) barely partook in any drinking at all....

We are really spoiling you: ambassadors announced

As trailed at the end of last week: the Social Enterprise Ambassadors have been announced in full (check out the link). Great mix of people from across regions, sectors, stages of organisation etc....and some fantastic and inspiring people to promote the movement. Huge congrats to all those who've been selected...and also a hearty well done to all those who got through to the final 50: you were all great, and it was (as all judges say), an extraordinarily difficult task to whittle the numbers down.

Anyway, no doubt there will be more press and media to come (see here and here already), and the website has much more to come as well....but outstanding work by Tim + Claudia at Society Media to get it up and running so quickly. See SSE's take on it here...

Friday round-up: Ferrero Rocher, Facebook, and Fellows

It's Friday, it's 6pm, it can mean only one thing: the weekly round-up of news....

- On Monday, the Ambassadors will be announced...watch this space for Ferrero Rochers etc.

- Here's a big catalogue of measurement and evaluation tools and guides and kits and blah for the 3rd sector

- What are the top 12 nonprofit Facebook apps? These are. Now you can clutter your Facebook page with worthy stuff as well as pirates and zombies.

- If the entry before didn't make sense, SSE Fellow Jude Habib is running a web 2.0 seminar (pdf) for third sector orgs...

- Apparently, there was some shenanigans in the world of politics this past week or two. Amongst the copycat and namecalling antics, the sector remained pretty much as was.

- Al Gore has won the Nobel Peace Prize, don't you know.....

- Good books and magazines for social entrepreneurs? Any suggestions? Happy to add to our SSE Links / Resources pages...

- I missed this article about SSE Fellow Michelle Baharier's Cooltan Arts project the other week. Great stuff.

- Inheritance tax isn't the big property issue: estate agents' (realtors, US readers) carbon footprint, that's the issue. Which makes Pedal to Properties a work of genius.

On which note I bid you farewell and a happy weekend......

Natural death for a new life; or why to walk your talk

No matter what interaction I have with SSE students, about evaluation, online stuff, replication, publications etc., only one thing seems to stand out for some of them: that I used to work at the Natural Death Centre. This did not, as one friend 'jokingly' introduced me at a party once, involve me "putting people down", but giving independent funeral advice to the public, particularly around ecologically-friendly funerals. It's a wonderful, tiny organisation that deserves much more support; and it was a great experience working there.

I mention that because last week was the farewell / celebration drinks of a long-term volunteer at NDC, Billy. Farewell and celebration because, after over 5 years as a volunteer, he's got a job at a funeral directors in Kilburn. Over the years, along with many others, Billy kept us going, sane, amused, caffeinated and, most of all, able to do what we did (as well as doing the majority of the crossword). What was great about the evening was also seeing three other volunteers who we'd taken on at the NDC: Jo, who is now a marketing executive at RNID; Paul, who works for HTEN in Hackney; and Mike, who now runs the NDC. All now fully employed in the third sector, along with Steph, my former colleague, who is now involved with an initiative called Bags Of Change (like a loyalty card crossed with a bag for life: check it out).

As I went home, it occurred to me anew that my old organisation embodied one argument we've been making about social enterprise/entrepreneurship: that it's as much about the change that comes about through and within organisations as the change that is delivered by them to beneficiaries. Which is why scaling up social impact is not just about bigger organisations. The NDC, largely funded by sales of its own in-house publications, has helped thousands of people with independent advice and practical help over the years. But its impact has also been through its organisational values and culture: as Billy put it more eruditely than I could, "an empathy and understanding towards people" that extended inwards as well as outwards. And his journey (volunteer, publishing graduate, Helena Kennedy Foundation mentor, funeral assistant) is just one example of that.

We got a lot of things wrong at NDC ('we' meaning 'I') and learned a lot in the process, but one thing I do think we got right, and for which I claim no credit at all, is instilling a culture of support, of certain values, and of understanding, that remains to this day. Being sincere, genuine and authentic in the way you operate can bring benefits that are sometimes not instantly obvious; but sometimes, as at Billy's drinks on Friday, they become all too apparent.

Innovation Exchange launch

SSE was just at the Innovation Exchange launch (website launches for real on Friday) which was at NESTA. NESTA have decided to stump up £200k development cash for the InnovEx programme as well, which was announced at the event by their chief exec Jonathan Kestenbaum.

He was followed by Glenys Thornton, who talked of "relating ambition to the lived experience" and said many a thank you, as befitted her role as chair of the exchange.

Next up was Valerie Hannon, Director of the Innovation Unit (who, along with ACEVO and Headshift, are the three constituent partners). She explained the nuts and bolts of the approach and how it would work...namely 2 Innovation Networks (to start with) around particular themes (living independently and excluded young people) followed by 2 Next Practice Programmes to further develop ideas / projects. With a mix of investment, development, advice, challenge etc. One key point is the emphasis on the supply as well as the demand side (aka commissioners and funders). The two themes were selected because they were a) high up in public priorities b) had high innovation potential in the 3rd sector and c) had the potential for investment.

We then heard from 4 individual innovators.

Julie Dent talked about her work within and without the NHS (including, memorably, kimono-style gowns to ensure "old men's bottoms" aren't on full display). Her tips for success included the question of ownership and that more money may not be the answer.

Colin Crooks, of Green Works, discussed how they'd addressed market failure and how "accidental networking" had helped them achieve what they had. in classic entrepreneurial style, he also put a call out to invest in a new strand of work....

Hilary Simon, of the Southwark Pensioners Centre, emphasised the need for long-term planning and sustainability, and how a people-centred approach could help develop services from the bottom-up.

Then Neil McIntosh of CfBT explored the difficulties of remaining innovative whilst selling services to government. The answer? Being true to your mission (and, crucially, having the resources to allow you to stay true, scale up, be bold, and do research). He also had a direct message for government to get their people moving in the right direction...

Which led neatly on to Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, who I found quite engaging (first time I'd seen him speak) and sound. He had a nice line about having spent the weekend delivering 6,000 leaflets, "somewhat unnecessarily as it turned out" to open, and then continued from there. Nothing revelatory, but detailed various policies and programmes (social investment bank, 3 yr contracts, full cost recovery) and drew attention to the 3rd sector's history of innovation, which he put down to its independence of mind, value-driven purpose, and dogged optimism. He ended by saying that 3rd sector orgs could now choose to be a campaigner, a deliverer or an innovator....or a combination of all three.

It's an exciting initiative, but everyone was keenly aware that everything seems exciting at this point...the devil will be in the detail of the delivery. It was a good turnout, with a good mix of people (government, funders, support agencies, second tier policy networks, think tanks etc), so join the website on Friday (no doubt a link will appear on the blog) and watch the space....