Dear ,

A reminder to all members: SENScot will be holding an online Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) next Friday, 27^th May 2022 at 10.30am. The EGM is being called following Scottish Govt’s decision to defund SENScot as of 30^th June 2022 - in favour of a new enhanced Single National Intermediary. An update on SENScot’s current position will be provided as well as the latest information on discussions with Scottish Govt and Social Enterprise Scotland in relation to the new Single Intermediary. A special resolution will be put to members to vote on – ‘to seek members’ approval on the charity continuing after the main operations cease at end of June 2022’. Hopefully, as many members as possible will be able participate. To register, see link above.

SENScot Board would like to clarify some mixed messages with regard to the Transition Group (TG), being set up to help shape the new Single Intermediary. SENScot has accepted an invitation to be represented on the Transition Group and will continue to engage fully and constructively in this process. Our goal will be to ensure that the Single Intermediary genuinely reflects the make-up of the social enterprise community in Scotland in its governance, representation and activities – and that the findings of the Transition Group are shared openly with SES members and the wider sector as well as being ratified by the membership.

Next year, 2023, DTA Scotland will celebrate its 20^th anniversary. Today, it has a membership of over 300 development trusts covering just about every part of Scotland – and has established itself as one of Scotland’s leading community sector intermediaries. In essence, development trusts are community-led organisations using a combination of enterprise and creativity to improve quality of life for local people in town, urban, rural and island communities across Scotland. In advance of their 20^th birthday, they have produced this very helpful guide to setting up a development trust – including a raft of tips and information on how to get started.

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Over recent months, we’ve been linking to Pioneers Post’s serialisation of Freer Spreckley’s new book, ‘Essential Social Enterprise’ – which looks at six core ‘essentials’ of social enterprise. This week sees the fifth instalment on the theme of ‘Social Wealth’. With its roots in the seven principles of the Co-op movement, Social Wealth should be a core value for any social enterprise through its approach to common ownership, democracy, supply chain decisions and the use of financial surpluses to support community wellbeing. As always, it’s worth a read.

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Interesting article in TFN by Jane Deary, CEO at Spark, the Livingston-based social enterprise, that challenges some of the common preconceptions about volunteering. With so many small, locally-based social enterprises being encouraged to recruit volunteers and /or board members from the professional/corporate class, Jane reminds us that the ‘white saviour’ approach is not always about altruism – citing research that shows volunteering also to be a useful career move. Jane’s contention is that this approach only serves to reinforce many of the inequalities that continue to exist. Spark’s commitment to involving non-traditional volunteers, reflecting the diversity of its community was instrumental in it being the first organisation in Scotland to be awarded Diversity Scotland’s Gold Charter Mark.

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Dundee SEN is a full partner in the local Dundee Third Sector Interface (TSI) – as is Glasgow SEN in Glasgow, and Edinburgh SE in Edinburgh. This week, the three representative bodies for the third sector in Dundee announced that they have renewed their joint working partnership for the next three years. See Press Release – and photo. With funding and ongoing support for local SENs very much up in the air at the moment, this is good news for both social enterprises and the wider third sector in the city.

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Another piece from Pioneers Post – and one for the social finance brigade. SE UK has, in our view, tended to be over deferential to the likes of Big Society Capital (BSC) and the wider social finance community. It was encouraging to hear, therefore, the Adebowale Commission on Social Investment Report (Jan 2022) stating that the social investment market in the UK had ‘lost its focus’ and was in need of urgent reform. Last week, Big Society Capital (BSC),the wholesale bank for social investment in UK, responded to this criticism with this announcement – but, this week, SE UK has come back,  suggesting that the announcement was ‘disappointing’ and ‘not reasonable’. Good to see SE UK showing some metal.

Community Enterprise has commissioned an independent evaluation of their work. It is keen to to find out the difference it has made/is making and, importantly, how it can improve upon this. To participate, there are two distinct surveys – one for partner and stakeholder organisations, and another for clients or beneficiaries (past or present). It’s encouraging to see one of our key ‘delivery organisations’ reaching out to see how it can serve the sector better.

Stirling Highland Games are co-ordinated by event management organisation and Cultural SEN member, Ceangail. This year’s event takes place on Saturday, 20^th August – and includes a ‘Plant a Tree’ initiative, and help breathe new life into Scotland’s native woodlands. Visitors, athletes, suppliers, traders and other stakeholders involved with the Games are all being encouraged to contribute £6 to plant a tree. See Press Release for full details:

The Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) is holding its 2022 Policy Forum next week – 24^th-26^th May. The event is free to attend. See link for programme details and to register etc:

DTA Scotland’s Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) was set up to support community based groups in Scotland take a stake in or ownership of previously publicly owned land or buildings. COSS is currently looking to recruit an Advisor (f/t) – to contribute to the development and delivery of its service, in particular supporting community transfer, acquisition and development of assets – land and buildings. Closing date is 6^th June 2022:

Tuesday, 24^th May 2022 (2pm) - Health & Community Food SENs session – looking at opportunities and support for members post July 2022. Speakers, so far, will include Community Food Health Scotland / Public Health Scotland, SCHW, CHEX, Outside the Box Development. Contact mary@senscot.net to book your place:

Thursday, 26^th May 2022 (11am – 4pm) – Eat Sleep Ride CIC is hosting a Community Learning Exchange, titled Creating Conversations for a Diverse and Inclusive Community, See links for more info and to book you place:

Thursday, May 26^th 2022 (1pm) - Employability SEN Session:  Opportunities and Support: Join us at our final Employability SEN session to look at the opportunities and support available for Employability SEN members specifically in relation to employability.  There will be a range of speakers who will outline their role in employability and the support they can offer.  There will be time for questions and for members to highlight the support they require going forward.  The session will also take the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the impact of our Employability SEN members. To book your place, email jayne@senscot.net:

Tuesday, 7^th June 2022 (10am-2.30pm) – The Larder, in West Lothian, is hosting an ‘in person’ Community Learning Exchange that will focus on three particular learning outcomes: how to create a diverse funding base; how to create meaningful opportunities for individuals with barriers to work; and how to develop an economic and socially sustainable model, particularly in relation to food-related enterprises. Place are limited to one person per organisation. See link for more info and to book your place: