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Many organisations can claim to make a difference but struggle to find a method of demonstrating their impact clearly. In an effort to address this, Forth Sector Development is pleased to announce the launch of the Scottish Governments SROI Project. The aim is to develop, promote and support the use of a standard form of measuring social return on investment (SROI) and will be run in conjunction with the SROI Network UK.
SROI allows an organisation to look at the service it provides, measure the difference the activity makes to stakeholders and report on the impact using financial comparators or ‘proxies’. The SROI Project will be taken forward between 2009-2011 and will be centred on a major engagement programme, with seminars, workshops and pilot studies as well as the production of an interactive website, indicator bank and training programme.
For full details please visit the Forth Sector Development website.
Leading UK social entrepreneur, Lord Andrew Mawson was made a welcome guest at The Soap Co during a visit organised by the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition. Founder of the renowned Bromley by Bow Centre in East London, Lord Mawson was in Edinburgh to promote his book ‘The Social Entrepreneur; Making Communities Work’. The Soap Co thoroughly enjoyed his visit and the opportunity to engage with him in an interesting discussion regarding the challenges encompassing social enterprise. Lord Mawson was very impressed with the work of The Soap Co, something to be proud of given his standing in the social sector.
Lord Andrew Mawson, pictured with Antonia Swinson of the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition (left) and Mairi Wilson, Business Manager of The Soap Co.
Forth Sector are proud to announce that the organisation has been awarded the Social Enterprise of the Year 2008 at the Edge Upstarts Awards. Over fifty social enterprises from across the UK were nominated for the awards with the winner announced at the awards ceremony in London on the 18th of June. Liz Wrench of The Soap Co collected the award on behalf of Forth Sector and is pictured below with Ed Balls MP, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and also Edward Stourton from Radio 4.
The Edge Upstarts awards recognise excellence in all aspects of social enterprise and aim to showcase businesses that offer innovative and sustainable solutions to social issues. The Social Enterprise of the Year award identifies organisations that clearly represent the qualities and attributes of a successful social enterprise. Forth Sector was specifically judged upon the transferability of the business model, sustainability and community impact. For more information about the awards please use the following link: Edge Upstarts - Skills for Enterprise : Edge Upstarts
Agnieszka Swida, Liz Wrench and Neal Mackay after collecting the award.
In March, City of Edinburgh Council hosted the visit of a delegation from the Chongqing Civil Affairs Bureau. During the visit Neal Mackay, Marketing and External Relations Director, outlined the work of Forth Sector’s social firms with a presentation which was warmly received.
Medy Wang, Education Marketing & Society Officer with British Council China, expressed her appreciation of the overview of social enterprise and case studies of Forth Sector. She added that, although the concept of social enterprise was new to the Chinese delegation, it has generated great interest and is going to be further investigated in the future:
“The British Council China region is planning a 3-year InterAction and Social Enterprise project which is about leadership training to community leaders in China including skills to establish social enterprises.”
So, watch this space… we may end up replicating Six Mary’s Place in Beijing!
How can you really run a business specifically to deliver a social or environmental purpose?
And why is it worth around £2bn to the Scottish economy?
These, along with many others, were some of the questions Forth Sector were helping to answer recently at an event organised to promote social enterprise to the private sector. Titled "Thinking Outside The Box" the exhibition, organised by the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, provided a great opportunity for Forth Sector to showcase the services of our social firms to a wide range of Chamber Members and other enterprises.
With guest speakers and a variety of social enterprises exhibiting there was a relaxed atmosphere to the event with many interested parties eager to hear about our social firms and how they operate. The result was some great feedback for our businesses with some genuine surprise at the level of professionalism shown and the success we have achieved.
There was some further good news for Forth Sector as the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition used the event to publish a new booklet which included a profile of the relationship between Parkview Laundry and the Scottish Rugby Union. Parkview was chosen for its strong track record of innovative work with the private sector and the profile reads as an excellent testimony to the hard work of the laundry staff. You can read the full article here:
A Community of Business Article feb08
Jim Mather MSP, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism visited Six Mary's Place Guest House on 23rd January. The visit, organised by the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition, consisted of a working breakfast and a short tour of the guest house.
Jim Mather MSP and Mike Finlayson, CEO of Forth Sector.
Building on its considerable success, WorkSPACE has returned for a third programme and we are now recruiting. It is an employability programme designed especially to fill in the gap between receiving benefits and returning to work. It includes a work placement, job searching skills, CV building, personal development and benefits advice. You receive support throughout the whole process and it doesn’t affect your benefits.
Who is it for?
WorkSPACE is for people who:
- Have been unemployed for over 2 years
- Have experienced a mental health problem
- Are in receipt of Incapacity Benefit, or Income Support with a disability premium
- Are able and keen to engage in a 15 hour a week programme
WorkSPACE has received high praise as a great employment solution for people with mental health problems and so far the programme has helped 4 people return into mainstream employment. In addition, we currently have a further 4 people who are set to add to this success by returning to mainstream employment in the near future.
We now require 8 trainees for the forthcoming programme. If you think you are eligible or if you know anyone who could benefit from this great opportunity then please get in touch. For more information or an informal chat contact Alison Stocks on 0131 659 4710 or email alison.stocks@forthsector.org.uk. You can also download full details of the programme here:
WorkSPACE Full Details
On 20 November, Forth Sector hosted the official launch of Social Return on Investment (SROI) studies on their social firm, Six Mary’s Place Guest House and Forth Sector Restart. With a great turnout on the day, the event has certainly been a success.
The event focused on the SROI model in the context of those studies and on how it can be used to demonstrate how investment into social enterprise can bring significant savings to the NHS and the Government. Additionally, the delegates had the opportunity to discuss SROI as a powerful tool that can be used not only by social enterprise organisations but also by funders and investors as well as the government and the NHS to assess the social and environmental impact of organisations.
The full version of the report is available to download from the resources section of our website. If you would like to speak to someone at Forth Sector about SROI, please contact Forth Sector Development on 0131 659 4730.
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