Better supports Department for Education’s Skills for Life campaign this January

When you become a Social Enterprise UK member, you’re joining the world’s largest social enterprise network! You can join us either as a social enterprise or as an organisation that supports them. We’re running an introductory webinar three times in the year, where you can find out how membership can add value to your business. We’ve sessions dedicated to organisations that are social enterprises and those looking to partner with them to build on their ESG goals and enhance their procurement strategy. Each session is only 15 minutes long, giving you a brief but insightful overview of why your business should join our ever-growing movement. Webinars for social enterprises Find out the three main reasons why your social enterprise should join us. 25 February, 10am – REGISTER HERE 3 June, 10am – REGISTER HERE 9 September, 10am – REGISTER HERE Webinars for organisations who support social enterprises Discover how joining our network can help you build on your ESG goals. 27 February, 10am – REGISTER HERE 5 June, 10am – REGISTER HERE 11 Sept, 10am – REGISTER HERE

More diversity at leadership level could mean more money for the economy. Our latest report found that social enterprises are playing their part – particularly those led by women.  Whatever your views on the diversity of Britain's workforce, there's a good reason to consider the findings from our last State of Social Enterprise report: it's been estimated that better gender and ethnic diversity in executive teams would be good for the economy.  For example, the business charity Business in the Community has worked out that race equality could boost the UK economy by £24 billion per year, which works out at an incredible £481 million a week. For anyone interested in economic growth like this, our deep dive into diversity amongst social enterprises should make for interesting reading.   Beyond the bottom line, more diversity can help stimulate a culture that draws on the experiences, perspectives and knowledge of different groups. Embracing different views and nurturing talent, while combatting biases and prejudices that can hold a business back, can contribute to a better business culture and enhance performance. When we interviewed more than 700 social entrepreneurs, their answers around the diversity of their businesses were incredibly revealing.  Social enterprises lead the way when it comes to representation on staff and leadership teams. More social enterprises are led by women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds than is the case for the wider business community. More than half of social enterprises are run by women (59%) and they’re making more than double the money of their male counterparts; average reported profits among women-led social enterprises are £160,000 compared to £70,000 by those led by men. For comparison, in the wider business community, just 18% of SMEs are run by women.   Another result that leaped out from the report is that one in every 20 businesses run by someone from an ethnic minority background in the UK is a social enterprise. Social enterprise leadership is closer to representing the national ethnicity makeup of the UK than the rest of the business world. The UK’s last census (in 2021) found that 18% of the population is from an ethnic minority background and our research found that 13% of social enterprise leaders identify as being so. In the wider business community, just 6% of leaders are from an ethnic minority background.  Social enterprises strive to address different social challenges and lead the way when it comes to representation on staff and leadership teams. Further, a substantial proportion actively tackle issues of gender and racial discrimination as their core social mission.  While there are several reasons to be optimistic about the contribution social enterprises make to a more diverse and representative workforce, challenges remain. As with all businesses led by women and people from minoritised groups, there remain concerns that certain social enterprises can face persistent barriers that hold their business back. The Adebowale Commission on Social Investment, for example, found that Black-led social enterprises faced a disproportionate struggle to access and secure financial support from social investment firms.  Black female-led social enterprises are significantly less likely to raise finance sought than the average, and female-led social enterprises are less confident that their organisations have the required skills to secure finance and investment.  It is critical that we improve our understanding of the challenges experienced by different groups within the social enterprise community. Through improving diversity and representation across social enterprise, economic gains can be made, and the ability of social enterprises to recognise and meet the needs of the communities they serve can be strengthened.   This report explores data collected by the Social Enterprise Knowledge Centre – in particular the State of Social Enterprise, the largest UK survey of social enterprises. It maps the demographic profile of social enterprises and explores differences in performance and experiences for women-led and ethnic minority-led businesses.  We’d really love your help with the next State of Social Enterprise, which we’ll be compiling this year. In February we’ll be launching our biannual survey, which is open to all social enterprises. It will give us more valuable data to help showcase the difference social enterprises are making. If you’d like us to send you the survey, let us know here.  

Towards mission-driven procurement systems Our Social Value Leaders’ Summit on Wednesday 26 March in central London, brings together senior leaders and decision-makers from across the public, private and social enterprise sectors to discuss, debate and shape the future of social value. With the Procurement Act coming into effect on 24 February and the new National Procurement Statement set to give social value an important role in the contracting process, this year will see the biggest changes to how government spends its money in a generation. This ninth Social Value Leaders’ Summit will look at how we make the most of this opportunity focusing on: The role of voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations (VCSEs) in delivering mission-driven procurement How social value can deliver economic growth Improving public services Tackling regional inequalities Keynote speakers will be announced soon. The Summit is an invite-only event for leaders in the social value space. If you’re looking to increase the positive social and environmental impact of the goods and services you procure, or are a VCSE with a track record of social value delivery you can express your interest in attending by filling out this form. The Summit forms part of our Social Value 2032 programme and is supported by our Partners: Anthony Collins, Jacobs and PwC. This ambitious project looks at how we can embed social value across all public sector procurement and influence the spending of the UK’s largest companies. If you are interested to know more about the partnership or Summit sponsorship please contact jennifer.exon@socialenterprise.org.uk