As the long gap between posts would suggest, all has been hectic in the house of SSE. Amongst the normal activities and programmes, I’ve also been on the panel for the Social Enterprise Ambassadors programme which has been exhausting, rewarding, inspiring and challenging in equal measure. Quite an amazing three days of interviews (group interviews of 6 at a time), and an amazing snapshot, as someone working in this movement, of what is out there. That’s as much as I can say (I could tell you, but I would have to kill you etc.),  but suffice to say that all the consortium partners are very excited about the people involved.

Anyway, in the interim, much news and views and opinion to report, so here’s the traditional "haven’t-blogged-in-ages-have-a-backlog-of-information-to-share" round-up:

– First up, Gordon Brown’s first big speech referring to the third sector since he became our erstwhile Prime Minister…and choosing a sector venue for a big policy keynote. Check it out here. Much of it was broad brush but reference to the long-touted social investment bank and reaffirmations of campaigning and three-year funding were largely welcomed

– Capacitybuilders has knocked the criticised hubs structure on the head and replaced it with 9 programmes…generally, this will be welcomed, particularly the move to direct commissioning rather than grouping under strategic themes….

– Enterprising Solutions shortlist is out there…..SSE chief exec Alastair Wilson is amongst the judges…

– Something I hadn’t come across before: Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year, founded by the unlikely partnership of established charity Leonard Cheshire and EasyJet founder Stelios….

– NEF, who SSE commissioned to do its evaluation, have a DIY guide to Social Return on Investment available for download….they are the leaders on this stuff, so well worth a look if it’s something you’re considering or are interested in…

– Other well-respected people in the field are REDF, who pioneered the concepts of blended value and the like. There’s a podcast interview with their new president available

– SSE Fellow Paul Hodgkin is up for an award as an international "disruptive innovations in health" competition and is the only UK representative…..go Paul, break a leg etc.

– I like the comic strip Doonesbury. And now it mentions how to use the web to do good, I like it even more (via Beth’s blog and others)

– Pilotlight have launched in Scotland; they are a like-minded organisation and am glad to say that SSE helped a little in advising their replication plans….

– If the sound of a transparent ethical stock exchange sounds interesting, so might this report from Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Jamie Hartzell of the Ethical Property Company.

Finally, just to return to the Ambassadors interviews, we asked all the interviewees / candidates who inspired them, and it was great to hear the answers from people who are hopefully going on to be role models and inspirations themselves. Names mentioned ranged from those you might expect (Gandhi, Martin Luther King) to those you might know (Tim Smit, Liam Black, John Bird) to family (husbands, fathers, children) and to the unexpected (Joe Strummer, Hugo Chavez, the Pied Piper). Most, though, said they were inspired by the people they work with and for….and, at the end of an exhausting couple of weeks, that’s a useful reminder of why we all do this stuff and what it’s all about. Inspiration, empowerment, change, and bringing people with you on the journey.

Cheers