The Future of INSPIRE

Rapid growth for social enterprise

We all want social enterprise to grow more quickly and become a powerful economic player.

But starting up a social enterprise from scratch can be a long and very costly process. One way of overcoming this is through social franchising – businesses in a box.

The social franchise option First you have to persuade the social franchisor that you are capable of setting up and running one of their social franchises. If you can, then they will help you set up one of their social franchises and often help raise the funding to do this or work with you for free.

This brings you huge benefits. It brings you:  a recognised brand with a proven track record – like Sunderland Home Care Associates or Community Renewable Energy  business-specific knowledge  the support of people who have run and managed your type of business  the credibility of a proven organisation  ongoing support to develop your business through working with other social franchise members  access to shared resources or staff that on your own you couldn’t afford, like marketing or legal support

All this makes starting a social enterprise much quicker and much more certain. You retain independence and local control but as part of a federation of social franchisors you have the clout and resources of a large organisation.

Taking on a social franchise We, the Social Franchising Network UK (SFN-UK), can provide you with access to a growing number of social franchises from the UK and the rest of Europe. Either we can simply tell you what is available, or we can run one of our Business in a Box (BiB)Workshops. At a BiB workshop you can find out more about social franchising and, probably more importantly, learn more about social franchise options from the people who run the social franchises themselves. At the end of the one or two day session, you will have identified a social franchise option and developed an outline business plan for setting one up. This will tell you, and the social franchisor you wish to work with, whether or not your social franchise idea is viable and what steps you and the social franchisor need to take next. It is a practical, training for real session.

Overleaf we list the social franchises that are involved in the workshops and where you can find out more about them.

Next steps If you want to find out more about social franchising go to www.socialfranchising.coop, the website of our sister European organisation. If you want to find out more about our BiB workshops, joining SFN-UK, or one of the social franchises, contact Keith at [email protected], telephone 07951 935235

Social Franchises working with SFN-UK

Care and Share Associates – replicating the Sunderland Home Care Associates award-winning care model Care and Share Associates (CASA) is the UK's leading employee owned homecare social enterprise. There are 4 CASA units in operation providing over 7,000 hours of care per week. www.casaltd.com

Option C Car Club – reducing car usage Option C operates car clubs with the aim of providing people with an alternative to private car ownership and use. www.optionc.co.uk

Community Renewable Energy, CoRE – creating community owned renewables CoRE works in partnership with communities to set up renewable energy systems, providing the expertise, credibility to deal with planners, financiers, equipment manufacturers, to make this possible. www.core.coop

Villa Vägen ut! – Employment and housing for people with drug and alcohol problems Vägen ut! kooperativen works with the national Swedish cooperative development agency, Coompanion, to promote and spread the Villa Vägen ut! social franchise to create employment options and a drug-free living environment for residents. www.vagenut.coop

LE MAT Hotel Chain – environmentally friendly hotel chain employing disabled people LE MAT has set up a number of hotels in Italy under the LE MAT brand employing disabled people, with new LE MAT hotels opening in Sweden and Slovakia. www.lemat.coop

Spruce Carpets – recycling and reusing carpets Spruce Carpets Glasgow recycles and reuses carpets and now has two franchises being developed in County Durham.

New Leaf New Life – social enterprises in health care New Leaf New Life CIC (NLNL) is a social enterprise incubator unit operating within the heart of the NE Strategic Health Authority’s Health and Well-Being Portfolio.

RED Initiatives – rapid enterprise development for disabled people The Rapid Enterprise Development (RED-Hot) Process offers an innovative and creative way to fast-track the development of social and micro-enterprises. Essentially RED is about creating real employment opportunities by creating an enterprising culture with disabled people. www.micromemos.co.uk/member.php

The Childcare People – childcare workers agency The Childcare People (TCP) is a South Tyneside based social enterprise specialising in supplying high quality childcare workers.

Light Foot Household Energy Services (H.E.S.) – reducing our carbon footprint The Household Energy Services (HES) programme has been helping individuals and communities reduce their home energy bills and their carbon footprints for over two years. HES guides people through the steps towards lighter bills and a lighter life style. www.light- foot.org/