Dear Colleagues s2

Dear Colleagues

A dramatic week with the failure of the budget, however the Third Sector Division tells me that though the main consequences of this mainly affects the Scottish Investment Fund – now frozen at this year’s £4m level - they are keen for applications to keep on coming, as work is ‘ongoing’. In the meantime, leaving aside budgetary negotiations now fast and furious, the good news is that the Social Entrepreneurs Fund and the new Third Sector Enterprise Fund, which goes live today, are unaffected.

As this cold recession-hit month has progressed, over in our town halls, the Concordat and a second year's Single Outcome Agreements are exercising minds. For us the inconsistent understanding and representation of the social enterprise model within Community Planning Partnerships remain a real challenge, one which we are all going to have to work together to address. Attached is a short template which I'd be most grateful if you could fill in, detailing any connections with local authorities, to assist us in our ongoing policy engagement. Looming on the horizon too is the deadline for the Big Lottery Fund consultation on future funding priorities. Many of you will have attended the Big Thinking meetings, but may I please urge everyone to complete the online questionnaire (details below) before the 27th February deadline, or feed in thoughts to me before the 20th February so that we can include them in our own response. We understand that elements within Scotland’s voluntary sector are actively calling for social enterprises to be ineligible for future funding - an odd contradiction given BIG's commitment to sustainability and one which I would ask you to join us in confounding.

Other news - we are just over three weeks away from the end of our S2S trade fair early bird rates. Please may I ask all intermediaries to spread the word to members and also bear in mind that several local authority Directors of Economic Development are keen to fund exhibitors from their local areas. If you would like to exhibit, do please ask yours. Booking also entitles you to a reduction off next year’s membership subscription. Two Coalition events coming up: next Wednesday's Cross Party Group meeting on Culture and Media at the Scottish Parliament, and our Scottish MPs lunchtime reception briefing in the House of Commons on 12 March - we do have a few bursaries available towards travel costs if you would like to join us in London.

Finally a big thank you to our hard-working seconded Parliamentary & Communications Officer David Ogilvie who returns to the SFHA after 7 months, and a warm welcome to Callum Chomczuk, our permanent replacement who is very much looking forward to meeting you.

With best wishes,

Antonia Swinson, Chief Executive

Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition News

Secretary of State visits Dundee social enterprise On Thursday 22 January, Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy MP visited Dundee social enterprise Cycle Stop, a UK Government funded social enterprise project set up to create sustainable employment opportunities for long term unemployed people. More here...

Coalition hosts British Irish Council tour of Glasgow social enterprises On Thursday 15 January, the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition organised and hosted a tour of three Glasgow-based social enterprises for senior civil servants from all four corners of the British Isles, as part of the Scottish Government’s own hosting of a delegation from the British Irish Council. More here...

Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition Business Forum on “Surviving Recession” You can now download notes from the business forum here. Sandy Watson later wrote to tell us that “The npEnterprise Forum and its subscribers in the US are dealing with many similar issues. I find the postings to this forum interesting and informative. Perhaps other members of SSEC will too”. Visit the npEnterprise Forum website.

New Coalition publication “Funding for Social Enterprise” At our recent parliamentary event on BME social enterprises in November, it became clear there was a real need for us to provide a quick and easy introductory guide on social enterprise funding. We are delighted to announce that our new funding guide, produced in partnership with the Social Enterprise Academy, is now available for download here.

MSP Visits Arranging visits for Members of the Scottish Parliament is an important part of our work – the very best way to communicate just what social enterprise can achieve. Please let our new Policy & Communications Officer, Callum Chomczuk, know if you would like to host or organise a visit – contact him on 0131 243 2654 or email [email protected]. The next scheduled visit sees Sarah Boyack MSP visiting the Soap Company in Edinburgh on Friday 13 February 2009. A number of other MSP visits will be arranged in the very near future.

Coalition’s “Buy Social Enterprise” Christmas website - update Thank you to all who participated in our pilot project “Buy Social Enterprise this Christmas” webpage which promoted 12 social enterprise products. The Coalition is now carrying out an evaluation in order to determine and inform the development of any similar future projects. If you have any comments or questions about the Christmas webpage, contact Donna Ferguson.

A Community of Business: Programme Roll-out for 2008-2011 The Coalition's Community of Business' programme of engagement with the private sector continues in partnership with Senscot, SCDI and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce. Chambers of Commerce events  26 February 2009: Dundee & Angus  17 March 2009: Inverness  25 March 2009: Renfrewshire SCDI Events  12 February 2009: SCDI Glasgow City Study Tour  27 February 2009: SCDI Business Breakfast, Glasgow For more information on all “A Community of Business” events and activities, please contact Donna Ferguson on 0131 243 2653 or email [email protected]

Future Coalition Diary Dates

“Partnerships for Growth”- MacRoberts Social Enterprise legal briefings series Places are still available for our second legal seminar on Wednesday 18 March 2009 for our members which focuses on building consortia with social enterprises and the private sector to win public sector contracts. Click here for information and booking details.

Thursday 12 March 2009, 12.00noon until 2.00pm: Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition’s Westminster Parliamentary Lunchtime Briefing, Jubilee Room, Westminster Hall Our lunchtime briefing for Scottish MPs, hosted by John Barrett MP, will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing social enterprises in Scotland. Keynote speakers include Antonia Swinson, Laurie Russell and Gerry Higgins, and there will be ample opportunity for members to contribute their thoughts and talk about their businesses. We are offering a small number of bursaries toward travel costs. For more information contact Callum Chomczuk.

Thursday 23 April 2009: S2S 09 Trade Fair, Edinburgh Corn Exchange Exhibition stands are going fast for the 2009 S2S Trade Fair which is taking place at Edinburgh's Corn Exchange on Thursday 23 April. This year's theme is the Marketplace and the Trade Fair will provide the perfect arena for social enterprise organisations or those with an interest in the sector to meet, trade, exchange ideas and establish new relationships. Exhibitor booking is now open and a special discounted Early Bird rate is available until Wednesday 18 February 2009. Booking a stand also means you can take advantage of a number of fantastic discount opportunities that we have for renewal of your membership of the Coalition:  Early Bird bookers will qualify for a 15% reduction in their Coalition membership renewal when purchasing any exhibition stand  New members who complete a membership application form by 18 February 2009 will also benefit from a 15% reduction in their membership fee when booking any exhibition stand  Early Bird non-exhibiting delegates will qualify for a 5% reduction on their membership / renewal fee For further information and booking visit www.s2stradefair.com or contact Elise McDonald via email [email protected] or telephone 0131 557 5767.

Parliamentary Update

Cross Party Group on Media and Culture Leading Coalition members will address the Cross Party Group on Media and Culture on Wednesday 4 February 2009 from 5.30pm until 7.30pm in Committee Room 6, Scottish Parliament to highlight the importance of cultural and media social enterprises to the social and economic wellbeing of Scotland, particularly in this time of recession. If you wish to attend, contact Callum Chomczuk on 0131 243 2654 or email [email protected].

Policy Update

“Big Thinking” – Big Lottery Fund Consultation closes 27/02/2009 The Big Lottery Fund are currently consulting stakeholders via their Big Thinking consultation exercise, as they seek to shape their funding policies from 2009 - 2015. These will guide how they award funds to the projects that help them make the biggest impact with your Lottery pound. Please register with the Big Thinking website here and return the consultation survey. Contact Callum on 0131 243 2654 or email [email protected].

Scottish Government Consultation on 16+ Learning Choices: First Step Activity and Financial Support Consultation closes 20/02/2009 16+ Learning Choices is the new model to support the planning of the senior phase of Curriculum for Excellence. The Social Enterprise Academy will be leading the Coalition’s response on this consultation, details of which can be found on the Scottish Government website here: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/246154. If you want to feed in your thoughts, please contact Neil McLean at the Social Enterprise Academy: [email protected].

Members’ News A very warm welcome to our new Members and Associates  Institute of Occupational Medicine (Members) - www.iom-world.org  Social Enterprise Clydebank Ltd (Members)

Scotland to measure “goodness” The Scottish Government is developing a standard procedure of measuring social return on investment. A consortium of third sector, social enterprise and advisory organisations led by Scottish social enterprise Forth Sector will run the project. Read more here...

Scotland Can Build a Great Burns Legacy Coalition member the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations has launched a major new campaign to create a lasting legacy to Robert Burns in his home country, by seeking to start work building 10,000 new affordable homes for rent this year – called the Year of the Home Coming Campaign. Full story here...

Various job opportunities within the sector Co-operative Development Scotland is currently recruiting for a Business Development Manager’s post, see their advert on the Scottish Enterprise website here and Co-operative Development Scotland website here. Meanwhile, Cornerstone Community Care is looking for a Head of Marketing & Enterprise, see more details here. Last but not least, Aberdeen social firm The Breadmaker is looking for a new Chairman – further details here.

Sector News, Events & Resources

Scottish Enterprise Free Business Advice & Support Scottish Enterprise has launched a new website www.nowsthetimetoask.com which provides information and support to businesses including social enterprises, in response to the economic downturn. A series of free events Facing the Challenge - events to help you through the downturn has also been organised for various locations across Scotland. More here...

Government extends Credit Union funding to build capacity and sustainability A £250k fund to help credit unions grow and weather the global downturn has been launched by the Scottish Government, John Swinney has announced. The scheme will be delivered as part of the new Third Sector Enterprise Fund. Read more here...

Mandelson's credit boost for business set to damage social enterprises The business secretary Lord Mandelson's much vaunted £20bn business support package meant to ease the recession could end up hitting cashflow to social enterprises in the UK's most deprived areas. Read more...

Community Powerdown The most recent round of funding from the Scottish Government's Climate Challenge fund includes an award to Community Powerdown - a consortium project from 27 community groups, Community Energy Scotland and the Development Trusts Association Scotland. To find out more see the Community Energy Scotland website. More information about projects awarded Climate Challenge funding is available from the Scottish Government's website.

Assynt Foundation secure major funding The group that led the successful community buy-out of the 44,400 acre Glencanisp and Drumrunie estates in 2005 has been awarded £250k by Highlands and Islands Enterprise towards the overall cost of renovating a former hunting lodge on the estate. This development will play a key role in the Assynt Foundation’s future plans to attract new visitors and business into the area - read the Local People Leading article here...

Centre for Justice Awards Are you a small grass roots charity/voluntary group tackling poverty in your local area? If you are people- focused, tackling causes and symptoms, driven by conviction and motivated by compassion then please apply. More here...

Giant co-op merger could bring opportunities for social enterprise Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) says that its proposed merger with the mutual Britannia will not result in less commercial lending to social businesses. Read more...

New free film available explaining what Social Firms are A new film is now available which explains what a Social Firm is to anyone unfamiliar with the concept. For more information read the full story on our website here...

Scottish Business in the Community’s Awards for Excellence 2009 Scottish Business in the Community’s Awards for Excellence and Company of the Year Awards is still open for entries. Visit www.sbcscot.com/awards for more information.

The time is now, says Brennan Economic optimism may be in short supply in government circles, but Kevin Brennan, the Minister for the Third Sector, believes that despite the current fiscal turmoil, social enterprise is an idea whose time has arrived. Read more here...

Events

Remember you can always view our Events calendar here...

9 February 2009: Enterprise Scotland: Challenging Times, Holyrood’s Second Annual Conference on Enterprise, Glasgow Hilton Antonia Swinson will be speaking on the subject of why social enterprise is the way forward. For further information and booking details see the Holyrood Conferences website here.

10 – 11 February 2009: Voice ’09, International Conference Centre, Birmingham Social Enterprise Coalition (UK) have announced that Leader of the Opposition Rt. Hon David Cameron, MP will open Voice09, the UK's largest annual social enterprise conference, with a keynote speech on 10 February 2009 in Birmingham. Read more here...

Social Enterprise Academy training The Academy will be delivering two vital courses at no cost to participants at venues right across Scotland during February and March: (1) Financial Management workshops: A single day workshop aims to enhance and develop your confidence and understanding with the language and tools of finance. See here for more information. (2) Writing Tenders for Public Sector Contracts: The 2-day course aims to provide you with a thorough grounding in the procurement process gearing you up to bid for and win public sector contracts. See here for more information.

4 March 2009: Marketing Your Organisation Online Register for one or both non-technical half-day (morning and afternoon) management training seminars on internet marketing being run by Praxis Now in Glasgow on Wednesday 4th March. For more information see here

4-6 March 2009: Social Accounting Masterclass & Workshops, Edinburgh A Social Accounting Masterclass will be held in Edinburgh on March 4 & 5 and a Social Auditor Workshop, also in Edinburgh on March 6. Details are available by contacting John Pearce on 01506 870477 or [email protected]

5 March 2009: HISEZ Annual Conference The Annual HISEZ Conference is an opportunity to come together and discuss the latest events and issues facing Social Enterprises. For further details: www.hisezconference.co.uk

10 March 2009: Community Recycling in a Zero Waste Scotland, Perth Concert Hall MTR09 is a must for anyone working in the recycling and waste sector. It is the largest gathering of people committed to maximising the potential of the community recycling sector. For more information click here. For general enquiries contact Joyce Walsh, CRNS Events Officer, Tel: 01786 469002 or email: [email protected].

17 March 2009: Creating a Sustainable Third Sector: opportunities and challenges This conference looks at the various challenges facing the third sector, Laurie Russell will be speaking about social enterprise. For more information click here.

21 April 2009: Transitions Conference 2009 “Moving Out: Moving On - But Where To?” Camphill Scotland in collaboration with the Scottish Government presents a one day conference exploring the challenges of the transition process for young people with special needs. For more information click here.

Resources

For a range of information and resources visit the new Resources section on the website.