InTouch Issue 26

SEEE is a membership & networking organisation for social enterprises and others. We also have a strategic influence on national, regional and local policy relating to social enterprise. Our primary aim is to support and promote the social enterprise sector in the East of England

in SUMMER 2009 issue 26

cover story Social Enterprise or Puppy Dog? Big Barn; The Virtual Farmers’ Market Business Map; Business Support Network How to Get Your Business in the Press Life Support Systems from Citylife New Member Profile; Get CSR Connected

in inside Don’t lose your sense of humour

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pg It seems as every day goes by something happens that makes us doubt the things that not long ago we thought we could rely on.

First it was the banks and building societies, and now we find that the very people we elected as our leaders have been cooking the books and making off with thousands of pounds of our money.

Those of us in business are having to duck and dive to keep our heads above water and stop the bank manager from pulling the rug from under our feet … sometimes it’s all too much.

In this issue, on page 9, there’s a piece about SEEE’s training scheme and how you can get a free Training Health Check and I would urge you all to consider it carefully – it’s a great opportunity and as the article says, “you can’t afford not to”. But there’s one very important lesson missing.

Looking through the list of subjects, leadership skills, sales training, customer service, and so on I remembered something a very successful business man said to me many years ago and it was something I’ve never seen on any management training programme.

SUMMER 2009 issue 26

Michele Rigby CEO SEEE What We Have Been Thinking • inSPIRATION

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Cover Story Social Enterprise or Puppy Dog? Big Barn Andy’s Kars • inFORMATION

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Business Link Business Map How to Get Your Business in the Press Going Green Craig Dearden-Phillips; Blue Skies Ahead Free Business Health Check • inTHE NEWS

“David” he said, “One of the most important things to remember about being in business is that you must maintain a sense of humour, never forget that.” He was right, not just about business, but about life in general. He wasn’t suggesting for a moment that we shouldn’t take things seriously, but that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously and that we should all learn to understand the difference.

Maybe we should add that to the school curriculum?

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Bikes Bring Health to Hospitals 11 OWL Sight SEEEing Tour

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Review 12 Book New Member Profile

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David Jordan Editor

CONTENTS PAGE

Focus on Cambridgeshire New Home for CAPSAN Life Support Systems from Citylife

When I Grew Up Virtual Coffee Mornings Contact Details

In social enterprise, we believe there is a better way of doing things, that there is a way to do business that doesn’t damage the environment, or exploit people, or belittle our intelligence.

welcome...

SEEE what we have been thinking, doing and feeling.

Meeting the challenge of change It’s been a tough year for many businesses and families and there’s little sign of a recovery. Any faith that we had in banks and in our elected representatives to have our best interests at heart has been severely damaged, and greed has been shown to be the key motivator behind our economic and political systems. In social enterprise, we believe there is a better way of doing things, that there is a way to do business that doesn’t damage the environment, or exploit people, or belittle our intelligence. But recent revelations have underlined just how distant the aims of social enterprise are from the reality of those who have been claiming they know best how to run our banks and our government.

The mood of the country is behind us right now, there is a sense that we can’t go back to the way things were, but for many, the problem is not the conviction that things have to change, but a bewilderment at how we can avoid going back to the same old, same old. Yet when there is an opportunity to explain about social enterprise to someone new, the level of interest and excitement that there is a different way of doing business is quite extraordinary. But do they really believe that we are making a difference and creating real businesses?

Recently we ran a series of bus tours for local authority officers and councillors (see Page 11). At the end of the day, I asked one of the participants what he had learned. The answer was, “social enterprises are not Mickey Mouse organisations”. Backhanded compliment maybe, but a reminder that for a lot of people the default assumption is that social enterprises are great, but at heart amateur and well-meaning, and should be encouraged but not taken too seriously – the very issue that Keith Smith outlines in our feature article.

It is hard to shake off this image – but if we are ever going to do it, we need to do it now.

We have opened a new forum on the SEEE website for Meeting the Challenge of Change – log on and let us know about your successes and progress.

Michele Rigby CEO SEEE

Ilse - Does your company have the skills and knowledge to succeed and grow during the difficult times ahead? Don’t cut back on training - contact me as you may qualify for help from SEEE on the costs. 01234 834711 Chris - I am always really impressed with the ingenious thinking of our members- let me know how you are ‘Meeting the Challenge of Change’. Let’s show Social Enterprise is the way forward. 01234 834710 Jay - I am really excited about the new project I will be working on over the coming monthsHow can Social Enterprises work with the NHS? Any thoughts- 01234 834819.

Laurie - I was so pleased with the response from the Study Tours (see later). I am excited that SEEE and the councils in the East of England are thinking long term and building relations and correspondence.

Joanne - I am developing a number of administration practises for the SEEE office. A clean desk is a clean mind! Or so I’m telling the SEEE team.

Linda - End of year madness, surely time for a holiday?

PG 1~ SUMMER 2009

social enterprise, real business or puppy dog?

Keith Smith, Chief Executive of the Ferry Project in Cambridgeshire suggests social enterprises need to bark and bite. on the cheap, but they do not understand what social enterprise actually is. It is the modern play thing, but when real work needs to be done or when the government is busy, it expects social enterprise to go and be quiet. I think government believes that once it stops feeding social enterprise, it will simply go away and die.

A puppy dog is full of life, it’s fun to own and play with but you don’t take it too seriously. You’d show the little chap off to your friends, and they’d probably say they’d like one too.

You’d feed it and give it attention, you might even tell it it’s a good boy or that you love it, but you’d also want to train it to make sure it did as it was told, learned new tricks, barked when you wanted it to, and knew how to fetch a stick. But, when you needed to do some real work you’d send it away, to sit on its bed.

I am concerned that government in all its forms sees social enterprise just like a puppy dog. Every local authority wants a trained social enterprise which it can bring out to show off to other local authorities. They tell the social enterprise that it is doing well and how impressed they are with the work that it does. However, I am of the opinion that government does not really respect social enterprise.

They don’t want an independent social enterprise that thinks for itself because they don’t understand it. They want a social enterprise that does as it is told. I sometimes wonder if government sees social enterprise as a toy? I am concerned that it sees it as a status symbol rather than a solution to a problem.

Some of the more enlightened government bodies might think that social enterprise is a way of providing services

PG 2 ~ SUMMER 2009

Government sees private business as income generating and wealth creating. I don’t believe that it sees social enterprise in the same way, rather it is regarded as income consuming just like the public sector or charities.

I have suggested that local government doesn’t understand social enterprise very well, but if this is true then we need to ask ourselves why that is so?

I would suggest that one reason is that we have not done a good enough job of explaining ourselves.

We’ve spent so much time arguing amongst ourselves about what social enterprise is and what it is not, that we have not communicated our vision properly. In fact I could simply ask the question, what do you think social enterprise is?

Another reason government does not have confidence in social enterprise is that we have little confidence in the model ourselves. I wonder how many managers of social enterprises really believe that they would or could ever survive without grant aid? I’m not talking about government contracts because many private businesses also have government contracts, no; I’m talking about straight forward government

grants. How many of the social enterprises would continue to exist if they stopped receiving grant income? Could we cope if we actually had to borrow money and then repay it?

Can you imagine social enterprises that make massive profits?

I am not surprised that government does not take us seriously. I went to the Voice 09 earlier this year; our national conference. During the event social enterprise presented itself as needing government money. It did not present itself as being a strong independent sector which was providing solutions to national problems; instead it gave the impression that all it was looking for was government handouts. Sure we saw a few good examples of social enterprises that generated profit and did great things with it but the key speakers were from government and what they basically did was talk about who would give social enterprise more money. This seems to me to indicate how social enterprise views itself and how central government sees social enterprise.

Social enterprise is at its core a profit making business.

Sure we expect it to have a wide range of income streams and some of those should be government contracts; but it should not be grant dependant. If it is then it will be the puppy dog of government. If social enterprise wants to be taken seriously then it must fend for itself. It must stand on its own two feet. The old adage is true, “he who pays the piper calls the tune”. If we are grant dependant then we will always be beholden to government.

In our sector we believe we are the solution to world problems. We believe that social enterprise can generate enough income to sustain itself and then generate surpluses which can then do other things. If we can not

generate enough income to sustain ourselves how will we ever be able to make a difference in the world around us?

The best examples of social enterprise generate a profit.

That profit is invested in something to benefit local society.

If both the generating of income and the investment of profit do good for society, then that’s even better. This however can only be the start. If social enterprise is to be a viable solution to the world’s problems it must not just generate thousands or even millions of pounds, it will need billions to really make a difference. Just think about the amounts of money that third world countries owe. Think about how much money government has just invested in banks. Could you ever imagine government investing that much in social enterprise?

Now is the time to be honest. What do you think? Do you believe that social enterprise is a puppy dog? Is it just a nice idea, a bit of fun, or is it a solution to national and even global issues? If we don’t believe we are the solution, the government won’t either. It must start with us, we must really believe in social enterprise. Not just the idea of doing social good. Not just the idea of raising some of our income by trading. I’m talking about believing that social enterprise can be real business, real income generating business. I’ve heard time and time again that if an idea made money the private sector would have already done it. Well that’s got to end, if the idea is good why shouldn’t social enterprise develop it? Why shouldn’t social enterprise make a serious profit? Does the model work?

What do you believe; puppy dog or real business? Believe it or not it’s what you think that matters.

Keith Richards

What do you think? Do you believe that social enterprise is a puppy dog? Is it just a nice idea, a bit of fun, or is it a solution to national and even global issues? If we don’t believe we are the solution, the government won’t either.

PG 3 ~ SUMMER 2009

BigBarn the virtual farmers’ market SEEE member BigBarn Ltd was launched in 2000 and soon had over two thousand producers on board. A Defra grant – Department of Environmental Food and Rural Affairs - helped grow the business and today BigBarn has over seven thousand listings, from producers and farmers’ markets, to local shops and restaurants.

Anthony Davison created the company, a virtual farmers’ market, in the East of England, to make it easier for people to buy local food and now has customers throughout the UK. “My uncle came in one day carrying a bag of onions being sold at the supermarket for seven times the price that he was supplying them for. It was then that I decided farmers should be getting a fairer deal and shoppers should be able to get more local, fresh produce,” says Anthony.

Anthony was frustrated that while 80% of consumers say they want to buy more local food, only 20% of them actually do.

A free listing is available on the BigBarn map for all producers in the UK, with fees for further services such as a link to their own website or internet selling.

Anthony says that it is a misconception that big stores are always the cheapest and is currently conducting a huge national survey to find local products that compete favourably on price.

An innovative scheme in Ashwell, a small village in Hertfordshire, is also under way. The butcher, the baker and the delicatessen are all members of BigBarn, enabling consumers to buy food from all three suppliers to be delivered in just one boxed delivery.

Now financially self-sustaining, Anthony is supported by a full-time website manager and two part-timers, but also has two voluntary crusaders who share his vision for food being local, cheaper, fresher and fairer.

BigBarn was originally incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee and is about to convert into a Community Interest Company.

“This means everything we do will be for the benefit of the BigBarn community and will hopefully encourage more consumers and producers to join us,” explains Anthony.

info@bigbarn.co.uk

PG 4 ~ SUMMER 2009

An almost fatal brain haemorrhage brought motor mechanic Andy Kent’s career to a sudden stop. He lost the use of his right limbs and spent months re-learning many of life’s basic skills.

But Andy’s not a man to let disability get him down. As part of his recovery he walked the length of Britain, covering more than 740 miles in just 14 days; a feat that would daunt many athletes.

Seven years ago he decided to open Andy’s Kars. “There is”, he says, “no such thing as ‘can’t do” and he had his workshop laid out to meet the needs of the disabled workforce he planned to recruit. “I knew how reluctant people were to employ me when I became disabled,” explained Andy. “But I knew I was a good mechanic capable of compensating for my disability and I wanted to give others the opportunity to prove themselves too.”

Andy Kent

It is only when Andy points out the adaptations to the equipment that you realise the trouble he’s gone to. Controls are mounted at wheelchair height, car lifts have clear floorspace underneath for easy access, and even the spanners and recycling bins are colour coded. A health and safety manual containing drawings rather than text means you can see at a glance how things should be done.

Andy’s Kars has won many awards for its very positive approach to disability. In 2007 the company won the ‘Remploy Leading the Way’ award, being judged Britain’s most disability-friendly small employer.

While many would consider Andy Kent to be a model social entrepreneur, he did set his business up as a ‘not for profit’ company. He wanted to prove that disability was no barrier to success and he’s done just that. Not surprisingly, his customers love using the garage. Locals value his social ethos, and disabled drivers from miles around go there quite simply because their needs are understood.

Andy now wants to scale up his business, but this will need investment. Inevitably the adaptations and concessions he has to make have a big impact on the bottom line. He recognises that having proved his point he now needs to take advantage of the funding and support his business will qualify for if it is set up as a social enterprise. With this in mind, he has decided that his next garage will be set up as a Community Interest Company.

PG 5 ~ SUMMER 2009

Myles Cooper Firstly, thanks to my colleagues Malcolm and Paul for filling in for me. So much has happened since I last wrote an article for In Touch, that I thought I’d start with some good news. Not one of those vaguely amusing “and finally” stories, but positive anecdotes from social enterprise and the third sector generally from this neck of the woods.

There are at least two Community Interest Companies that have benefitted from substantial investment from the Dept of Health. This came about, not so much on the bid writing side of things, but based on infallible business planning and thorough preparation. Both of them have taken on new staff.

Another two social enterprises have succeeded in winning substantial funding through the Lottery, both for enterprising activity based on sound business plans.

Generally, there seems to be two themes. Firstly, an increase in the number of those engaged in the sector already looking at things a lot more commercially. The skill and expertise of “what they do” is not being lost, nor are their vision, values, and mission being overtaken. Profit is becoming much more acceptable, some would say necessary, for organisations to more than just survive, but rather to expand the range of services offered and to increase their social return.

Incidentally, a new guide on Social Return on Investment (SROI) was launched in mid May, commissioned by the Cabinet Office. http://www.sroi-uk.org Secondly, an increase in the number of “mainstream” businesses looking at social enterprise as their future business model.

The cynic in me wonders whether this is simply a way of looking at alternatives to fighting the recession. Come what may, the sector should be keen to say, “this is how we do things”.

I see things staying very busy at Business Link for the foreseeable future. There are always going to be issues which some need help with, that affect all businesses. For example, cash flow issues or employment legislation will apply whatever your social aim or governing structure. I continue to be grateful for those on our supplier brokerage service that can help with social enterprise issues, like governance and accountability too.

Now, I would suggest, is a good time to be “trading for a social purpose” as your customers, be they individuals or other businesses, become increasingly aware they want to buy from (or sell to) those operating for a social or community benefit.

Remember that my adviser colleagues and I here at Business Link can help you ensure that your business is in the best possible position to survive and thrive the downturn. You can take advantage of a business ‘health check’, book on to one of the workshops or call us for answers to your business questions, all of which are absolutely free.

PG 6 ~ SUMMER 2009

business support funding by

EEDA has introduced an initiative called Business Map. The map is designed to help businesses in the East of England navigate the network of business support available. Everything is self explanatory. If you go to www.bizmapeast.co.uk the interactive business map quickly identifies the information, advice or other support for your business needs.

Various organisations and projects funded by EEDA to provide business support can be found on the map.

The following is a brief overview of the business support organisations and projects available. Many of these are available free or at subsidised rates.

Manufacturing Advisory Service • Advice on Improving Manufacturing Processes • Innovation Advisory Service • Designing Demand Beyond 2010 • Match funding for training from NVQ level 3,4 and above Innovation Grants at EEDA • Proof of concept (POC) • Grant for research and development (GRAD) • Grant for business investment (GBI) UK Trade and Investment offers • Gateway to Global Growth • Passport to Export • Communication Review • Ambassadorial Support

Response to Redundancy programme • provides early support to individuals facing redundancy Loan Packages • Small loans for business (Foundation East) – from £500–£50,000 • Regional Loan Fund (launch April 2009 ) – from £50,000–£200,000 – Aimed at early start high growth SME’s EEDA supports Business Link which is the main access point for all business support offering • Free health checks • Workshops (many of them free) • Confidential helpline • Referral services

PG 7 ~ SUMMER 2009

Getting a story about your business in the press doesn’t happen by magic. Knowing a thing or two about what editors are looking for can make sure that your story ends up in the newspaper, not in the waste paper bin.

First of all you must make sure your story is going to be of interest to the readers of the publication you’re sending it to, eg. Local papers tend to run stories about local people. A story about the opening of an organic vegetable shop in Norwich for example, with a picture of the mayor cutting the tape on the big day, will probably make the local rag; but it’s unlikely to appear in the Daily Telegraph. If you’re aiming to get published in magazines, take the trouble to find out what kind of stories they’ve featured in the past and what the editor likes to print. It’s also worth phoning editors (they don’t bite) to ask them what features they’re planning during the next few months. You might be just the right person to contribute an article on one of the topics.

A press release should be a genuine news story, not an advertisement; stories that are too self congratulatory, will end up in the editor’s bin. For example don’t write; Norwich’s top organic bakers XYZ & Co. are delighted to announce the opening of their fabulous new shop in the city centre. The new store offers shoppers the very best in organic bakery products at a price everyone can afford,” said manager Sam Miller.

Instead write something like; Organic bakers XYZ & Co opened their new shop in Norwich city centre on 19th December. The move is the latest phase in the company’s expansion programme and is the fifth branch to open during the last three years. Manager Sam Miller said; “Organic food is becoming very popular and the new store will mean our customers won’t have to travel to our rural shops to buy our products.”

In marketing terms sending out press releases is a ‘farming’ activity to back up the overall marketing effort, whereas paid for advertising is about ‘hunting’ and more direct in its approach. Both have a valuable role to play, but don’t confuse the two.

Your story should always answer the questions, Who? Why? When? Where? Make sure you’ve included the names and titles of people in your story.

Having written your press releases you need to apply the ‘So what?’ test. If, after reading it with a cool head you feel like saying, ‘So what?’ that’s what the editor is probably going to say before throwing it in the bin.

This is an extract from SEEE’s ‘PR Guide – how to get in the press’. For a free copy please contact the SEEE office.

top tips to make your office green… save money and the environment A YouGov survey states that 70% of all office waste is recyclable but only 8% makes it to the recycling bin. Office equipment is often the hardest working member of your staff- left on 24 hours a day, seven days a week; even when no-one is working.

• Use a bulldog clip to transform scrap paper into bound notepads for internal use.

• Turn the heating thermostat down by one degree. Your annual bill could come down by as much as 10%.

• Avoid using envelopes with plastic windows, they are difficult to recycle.

• Use rechargeable batteries for office equipment.

• Provide clearly marked storage containers for reusable items.

• Make recycling easy by placing bins in strategically placed locations.

• Install can crushers if you use a lot of aluminium cans - you may even be able to sell them.

• Look into local schemes which collect used printer toner cartridges.

• Opt for multi functional IT equipment rather than individual faxes, printers, scanners and copiers.

To find out what SEEE is doing to cut down our office waste; ring Laurie on 01234 834549.

PG 8 ~ SUMMER 2009

blue skies ahead!

Sometimes you have days in which meeting after meeting helps you put your own life and future in better perspective. I am thinking about my future a lot at the moment. Maybe it is because I turn 40 in the summer. Or perhaps it is because I sense I will, at some point in the not-too-distant future, begin a new chapter.

The day started with a one-off free coaching session with a wonderful man, Steve Crookbain, who works in the world of executive search. He helped me realize, definitively, that I don’t want to take a `big job’ as CEO or MD of a large social sector organisation.

This is the first time I have written this down publicly because, until now, there was a ‘never say never’ thing in my mind. But there isn’t any more and I feel better already. Sure, my only channel to plenty of money has probably closed but it feels a relief to say, “No, that isn’t my journey”. Presiding over a big machine is not what I am here to do.

Further affirmation came in the afternoon when I met Mick May, founder of Blue Sky. Mick is a former banker who did nothing naughty (according to him) and got out before his soul was corroded into nothing. He spent a year out of work and eventually founded Blue Sky. You need only one qualification to work for the company - you must have a criminal record. Mick excepted, that their model is dead-simple: they win ground-works contracts (hedge cutting, mowing, etc.) and deliver them using staff who are employed as they leave the prison gate. This cuts re-offending as well as the grass!

Mick is one of those magnetic story-telling entrepreneurs who leaves you spellbound. So what's the truth of it all? Well, not everyone gets a job and yes it’s very hard work all the time. And the secret of its success? Mick told me having ex-cons as operations managers is vital, because the men respect them. The one non-con, an ex-policeman, didn't last five minutes.

The Blue Sky’s story is worth hearing and I hope Mick gets to tell it to more people. Mick himself is like a man reborn. He says he had to wait until he was 45 before he got to do what he wanted in life. He told me that I, at a mere 40, have done it all so young. And it did feel like a weird inversion. Me the grizzled social enterprise professional, wondering about life beyond my organisation and Mick a decade older, totally mad for it. I love this sector’s capacity to rejuvenate not only communities but also its practitioners. Go for it, Mick!

“If you think training is expensive … try ignorance!”

This is a famous quote is by Zig Zigler, an American sales guru and motivational speaker. Athough it was written many years ago, his words are as true today as they were then … perhaps even more so. When money’s tight it’s often the training budget that gets cut first, so just when you really need to develop your business skills to make the very best of your potential, there’s not enough cash in the training pot to pay for it.

Well, here at SEEE we’ve got a fix for that and it works in two ways. So long as you fulfil our selection criteria, we’ll arrange for an independent assessor to carry out a Training Health Check of your organisation to see exactly what training would be of most benefit. The assessor will look at the skills you and your staff currently have and identify any areas of weakness that may be holding you back. The Training Health Check is free and you won’t be obliged to undertake training, if having studied our recommendations, you decide not to go ahead.

Company’s needs are different, so there’s a range of subjects on offer including, sales training, health & safety, presentation skills, customer service, IT, financial management, team building, and leadership management. The training is equivalent to NVQ level three and above and is suitable for more senior members of staff.

When we’ve agreed on a training programme that’s right for your company, we’ll arrange for you or your staff to attend training courses in those subjects - it’s as simple as that.

The training is part funded from the Beyond 2010 training fund and is available to qualifying organisations located in the east of England employing fewer than 250 people.

PG 9 ~ SUMMER 2009

inTHE NEWS focus on;

Cambridgeshire

new home for CAPSEN The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Social Enterprise Network – CAPSEN – is now being run by Citylife in Cambridge following the recent closure of The Social Enterprise People.

At a re-launch event in March, delegates had to ‘sing for their suppers’ – with group work being followed by a tour of Citylife’s Social Enterprise Centre and a delicious lunch, courtesy of local co-op, Mouth Music.

Members of the Network have identified three different levels of support – to help voluntary and community organisations begin trading, to support the growth of medium sized social enterprises, and to help large social enterprises become household names.

‘Collaboration for growth’ is a theme running through the menu of support on offer to CAPSEN members. From sharing research and resources, to tailored training around business skills specific to social enterprise, success in recession is going to be very much about controlling costs and getting more paying customers through the door.

To find out more about joining CAPSEN e-mail kate@citylifeltd.org.

Martin Clark & Kate Lee from City Life

life support systems from While the Government talks about polyclinics and walk-in health centres, a centre for wellbeing of another kind – social enterprise success – has been getting on with the job in north Cambridge.

For a decade, Citylife have been making headlines nationally with their unique Social Investment Bonds – an innovative source of finance for social causes. Their most recent partnership, with fellow SEEE members Apsley Paper Trail, aims to raise £1million of investments to continue the Paper Trail’s award-winning enterprise, environment and education heritage centre in south west Herts.

In recent years, Citylife have also offered affordable incubation space and hot desks for social enterprises. Now, following the demise of the Social Enterprise People in March, they are extending their business support services and coordinating the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Social Enterprise Network – CAPSEN. So the prognosis for social enterprise in Cambridgeshire is good. Whatever the age and stage of your enterprise, Citylife may be able to diagnose and treat your ailments – and much of it for free as befits an essential health service. From enterprise healthchecks, to training on all aspects of enterprise development – including product and market development, pricing, costing and control – Citylife can breathe new life into social enterprises and charities.

For information go to www.citylifeltd.org or call Kate Lee on 01223 323481.

PG 10 ~ SUMMER 2009

OWL bikes bring health to hospital For OWL Bikes, a ‘hospital appointment’ now means running a bike surgery for the 7,000 staff at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge every Wednesday.

As part of the hospital’s ‘Think Green’ sustainability campaign to encourage staff and visitors to cycle to Addenbrooke’s, OWL (Opportunities Without Limits) from Sawston have been invited to carry out on-the-spot repairs, take bookings for full services, and sell refurbished bikes and accessories.

Each week a team of OWL staff, volunteers and learning disabled trainees ‘set up shop’ at the hospital – a wonderful high-profile showcase for the Sawston-based charity.

From hospital appointment to royal appointment - the Addenbrooke’s bike surgery recently had a visit from the Duke of Kent. As Gill Riley of OWL Bikes recalls. “It was the icing on the cake.

Our trainees, staff and volunteers proudly explained how we rescue bikes from landfill, refurbish some, sell some for scrap metal and send tyres and inner tubes to Africa – he asked quite a few questions.”

To find out more about the bike surgeries and other OWL activities, e-mail Gill Riley on gill.riley@owlgroup.org.uk.

By royal appointment: The Duke of Kent learns about OWL Bikes at their Addenbrooke’s bike surgery

SEEE’s Building Community Assets programme stepped up a gear in May with three VIP coach tours for council members and officers from across the region. Each tour took in three social enterprises, to demonstrate the value of asset development – by acquiring land and buildings - for increased financial security and community empowerment.

The Keystone Development Trust in Thetford manage a business centre and use surpluses to fund work with young people and migrant workers. The Ferry Project in March provides emergency and long term accommodation for homeless people, helps to train them, and provides work experience in their recycling businesses. The Great Yarmouth Community Trust at the Priory Centre runs a trailblazing children’s centre for parents-to-be and families, a diverse learning centre, and a café; all this in a 12th century building!

The ‘coach approach’ included learning en route with informal networking between members and officers, more structured discussion stimulated by materials prepared in advance, and short presentations from SEEE, Co-op Finance and Development Trusts Association staff travelling with the guests. The combination of looking and learning had the desired impact on many of the travellers – conveying the real potential for further asset transfer across the region.

One Local Authority Officer remarked, “The exposure to the work of all three places developed my thinking about the dynamic work in the East of England. I found the day very interesting and my fellow travellers fascinating. It is always inspiring to see, first hand, what can happen with goodwill, passion and a little bit of money. I came away buzzing about the future”.

PG 11 ~ SUMMER 2009

bookREVIEW

newMEMBERS

The Social Entrepreneur Revolution

by Martin Clark Marshall Cavendish, £14.99

Broadly there are three kinds of ‘proper’ book on social enterprise (if you ignore the academic texts, which let’s face it, most people do).

There’s the ‘inspiring story of a whole load of world-changing leaders’ category, exemplified by what the publishers modestly describe as ‘the bible for social entrepreneurship’, David Bornstein’s How to Change the World. Type two is when the inspiring story is actually written by the social enterprise leader in question, Muhammad Yunus’s latest book Creating a World Without Poverty being one extremely readable example. Finally, there are the step-by-step guides, of which my personal favourite is our own Craig Dearden-Philips’ Your Chance to Change the World, a well-researched and engaging read for any aspiring social enterprise founder.

Martin Clark is another Cambridge-based social entrepreneur who has somehow managed to write a book in between his work and family commitments, and the result stubbornly refuses to fit into any of my pigeon holes. Like a well known mobile phone, The Social Entrepreneur Revolution impresses most of all in the number of its applications.

Casual readers wanting to gain an outline understanding, academics, wannabe social entrepreneurs and those looking for inspiration will all find something of interest in its pages.

Clark has succeeded in talking to the top end SE-lebrities such as Jeff Skoll (top tip for planning your life: imagine what you want written on your tombstone and then work backwards), but also makes room for a Southport pastor and the founder of the WTO (that’s World Toilet Organisation, by the way). However, there are also sections allowing the reader to assess his or her own level of entrepreneurship and a quick ‘set up a social enterprise on a beermat’ how-to guide. Finally, those looking for the bigger picture can enjoy Clark’s typologies of the social entrepreneur and his concluding chapters on social enterprise’s potential to transform the world; chapters in which his refusal to be deflected by negativity or cynicism are most evident.

Martin Clark’s organisation Citylife, based in Cambridge, is a member of SEEE – why not use that route to get in touch for a chat? Who knows, you might get the inspiration to write the next social enterprise classic yourself.

Andy Brady leads the 3rd Sector Futures initiative at Anglia Ruskin University www.3rdsectorfutures.co.uk.

Students from Hailey Hall School with staff from Tesco and Nicci Stathan far right

get CSR connected Hertfordshire-based Community Interest Company ‘Get CSR Connected’ which provides Corporate Social Responsibility CSR brokerage and consultancy services has become one of SEEE’s latest recruits. The company was formed in October 2008 by former accountant Nicci Stathan with the aim of bringing together corporate and not for profit organisations to deliver socially responsible benefits to the local community.

For an annual membership fee, based on turnover, companies can access a range of benefits including training in the principles of CSR, local networking, and advice on developing a CSR policy. Other benefits include help with advertising events and encouraging employees to get involved with community projects.

One recent example of Get CSR Connected’s work is a project that brought together employees from retail giant Tesco and students from Hailey Hall School in Broxbourne to create an eco-friendly allotment in the school grounds.

In March this year the company brokered a collaboration between image consultants Step Out in Style, human resources consultants Exolve Ltd and Marriott Hotels to provide interview training and image advice for school children preparing for their first job interviews.

Although it is early days, Nicci is confident that her new company will really make a difference in helping businesses achieve their CRS responsibilities by working more closely with the local community to promote a more vibrant, inclusive society.

For more information go to www.getcrsconnected.org.uk or call 07817 246930.

PG 12 ~ SUMMER 2009

aboutME

what I wanted to be when I grew up...

As a boy of ten growing up in Milan I had only one ambition – to join the army and become a soldier. I spent most of my time in the woods wearing combat gear; I think sometimes my parents had trouble finding me because I blended in so well with the trees.

Every able bodied male in Italy had to do national service when they reached 19 and for me this was just what I’d been waiting for. My enthusiasm was short lived. Far from being the romantic exciting life I had imagined the reality of being a raw recruit in the Italian army was a mixture of fetching and carrying and putting up with the inevitable bullies. Nevertheless, I did progress to the rank of Corporal and led groups of men on exercises in the Alps – we often won the monthly training competitions, much to the annoyance of some of the old sweats who criticised me for being too friendly with the men.

The army wasn’t for me and on leaving I did a marketing course and got a job as a salesman selling advertising space for Yellow Pages before moving on to early generation mobile phones. I was involved in a serious car accident that wasn’t my fault and a successful claim for compensation gave me the opportunity to indulge one of my other great passions – cooking. I decided to use my compensation to pay for a course at the world famous Cordon Bleu school of cookery in Paris which I enjoyed very much. After my training I worked for several top restaurants in Paris and it was during this time that I met my wife Clare, an English girl from St Albans, who was working in the tourism industry. We decided to move to England and for a while I worked as a chef at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

I think the idea of starting Celtic Harmony, was born from my love of the outdoors and my interest in history. We found the site on a redundant part of a farm near Hertford and set about building our Celtic village. The aim was to create a living village where people could experience how our ancestors lived and take part in activities like Iron Age cookery, Weaving, Archery and making pottery. That was ten years ago and the project has been a great success. We now have around 7,000 visitors a year, mainly from schools, but also from local authorities and businesses who send their staff on our team building courses.

The greatest thrill for me is seeing the smiles on peoples’ faces when they visit us and do things they have only read about in books.

Some things you have to experience to fully understand and our Iron Age village brings the past to life like no history lesson could ever hope to.

For more information visit www.celticharmony.org or call 01438718543.

Issue 26 Summer 2009. In Touch is published by SEEE. SEEE is funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).

To communicate with SEEE contact: a: SEEE, Bedford i Lab, Stannard Way, Bedford, MK44 3RZ e: hello@seee.co.uk t: 0845 6066296 Editorial staff: Editor: David Jordan Assistant Editor: Steve Jordan Graphic design: Berri Art & Design Advertising sales: SEEE office 01234 834549 Please send PR and other information to: David Jordan e: intouch@seee.co.uk t: 01908 695500

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AUTUMN 2009 ISSUE 27 PG 13 ~ SUMMER 2009

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