Dear ,

Earlier this month, SENScot hosted a session with SEN members to collate views and opinions to inform a SEN response to Scottish Govt’s current consultation on Ending the Need for Foodbanks. With responses invited by Tuesday, 25^th January 2022, SENScot submitted this Response on behalf of SEN members, in the hope that the voices of frontline social enterprises can be heard in shaping the Draft National Plan. With over 20 organisations participating in the original session, the SEN joint response has sought to focus on key issues raised during the session with members. These included: the complexity of the issue; the need to facilitate culture change; and how to increase community engagement. SEN members were clear that this was far more than just about ‘access to finance’ – and that to make any genuine impact, broader societal difficulties also need to be addressed. Social enterprises – working on the frontline – are well-placed to share ideas with Govt on the ‘holistic support’ that is required – and would welcome further discussion with Scottish Govt. Another important response to the consultation, and certainly one of the most significant, has come from the Everyone Home collective – a grouping of 36 organisations engaged in addressing homelessness in Scotland. With a long history of food provision, the collective members have invaluable learning and experience to share.  See the Everyone Home Response.

With a number of Scottish local authorities adopting a Community Wealth Building (CWB) approach, a new report from Scottish Rural Action, InspirAlba and the David Hume Institute explores how this approach would need to be applied in rural and island communities. The report - Community Wealth Building in Rural and Island Scotland – comes to some very clear conclusions. It points to the need for a more radical approach: CWB must be comprehensive and for the long term; to be truly effective, it must be applied from the bottom up, making the approach fit people and communities rather than constraining people and communities within a limited and rigid top-down approach. It must also be recognised as a cross-cutting agenda and embedded not only in economic policy, but also in the National Planning Framework (NPF4), in the National Transport Strategy (NTS2), in climate policy, land reform and community empowerment.

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Still on Community Wealth Building (CWB),  this article in Responsible Finance looks at the importance of ‘non-profit financial institutions’ in making CWB effective. If, at its heart, CWB is about redirecting wealth back into the local economy, an important element in this is increasing access to fairer finance for community and social enterprises - organisations which will be crucial in maximising the impact of CWB. The article highlights the key role to be played by Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) and Credit Unions. One particular example is the CDFI, Scottish Communities Finance, which uses Community Bonds to raise finance from local people that is then made available for local social enterprises.   This is, in effect, community wealth building in action.

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Last autumn, this newsletter promoted the work of Outside the Box (OtB) – and its Co-Shadowing pilot. With interest growing in Co-shadowing and  OtB’s virtual drop-in sessions, they have now made resources available to download on their website. These are informed by suggestions people shared to help get started and include, ‘Co-shadowing Examples’ and ‘Co-shadowing: Benefits & Outcomes’. SENScot will continue to work with Outside the Box to host more information sessions as this work develops.

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An important part of the work of sportscotland with local communities in recent years has been their Changing Lives through Sport and Physical Activity. The programme was designed to better address wider individual and community needs through sport & physical activity and support them to become and stay active. The current cycle is coming to an end and sportscotland is now tendering for the next phase of work – due to begin in April 2022. Tender details can be found on the Public Contracts Scotland website -  and organisations wishing to view the documents will need to be registered on PCS and then 'record their interest' in the tender. The tender is open until 24^th February 2022.

Big week ahead for Glasgow SEN member, Glasgow Wood Recycling. Next Tuesday 1^st February – sees the launch of their new website, including a new identity as well as a new retail space. The new space - the re-modelled ‘Bay F’- will feature all of their indoor and outdoor stock products. As part of the launch week, a series of special promotions will also be available. You can see the latest updates via their social media channels – Facebook Instagram Twitter:

West Lothian SEN (WLSEN) is launching a new signposting service for adults in West Lothian who have been experiencing poor mental health. WLSEN is working with local partners providing mental health services across West Lothian, providing people with information that can connect them with the most appropriate services for them when they need it. This ground-breaking initiative is being supported by West Lothian Council, NHS Lothian’s HSCP and SENScot. More details about project delivery will be available - once the project is properly up and running:

Community and social enterprises in the South of Scotland can benefit from a new collaboration between South of Scotland Enterprise and the Social Enterprise Academy. The programme will focus on developing leadership and governance skills – bringing together 100 people from across the south of Scotland, to share experiences with other community leaders and expand their social capital:

Following the success of its 2021 offer of free Collaboration or Procurement health checks to 10 enterprising third sector organisations, P4P is delighted to be able to repeat the offer this year. A further 10 organisations in Scotland will have the opportunity to access a free Collaboration or Procurement health check during February. If you are interested, please email yvonne@p4p.org.uk by Monday the 31 January 2022:

Reminder 1: Edinburgh SE is holding its Annual General Meeting  this afternoon at 4.30pm. The event takes place at its newly refurbished premises at the Charteris Centre on the Pleasance – and will include a tour of their new ‘Social Enterprise Hub’. Also being given, naturally, will be a recap on events and activities during 2021 – as well as an update on plans for the year ahead. For more details, see link above:

Reminder 2: The International Social Enterprise Observatory (ISEO) is currently undertaking research designed to inform its future support offer. To do so, they are keen to hear from social enterprises that currently engage internationally – as well as those may be interested in doing so. If you’d like to get involved or find out more, please email Naomi Johnson:

Cultural SEN member, The Touring Network is now recruiting for a Network Development Manager (part-time). The successful candidate will be joining a small team with the task of nurturing and growing the network. The Network Development Manager will be the main point of contact for promoters and performers and committed to supporting and connecting people. Experience of working within a related sector, such as arts or charity management, training and volunteer support, ideally within the region it covers (Highlands & Islands, Perthshire, Argyll & Bute or Moray) will be a decided advantage. Closing date for applications is noon on Monday 21 February 2022:

With various SEN meetings scheduled over the coming weeks, we’ll be listing core details – dates, times, guest speakers etc – to keep people up to date with what’s on and when

Thursday, 3rd Feb 2022 (1pm) – Sport SEN Session is its first of 2022. We will be joined by Pauline Hinchion from Scottish Community Finance who will talk about how using Community Bonds can help organisations as they move towards NetZero. Also joining us is Kieran Daly from Social Investment Scotland (SIS) – who will provide an overview of SIS’ new Social Enterprise Net Zero Fund. As usual, members will be able to share their own updates - including plans for the year ahead and a discussion on topics for future SEN meetings and community learning exchanges. See link above to register:

Thursday, 10^th February 2022 (2pm) – Social Investment Scotland (SIS) is hosting a webinar that will go into more detail on two new Funds at the end of the year: The Recovery & Resilience Fund – targeted at larger charities and social enterprises looking for low-cost, long-term capital to shore up their reserves; and the Social Enterprise Net Zero Transition Fund, which aims to help social sector organisations take their first step, or continue, their journey to net zero. See Registration Form:

Wednesday 23^rd February (10.30am) - Fair Work in Practice. This session, jointly hosted by SENScot and SCVO, is designed to learn about and share Fair Work practices that social enterprises and the wider third sector have implemented within their organisation.  Speakers will talk through the Fair Work practices they have embraced. Scottish Govt will also provide an update on the Fair Work Nation consultation, and the upcoming refresh of the Fair Work Action Plan. See link for more details and to book your place: