Monday round-up to start your Enterprise Week

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Yes, gird your loins people, it’s Enterprise Week, with Social Enterprise Day taking place on Thursday. And what better way to start the week than with the usual SSE round-up:

– Final word for now on SSE student Sabrina on Secret Millionaire; other Fellows (thanks Dave and Catherine) point out that you can get to the episode via Channel 4’s On Demand section, though it takes 15 mins or so to set up and register with C4.

– Rob Greenland pointed me to Mike Chitty’s post about the Benefits of Slow Learning. For all those that think  one-day workshops are enough:

"I think that very few managers would be able to absorb all of this
content in one day and then to apply it successfully. It looks like it
has been put together more for the convenience of the trainer than the
learner…..[…]…Learning something, putting it into practice and becoming comfortable
with it is important before trying to learn and implement the next thing".

Rob G. relates this to much current practice in our field of entrepreneur support:

"Intervene, at a time that suits the support agency, and look for a
quick response. VAT registration, high-growth businesses, five staff
employed in twelve months, that kind of thing. Instead of a more
patient approach, which is less resource intensive, lets the
entrepreneur develop at the pace that’s right for them, and produces a
long-lasting impact."

Amen to that….

–  As part of Social Enterprise Day, the Youth Commission for Social Enterprise is being launched this week (featuring SSE student Satwinder Singh). Meanwhile, in a Global Young Social Entrepreneurs’ Competition, SSE Fellow Nathalie McDermott is one of the chosen 100. (Current Ambassador Matt Kepple is another). Check out the full global list.

– I mentioned the 6 practices of high impact non-profits the other day. Adrian from UnLtd points out that a couple of related audio versions are available via Social Innovation Conversations here and here.

– Would you like to go to the University of the Third Sector? I’ll wait till the student union is established…

– On to Enterprise Week, here’s a selection of stuff happening:

– And finally, Social Firms are behind a song, nay, a rap to promote Social Enterprise Day. See Single Released to Social Enterprise Day to download the single on Thursday. The SSE blog has heard a sneak preview of the song (and you can read the lyrics via the link above) but no longer feels young enough to comment with any authority on the quality.

However, it does raise the thought in my head of a kind of Anfield Rap of Social Enterprise, with, say, Tim Smit freestyling over some dubstep, before a full-on rap battle between John Bird and Tim Campbell; with a Minister as MC, perhaps……

Have a great week: we’ll try and keep track of media throughout the week on the blog.

UPDATED: SSE student on Channel 4 on Secret Millionaire

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Not much time to blog about this (or for you to read about it), but current SSE student Sabrina Ben-Salmi features on the Secret Millionaire this evening on Channel 4. You can catch it online via 4 On Demand if you miss it tonight (link to follow). Obviously, I can’t give away what happens, but suffice to say it is one of the most jaw-dropping episodes thus far….

UPDATED: Amazing stuff: Sabrina (described in thelondonpaper on my way home as "a saint") came across superbly, and got a laptop and £5k to continue her work. Oh yes, and a deposit on a house. I liked that the millionaire (Gill) emphasised the importance of looking after yourself as well as other people, often the central challenge for really committed social entrepreneurs.

For those wishing to know more about Sabrina’s work, see The Mobile Single Parent Project website

Friday round-up: Coin St, Clinton, Camberwell, Collaboration

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SSE is still recovering from its residential in Devon which was a great success. Write-up/report to follow soon. Though here are a few photos that give a snapshot (click to enlarge):

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So at least you know why we’re tired….anyway, the traditional Friday round-up:

– Social Entrepreneur Show going on in Olympia today and tomorrow. Part of Business Start-Up show that’s run for quite a few years….

– Whilst we were in Dartington, CAN had their Scaling Up event. Third Sector reports on some of the findings, namely that the supported organisations’ turnover increased 20% in two years, with social impact increasing 40% (presumbaly with a wider range of measures..). I was interested by this as well: "A CAN spokeswoman said Permira had received no return on its investment
of £690,000 because, in CAN’s view, the social enterprise sector is
“not yet ready to give market-rate returns”."

– Coin Street in the news with their ambitious South Bank plans….

– For all those who say the hype is out of control, check this report in the New York Sun: "A Bush-Clinton idea". The idea? Social entrepreneurship….Look forward to seeing George and Bill on our next programme.

– Chris Hill at Camberwell Project makes some good points in this article from the Yorkshire Post re. enterprise and deprivation.

– Interesting article in New York Times on the "right" places to learn entrepreneurship, which basically goes through lots of university-based courses. Then there’s a link to a different view, an article by George Gendron, who says "kids with passion are our next entrepreneurs", and that entrepreneurial life skills are needed by all…

– In the world where social networking meets non-profits, no-one understands/connects more than Beth Kanter: thoughts on Google Open Social et al in this post

– Also via Beth, Forces For Good: the Six Practices of High Impact Non-Profits is a new book out in the US. Read the authors’ essay on Stanford Social Innovation Review site: Creating High-Impact Non-Profits
The 6 practices, FYI, are:

  • serve and advocate (delivery not enough: policy to achieve big change)
  • make markets work (tap into self-interest / capitalism)
  • inspire evangelists (strong communities of supporters / emotional connections / involvement)
  • nurture non-profit networks (collaboration rather than competition)
  • master the art of adaptation (combining innovation, execution and learning)
  • share leadership (distribute amongst organisation / team)

Job done.

– Acumen Fund have a blog which occasionally has interesting gems. This post about Melinda Gates aiming to eradicate malaria is worth a read. I particularly enjoyed the following comment: "the experts are often expert in what has been, not what could be."

Cheers.

Friday round-up: entrepreneurs, ethiscores, e-stuff, etc

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SSE is going on its residential this coming week: 90+ people descending from London, Liverpool, Fife, East Midlands, and Ireland to Dartington in Devon for a three-day learning session and networking. So don’t expect too much blogging before Thursday (although if I get a connection / time, I’ll try). Final swift run through news / links of interest…

– NESTA are running a series of articles from entrepreneurs (sponsored by BVCA: venture capitalists) which asks them that all important question, "what do you wish you’d known?" The first is from Peter Denyer (pdf).

– We often discuss scale on this blog, and the very few examples of successful scaling in this movement. So what happens to those ethical businesses who get taken over by the big players? Here’s an interesting article examining exactly that, and giving them an ‘ethiscore‘ for before and after takeover….

– More on technology and how online and offline need to work together: ‘Is the information society a community catalyst or community liability?’

– On the same subject: Netsquared UK might be in the offing (web 2.0 meets social innovation?), although what the "third sector is broken" means remains a mystery to me. Lots more written about this on the bloggers that Nick Booth links to….

– Apples are Square. Meaning, apparently, that leadership qualities have changed: from ‘control and compete’ to ‘service, humility, transparency, inclusiveness’. Check here for more.

– Much mention of the third sector in Parliament recently (my TheyWorkForYou alerts have been working overtime). VolNews points us to the debate about the third sector review, which apparently lasted 5 hours, and plucks out some highlights (Community Champions fund, or lack of therein, amongst them).

– Provocative title, shocking statistics, important debate: Philanthropy doesn’t care about black people

– And finally, the Times have an Enterprise Network...who will offer you advice and wisdom.

Have a great weekend…

FOOTSEY 100: social enterprise in God’s country

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"Welcome to God’s country", said one delegate to me over lunch, and I did feel welcome indeed. I’ve been meaning for a while to write down my reflections on the Footsey 100, officially the largest Social Enterprise Trade Fair in the UK. Held in York, at the racecourse, this was the 6th Footsey (the ‘sey’ of which stands for social enterprise yorkshire) and it has increased in profile and numbers each year. This year, over 100 organisations were represented, with nigh on 6-700 delegates depending on who you spoke to.

Generally, the event had a great dynamism to it. Whether this was because it emphasises the ‘trade fair’ rather than ‘conference’ aspect of the event, or simply because there is so much going on in the region, I can’t say. But the buzz was palpable, and it was great to see the range of organisations and ventures on view: social firms, student-led initiatives, local-authority backed projects, regional CDFIs, CICs, development trusts of all sorts, shapes and sizes. Practitioners far outnumbered support agencies, funders and policymakers, which makes a big difference (learning, perhaps, for other large scale social enterprise events who shall remain nameless)…and the focus was on business and networking, not lectures.

Highlights for me? The Dragon’s Den, which is now seemingly a feature of every social enterprise event, was done as well as I’ve ever seen it. Genuine cash on the table (from Adventure Capital Fund), heavy metal music to whip up the atmosphere, and a presenter/host who took great (almost unhealthy) pleasure in announcing "THE NEXT VICTIM" at many decibels. The panel grilled effectively, and the pitches were varied and interesting (a dog-walking social enterprise was a new one on me)….congratulations to Pit Stop, who won the day for their re-use/regeneration of a plot of land for their alternative educational activities.

I also enjoyed running into Mike Chitty  of the Progressive Manager’s Network, who’s doing some really interesting work at the Goodwin Development Trust (who’d won an Enterprising Solution award in London the evening before; amazing organisation simply getting things done). And Chris Hill and Kristy Swift at the Camberwell Project…I’d met their colleague Todd Hannula (and linked to his blog a few times), and it was great to hear about the building-related projects and activities they’re developing. And much more networking besides….

It was interesting to note that, despite the size of the event, no politicians were present (though Ed Miliband appeared through the power of video). But, in a sense, this was in keeping with the day: the event embodied a maturing, vibrant regional movement, and was a celebration and recognition of that. It needed no political figure to endow it with authority or credibility on the day.

Lowlights were few and far between, although the tannoy was capable of deafening a rhino at 50 paces at times, and lunch briefly threatened to turn into a scrum before the doors opened. But those were minor blips on a really encouraging, enlightening day. It provided a very different view, and refreshingly grounded contrast, to the awards the previous evening in London. This movement, though, encompasses and includes, in all regions of the UK, and is all the stronger for it.

Finally, big congratulations to the organisers, primarily New Start, and sponsors, who you can read about here. SSE will be back there next year: look forward to seeing you there.