Our vision is of a more equal society – we believe that social enterprise is our best chance of creating a fairer world and protecting the planet. Our mission is to achieve that through creating a favourable environment in which social enterprises can thrive.

 

We do this through:

• raising awareness of social enterprise with different audiences through communications, events and campaigns
• building the evidence base – research demonstrating how social enterprise makes a difference
• helping social enterprises learn from each other, network and share knowledge
• opening up markets in the private, public and social sectors to social enterprise
• advocacy with government at all levels to create a regulatory and policy environment that is supportive to social enterprise

We operate in line with our values which inform our decision-making and our approach:

• bold
• generous
• open
• collaborative
• entrepreneurial
• member-led

In short, we are the national voice for social enterprise.

 

Who We Are

 

• We are the leading global authority on social enterprise.
• We are the biggest network of social enterprises in the UK.
• We are a strategic partner to six government departments and have led public policy on social enterprise for 15 years.
• We have unrivalled business relationships working with some of the biggest companies in the UK to support social enterprise through their supply chains, people and networks.
• Our membership is a network that includes all the leading lights of the UK social enterprise movement from multi million pound health care and public service providers to community organisations and retail businesses.
• We have created the world’s largest commitment to social procurement through the Buy Social Corporate Challenge.

 

We are the membership body for social enterprise.

 

Our members aren’t just social enterprises. They also include private businesses, charities and public sector organisations who support our vision of a world where social enterprise is the usual way of doing business.