SE Network News - No 96

Dear ,

Save the date: SENScot is planning to hold a celebration event on Wednesday, 29 June 2022 in the afternoon. It will be held at the Centre for Executive Education (CEE2 on 1^st floor), Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA. We are grateful to our friends at the Yunus Centre for Social Business & Health at GCU for their support. This will be an opportunity for our current and former staff, board, members and partners to celebrate the significant achievements over 2 decades (pre & post-merger) of Social Firms Scotland and Senscot. More information over the coming weeks.

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Reminder to all members: SENScot is holding an online Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) tomorrow morning - 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 (SES) in relation to the new 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”. Over 50 members have already signed up. If you would like to join us, please see link (above) to register.

Further to last week’s piece on the Transition Group (TG), SES has now revealed the make-up of the Group. Chaired by Ian Welsh (formerly CEO at the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland), the Group includes Irene Mosota; John Halliday; Ailsa Clark; James Hilder; Yvonne Strachan; Angus Hardie; Jennifer Robertson; Claire Patullo; Martin Avila; and Polly Chapman. All Group members have extensive and varied experience of the social enterprise community across all parts of Scotland. Their remit, over the next six months, is to come up with a series of recommendations covering the governance, representation and activities of the Single Intermediary – ensuring an organisation that truly reflects all parts of the sector.

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We’re pleased to publish the Community-led tourism Lessons Learned Report. This document outlines the hurdles, the wins and the asks from our time working with the communities in Brechin and Girvan. Next week, we will publish our scoping study, carried out by Community Enterprise, that highlights the variety of impressive community-led work happening across Scotland.

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As an addendum to last week’s piece on ‘Social Wealth’, we picked up this article, from the US-based Non-Profit Quarterly, that talks about putting the ‘social back into social enterprise’ – and through an evidence-based approach – helps distinguish between a social enterprise that is genuinely bringing community and/or social benefit and those that are, essentially, more sophisticated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Whilst international in flavour, much of what is being said will resonate with many folk here.

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Last month, we featured this Report, from down south, that identified, over the last 5 years, that third sector organisations and social enterprises in England had won less than 5% of public sector contracts. A new report - Creating a Social Value Economy - now, suggests that if social value had been incorporated in public sector procurement decisions between 2010 and 2020, an extra £762bn worth of opportunities to create economic, social and environmental value could have been unlocked. Opening up opportunities for our sector to public sector contracts has been a key tenet of our SE Strategy and Action Plans – that are now at the halfway stage. Little is currently known of how much progress has been made in this period. One shining example, however, has been Circular Communities Scotland’s Reuse Consortium.

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The last week has seen two international gatherings that have highlighted again the growing profile of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship globally. The World Economic Forum in Davos included a session, amongst others, on the importance of ‘thinking local’ in supporting social entrepreneurs. And, in Paris, with a very different audience, the changeNOW event was taking place – including a contribution from Kate Raworth – the author of Doughnut Economics. Whilst this ‘higher profile’ can be seen in a very positive light, the linked articles also bring into focus the ongoing ‘tensions’ within our sector both nationally and internationally – between ‘growth’ and ‘keeping it local’ and the pressure for returns on private investment and the role of public funding.

Health SEN member, Out of the Box continues to add new resources to its Community Solutions Webpage. Community Solutions is a collaborative project looking to increase the learning and options around community solutions that give people more access to social care and health care in Scotland. The latest ‘resource’ to be added is a series of Case Examples from Moray, Aberdeenshire and Renfrewshire.

Glasgow Community Food Network is running this short survey to evaluate the work of the Network since it was established in 2017. The survey only takes 5-10 mins to complete and all responses will be treated confidentially. Some comments made be used in the final report – but with no names of individuals or organisations.

Community Enterprise is also carry out an evaluation of its work - to find out the difference it has made/is making and, importantly, how it can improve upon this. There are two distinct elements to the survey – one for partner and stakeholder organisations, and another for clients or beneficiaries (past or present). Closing date for respondents is Tuesday, 31^st May 2022.

Reminder: Scottish Sports Futures (SSF) and ApparelXchange (AXC) are, this month, running a Donation Drive (1st – 31st May 2022). The purpose of this collaborative project is to gather unwanted sportswear before it reaches landfill - with SSF enabling young people to be active through sport and physical activity; and AXC, reusing clothing and reducing impacts on the environment. Throughout the month, they are running a ‘Drop off/Collection’ Service in both Glasgow city centre and on the Southside of the city. See link for details – and, for more info, contact jude@ssf.org.uk.

Staying in Moray, the Moray Wellbeing Hub (MWH) is looking to recruit a Non-Executive Director. MWH’s aim is to improve the wellbeing of people in Moray using activities that are founded on mutual peer support and an agreed set of values. This includes delivering partnership activities such as training, awareness raising, supporting groups and individuals, as well as through setting up physical and virtual ‘safe’ spaces where people can share support and signposting. See link above for details – closing date is Friday, 17^th June 2022.

Tuesday, 31^st May 2022 (10am-12noon) – The Rural SE Hub is hosting a virtual Community Learning Exchange next week with the focus on Succession Planning within community-led organisations. Speakers include Katrina Dick from the Newton Stewart Initiative as well as Rachel MacPhail from InspirAlba. See link above to register.

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 above for more info and to book your place.

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