When business and profit just don't mix

Howard Lake | 24 November 2003 | News

Kevin McMullen, Chief Executive of the St Elizabeth’s Centre, argues that there is more than one model of social enterprise and that the DTI would do well to remember the different approaches adopted by some charities.

The recent publication of a Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) Social Enterprise Unit (SEnU) commissioned consultation report made recommendations for the methodology of a UK wide social enterprise mapping project. The project is due to be implemented in Autumn 2003. The DTI study will seek to establish the value and size of the social enterprise culture in the UK by examining strategic development and programme delivery. The study will also assess economic conditions and develop directories of social enterprise projects.

The Government’s intention is for social enterprises to be viable businesses. In the majority of cases there is great potential for success and for the businesses to be very productive. For charities such as the St. Elizabeth’s Centre, however, applying social enterprise initiatives is a very different scenario and schemes are developed in a tailored, non-mainstream way.

The St. Elizabeth’s Centre provides educational and residential care for children and adults with severe and complex forms of epilepsy and we have been building a network of social enterprises for nearly a year now. In our five year strategic plan, we have acknowledged that work, learning and leisure are key elements of a rounded and fulfilled lifestyle and we see social enterprise projects as a way of helping to fulfil some of these elements for the 104 residents at the St. Elizabeth’s Centre.

Through the social enterprise projects that have been put in place, the St Elizabeth’s Centre can address the need for viable people-centred businesses in order to provide supported employment for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market. By identifying local need our social enterprise schemes can take advantage of local opportunity. One of the most encouraging factors of social enterprise projects is that they help to retain wealth in local communities, and by enabling local people to own the enterprise we are able, in turn, to create a more dynamic local community. However, I must stress that it is important for social enterprise businesses to be developed for the right reasons, rather than for the sole purpose of trading and making money. The more focus there is on making money, the less focus there is on helping people to fulfil their desire to work, learn and progress.

At St. Elizabeth’s we now offer a range of social enterprise projects which residents and students are encouraged to take part in. These include Splinters, which is a retail warehouse unit in Bishops Stortford specialising in furniture refurbishment, and a horticultural project based within the 65 acres of land surrounding the Centre.

Grants from the local Learning and Skills Council and Social Enterprise Unit have assisted us in the development of St Elizabeth’s social enterprise projects. A recent grant of £170,000 from Hertfordshire Learning and Skills Council has allowed us to create The Art-House. The new project includes an art and ceramics studio, created in an old laundry building at the Centre, which has been refurbished especially for the Art-House project.

St. Elizabeth’s ensures the viability of its emerging network of social enterprise units by combining trading with training. The Learning and Skills Council is keen to develop realistic workplace based training opportunities; social enterprises provide the ideal platform for the people with a range of disabilities and disadvantages to grow their skills and build confidence. The LSC training grants offer a secure revenue income to counter any trading shortfalls.

I suspect that this is not quite the model of social enterprise envisaged by the DTI’s Social Enterprise unit but it is important that the individuals being served and their needs are kept at the forefront of planning.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.