Building a Social Enterprise at the Museum of East Anglian Life The Museum of East Anglian Life is a 75 acre open air museum situated in the heart of the Suffolk market town of Stowmarket. It consists of over 5 historic buildings, collections of over 40,000 objects and provides a green lung in the heart of the town. It set up Abbot's Hall Enterprises in January 2007, a social enterprise. Social Enterprises are organisations which trade in goods or services and link that trade to a social mission. The business aims to deliver on financial, social and environmental performance targets thereby creating a ‘triple bottom line’. Tony Butler, Director says ‘My ambition for MEAL is as a ‘bridger’ of social capital, not just as a by-‐product of being a museum, but as a first principle. I have wanted to make the museum inclusive and participative; a place in which individuals are both beneficiaries and co-‐creators of their own space -‐ where they can reflect on life and think about the world differently.’ Abbot Hall Enterprises aims is to provide training and skills development for learning disabled adults, offenders and long-‐term unemployed people, and therapeutic placements for people in receipt of individualised social care payments. There are work-‐based learning courses to develop land-‐based, heritage, literacy and numeracy skills; a fully equipped training centre and IT suite; and a horticultural production unit. MEAL has been able to develop its enterprise as it has responded to a shift in how local authorities are to provide services in the future. Funding for the project came from a patchwork of public bodies which includes the Suffolk Strategic Partnership and the Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). In addition support has come from EQUAL, a partnership funded by the European Social Fund which is charged with developing social enterprise across the EU. Capital grants enabled the construction of Abbot’s Hall Shop, the acquisition of storage, a polytunnel and some marketing resources. There are tangible outcomes. Over the last three years we have helped 40 people find jobs; provided 45,000 volunteer hours each year; enabled 120 people to receive accredited training; and helped three people find supported accommodation. MEAL’s innovation has been written up far and wide and has attracted plaudits. Most recently it was named Entrepreneurial Museum of the Year at 2010 Museums and Heritage Awards. Further Information: Tony Butler, tony.butler@eastanglianlife.org.uk or Katie Sargeant Katie.sargeant@eastanglialife.org.uk , tel: 01449 612229 http://www.eastanglianlife.org.uk http://www.creative-‐choices.co.uk/leadership/cultural-‐leadership-‐reader/leading-‐a-‐happy-‐ social-‐enterprise-‐at-‐the-‐museum-‐of-‐east-‐anglian-‐life
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