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Growing her business from a school project that started when she was 17, Jemma Phibbs is empowering schools to maximise their resources while bringing communities together. What does your social enterprise do? School Space helps schools generate extra funds by hiring out their spaces to individuals, clubs, societies, and local businesses outside of school hours. We manage the school’s lettings process from fielding the initial enquiry to booking and supervising the actual events. Our aim is to make it hassle-free for any school in the UK to create an additional source of income for itself through renting its spaces. What made you start your business up? Back in 2010, James, my co-founder, and I became part of Wheatley Park’s Head Boy and Girl Team. It was around this time when our school was put into ‘special measures’ by Ofsted. It became our mission to show that our school was about more than just this ‘failing’. We struck on the the idea of renting out Wheatley Park’s facilities to make the school money, and open its doors to the local community to show them how amazing our school was. Now, we offer the same service to schools across London, Oxford and Berkshire, so they can generate extra income for their school’s initiatives by hiring out their spaces. How do you measure your impact? Since School Space’s inception in 2011, we have generated over £1.2m in profit for our partner schools. This metric is incredibly important to us as a business and we track it meticulously. In context, this equates to 430,000 free school meals and 83 teaching assistants to provide additional support. For us, that’s the game changer. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? With the encouragement of a teacher, we submitted to Oxford Business X, a competition for young entrepreneurs, which involved pitching to local business ‘dragons’ in the hope of acquiring financial backing. We ended up pitching successfully, paying for the initial startup costs (especially insurance). That was really the first push we had to build out to grow our project into a social enterprise. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? We first set up as a company limited by guarantee as we were only 17 and it seemed most sensible. However we are now a company limited by shares with a mission lock - this means we have been able to raise impact investment and take on shareholders, but we are also clear about our mission and only attract investors who are behind putting purpose as equal to profit. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? Getting to witness the benefits from different directions that are a result of the work we do. For example, a single booking can have benefits for the school where it’s hosted, School Space as a business, the community at large as well as the individual volunteers and community connectors who participate in making it happen. It’s fascinating to see! What have been the three biggest challenges that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? I think my co-founder and I are constantly improving upon our management of people and people’s expectations. We are definitely still working on figuring out how to best run a team when a big chunk of our employees are older and more experienced than us. I think another big challenge for entrepreneurs is self-belief. ‘Impostor syndrome’ means you don’t believe that you actually achieve what you do. This holds people back in terms of ambition, but also prevents them from shouting about what’s good about what they’ve done. A personal one for me is managing expectations and managing to say no - I’ve always wanted to be everywhere doing everything, but as the company has grown I can’t give my time to everything I want to without seriously impacting my wellbeing and the growth of the business. Prioritising and knowing when to push back has been a big learning curve. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? The more I learn, the more I think the key to everything is good communication. Also, always ask for advice. You’ll never know everything and there are always amazing people willing to help. Why do you think social enterprise is important? I just think it’s a no-brainer. Why do profit and purpose have to be at odds? I think no matter what the legal structure, a social enterprise is a way of being transparent and that both are important to your organisation. I’m a big believer in the speed and pace of business and the need to raise/make investment to make a return - but I also think that business should benefit society and there’s not much point if you’re not doing good. Social enterprise melds these together. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? Seeing our partner schools become community hubs, due to the fact that they work with School Space. It has such a transformational impact and the best bit is that they can continue to focus on education whilst we make this happen. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? The Oxford Social Enterprise Partnership (OSEP) and Unltd do a lot of free courses for social entrepreneurs and have accelerator programmes and grants that you can apply for. Impact Hub is another great resource - they provide co-working space for social businesses  - there’s three of them in London. They host some incredible events where other social entrepreneurs share learnings, failures and host workshops. It’s a great community to position yourself in. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? It’s exactly like running a normal business. There just seems to be more at stake because our entire network of partner schools is also relying on our services to continue generating their own extra income. What are your plans for the next two to five years? I want to continue being part of the creation of thriving schools at the centre of thriving communities. Our vision is to revolutionise the way that schools interact with their local communities and generate at least £10m for the sector. Being able to do this on a national level will be our focus as a social enterprise for the coming years. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? I imagine a world in which all schools should be viewed as community-use hubs. There should be a need for schools to be open to the community, whether that’s to make money or just to run programmes that are self-funded. Schools shouldn’t be closed. Many social issues can be addressed through opening schools up. I also think an equally quality education for all young people - ideally through a fully-funded education sector (through our help or otherwise) - can solve a lot of the world's problems! What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? hiring the first employee at School Space and building out our team in general when we hit £1m generated for our partner schools when we attracted our first investor - which meant that more people were starting to believe in our mission and our vision What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? I think it should be part of every entrepreneur’s responsibility to do good through their business - whatever they’re working on. In my experience, companies that build positive social impact into their DNA do better in the long-run and achieve even greater successes.

Key Fund, one of the UK’s leading social investors, has £5m of finance available for communities across the North and Midlands. The ‘alternative bank’ is inviting people who want to scale up or set up a social enterprise to access the blended grant and loan finance offer as it marks 20 years of investing in 2020. To date, the anti-poverty organisation has invested £54m in social enterprises – businesses that put people and the planet at the heart of their enterprise. Matt Smith, CEO of Key Fund, said: “Social enterprises are simply businesses with a social or environmental mission at their heart. "With 20 years’ experience, we know what works, how to support social entrepreneurs, and how to sustain businesses. Over the years, this movement has grown and is now at the forefront of tackling society’s biggest challenges, from homelessness, addiction, loneliness, poverty and inequality to the environment, with community-led green energy schemes, projects tackling food waste, and recycling enterprises.” Over two decades, Key Fund has given business support and finance to over 2,500 organisations, enabling 1,354 and safeguarding 2,171 jobs, and creating 520 new businesses across the North and the Midlands. All the businesses Key Fund supports have been turned down by mainstream banks or lenders. Of the investments, 80% are in businesses that operate in the top 30% most deprived areas on the indices of multiple deprivation. Matt said: “Against a backdrop of austerity and rising inequality, local people are taking control of the issues that matter to them with real passion. Social entrepreneurs are remarkable individuals working at the coalface of their communities, offering very real solutions to endemic problems. They transform lives.”

As UMi opens nominations for the 2020 Social Entrepreneur Index, the company celebrated its work over the last few years in helping to support community-based businesses to the tune of £38 million in grants. UMi is just completing a four year programme working with Power to Change. The company’s focus is now on identifying exciting new social entrepreneurs across the country for this year’s Social Entrepreneur Index. Now in its second year, the Index is a celebration of entrepreneurs running businesses with social purposes. Its aim is to give recognition of their amazing talents and achievements, whilst also acting as a benchmark for good practice to inspire the next generation. Nicki Clark, Chief Executive of UMi, explained: “For over a decade, UMi has been celebrating and inspiring entrepreneurship across the UK. Making a difference as a result of being a great business is how we do things at UMi. You don’t have to be a formal social enterprise or community business to do that, and we are seeing others taking a similar view. “We know many trailblazing social entrepreneurs don’t often find time to reflect on their success, so we wanted to offer the opportunity to celebrate while gaining additional exposure for their work, as well as further connections and support.” The UMi Social Entrepreneur Index focuses on the business people who go further to make the world a better place. It gives them a platform to tell their story and to provide inspiration to thousands of others in the process. Eligible social entrepreneurs can work in any field and be tackling a social or environmental issue, locally or internationally. To find out more and nominate a social entrepreneur, go to https://www.socialentsindex.co.uk/. Nominations close 31 March 2020.

David Brazer has one goal, to change people's lives for the better. He believes that given the right circumstances and environments, anyone has the ability to reach their full potential, so he provides them with just that. A social entrepreneur full of drive and determination, David and his team at Citadel have overcome incredible obstacles to continue delivering training and opportunity to those who need it most. Here is his story. What does your social enterprise do? My Social Enterprise supports the most marginalised unemployed and young learners into employment, training and career support through innovative programs. Our programs are designed to support people at specific stages of life’s journey. Citadel focusses on Employment, Ignition Training Centres are designed as garage spaces to give people who are more ‘hands on’ than academic, practical skills in the Motor industry but also help with critical thinking skills, Accredited Qualifications, something for their CV, self-efficacy, confidence, real work experience and a reference. Unlimited Potential is designed to give people self development and entrepreneurial skills for self-employment. What made you start your business up? In 2007 I met John. He was a new client with Cerebral Palsy. John couldn’t speak; his gait was twisted, and he was in constant pain. John had made it to college to do a course there and he asked me to help him find a job to put something back into the community. I found John and others like him inspirational and decided to set up my business to help the most marginalised to succeed. How do you measure your impact? We have used a cost benefit analysis tool created by the council to input the data of clients from before they start to after they leave us. Data is provided on qualitative and quantitative results such as Employment found, New skills and qualifications achieved, increases in confidence, addiction becoming under control, mental health improvement, making friends. The best way we know to understand the impact of the measures is when they tell us that we have helped change their life. They are the ones who do it but to get that feedback makes it all worthwhile. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? I didn’t receive help to start. I worked my way up from adviser to operations manager elsewhere so learned the trade but took a leap of faith setting up my own company doing these things. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? I consulted a solicitor as I wanted the service to be not for profit social enterprise and he suggested the way forward. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? Changing people’s lives. That’s what we do it for. When they have social anxiety or haven’t worked for 18 years as one of our clients recently had and he has now accessed a job. He originally came with his son who has Asperger’s and he has also gained his qualification and is working. That has changed the motivational, psychological, financial prospects of the whole family. What has been the biggest challenge that you have overcome (or that you’re still working on)? Last year I spent thousands of pounds on a new Training Centre which burned to the ground one Friday night. We found out about it on Saturday night. It was the hardest time of my life. I had to keep the contracts running, the service running for the service users, worried about the staff and their livelihoods. I had a poster on my wall, a quote from Winston Churchill which read "If you’re going through hell, keep going". My ceiling was burned and half hanging down, partly covering the quote with the words ‘Keep Going’ still visible. I decided by Monday morning that this is what we would do. I told the team and we were back in business 30 days later. Not only that but I decided to set up another centre in Sheffield which opens soon. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Success is never about can or can’t, it’s about will or won’t. There is a two-step success formula that can’t miss as long as both steps are followed. 1 - Start 2 - Finish Too many people fail because they fail to do one or both of these steps. All of the steps in between are just learning sets. Why do you think social enterprise is important? Too many people are written off and consequently put off from achieving their true potential by people who put them down and damage their creativity and aspirations while they are young. Their beliefs and therefore their imagination are suppressed. Everyone is born to achieve and all it takes are the right circumstances and environment to show the world what they can do. Social Entrepreneurs are often from this background and they are the ones who understand how to unlock the potential in people, teams and society in general. They do this in a way that is people and needs led not geared towards making money fast. That’s why Social enterprise is needed. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? There have been many ups and downs and it is far from an easy ride, however whenever a client who has been written off and his or her life is changed by their determination, it makes it worthwhile. We have been honoured with many awards (all lost in the fire), one at the House of Lords. We have managed to get lottery funding twice through hard work. We had a visit from Shayne Ward from Boyzone and we even managed to take our apprentice to the Palace and give him an experience that he never imagined could happen and will never forget. What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? As it is a passion of mine we have recently started a project called Unlimited Potential where Social Entrepreneurs get together and support new Social Entrepreneurs. I have written a book on the subject called "Anyone can do Easy". I would recommend www.Unltd.org.uk and Social Enterprise UK https://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/ as a beginning and the local Community Voluntary Services. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? The most surprising thing is how difficult it has been to get people and organisations on board to work together. This I think is due to the way funding works in the sector which sometimes precludes them from utilising a whole person complex needs approach due to the fear of double funding issues. What are your plans for the next 2-5 years? This month I am opening another training centre in Sheffield and developing new projects entrepreneur support, speakers college and online course development regarding making a living online for people who find it difficult to leave the house. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? I would like to my daughter’s generation safe in the knowledge that we have reversed the destructive forces that threaten the planet and regenerate the environment they rely on. I would also like to see a world without boundaries and borders and protectionism. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Starting Citadel when everyone said I couldn’t. Finding the courage and strength to rebuild my training centre after losing everything in the fire. Being recognised with many awards after being nominated particularly Entrepreneur of the year. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? It is a fact of business life that the more people you support the better it is for your business. It’s all too easy to focus on making money. We need to focus on making a difference to as many people as possible and success and money come through doing this sincerely and effectively.

Recognising changing market conditions for charities and social enterprises, Michelle Wright created Cause4 to help organisations plan and implement sound strategies for growth. She shares her story with us, from reaching organisational maturity to gaining B-Corp status. What does your social enterprise do? Cause4 is a social enterprise and one of the first certified B-Corporations in the UK. The company was founded on ethical values to support charitable organisations to change and grow, as well as to raise vital funds working across the charity, arts, sports and education sectors. Our model is based on three founding principles which run through all our work: income – developing robust and sustainable business plans and effective fundraising and investment strategies to ensure that organisations can grow and evolve innovation – leading from the front in developing new ideas, implementing new innovations and supporting the change management needed for success insight – offering a range of learning opportunities through our unique blend of face to face training combined with our e-learning platform Cause4 Advance, all underpinned by the latest data and research Provoking change is at the heart of our mission. It’s not the size of the project that matters to us but whether it can make an impact. What made you start your business up? We started in May 2009 six months after the last recession in 2008. At that point I knew that the world had changed and that charities and social enterprises were going to need to adapt their business models to succeed in a tough climate – that’s where the concept of Cause4 emerged from. How do you measure your impact? Cause4 measures its social impact based on the level of income achieved for clients, and supporting organisations to grow so that they can reach more beneficiaries, more effectively. Our commitment to lifelong learning means that we also track the careers of the graduates we invest in and our staff. Our aim is for Cause4 to support individuals to go on to have brilliant careers in the charitable sector and beyond. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? We have benefited from several accelerator programmes such as the Goldman Sachs 10k SB. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? We kept it simple and started with a company limited by shares to give us flexibility. What’s the best thing about being a social entrepreneur? Being able to take on causes with real social impact and to instigate change. What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs? Find a brilliant mentor and prioritize friendships with other entrepreneurs, this is where you learn the most from people that have actually done it! Why do you think social enterprise is important? We’re operating in a fast-changing environment where activism, change and challenge are par for the course. Social Enterprise and those people driving social impact are at the heart of this change. What’s been your most rewarding experience as a social entrepreneur? Reaching our 10th birthday and realising you can reach some sense of organisational maturity! What information sources would you recommend (books, websites, organisations?) to help someone just starting their social enterprise journey? Take advantage of any accelerator funding you can and find a small group of other founders that you can confide in and learn from. What’s been the most surprising thing about creating a social enterprise? That social and environmental values haven’t infiltrated the private sector more quickly. What are your plans for the next two to five years? To add depth to our three key areas of income, innovation and insight and to deepen the impact of our work and to roll out our e-learning model globally. What is the biggest change you would like to see in the world? For people to be kind to each other, and for a complete rebalancing of vile comments on social media. What have been your three proudest moments as a social entrepreneur? Reaching our 10th birthday milestone, raising c. £58m in charitable money, becoming one of the UK’s first B-Corps. What would you say to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider the social impact of their businesses? Value your values – it’s your personal values that drive the most radical social impacts.

TV Master Chef Matei Baran’s preparations for his new community café have been given a major boost by children he has taught to cook. Nine months ago, Chef Matei was invited to work with a group of students at the Haskel School, an independent Jewish special school in Gateshead. His weekly sessions have had a major impact on the children, aged between 12 and 15, who – when they heard about his café – were only too happy to grab a paintbrush. The Big Chef Mini Chef Coffee Shop opens at the Stepney Banks Stables in Newcastle on 1 February 2020 and will support the work of the riding school, which has created opportunities for thousands of young people over the last 25 years. At the café, Matei, who in 2016 reached the quarter-final of Master Chef: The Professionals, will run regular free cooking sessions for children and parents as part of his campaign to make the North East a healthier place – and the children and teachers from Haskel School will support him every step of the way. Mr Schauder, the Head of the school’s senior division, said Matei’s classes had been of huge benefit – even encouraging some of the children to like vegetables. “Besides the cooking element, they are learning about knife skills and kitchen safety. They are also picking up social skills as well. It’s therapy for them – just being in a group together – and we would never get them to sit together in a regular therapy session. They love it,” he said. Matei will continue to hold classes at the school after he opens his café, which is nearly ready thanks to the children’s help. “We’re always looking for opportunities for the kids to help out in the community and Matei needed help in getting his café ready, so I thought it would be a good start if we put them both together. The kids absolutely loved it, so it was a win-win situation,” said Mr Schauder. Chef Matei said working with the children was a privilege and their progress showed how cooking was so beneficial. He explained: “They’re a great bunch of kids and it’s been a lot of fun. I was so grateful for their help in the café. The Big Chef Mini Chef Coffee Shop is such an exciting project and this has been a great way to start it off." As well as helping children through cooking, Matei has developed a programme called Kitchen Therapy to support adults struggling with their mental wellbeing. The 12-week course, run in partnership with Middlesbrough Football Club’s Foundation, culminates with the novice chefs preparing a meal for paying guests. The first Kitchen Therapy project resulted in three of the participants securing jobs. The second course has just been launched in East Cleveland.

Chris Simes is the MD of Collingwood Learning; a theatre in education company passionate about helping organisations to make a difference while delivering on their corporate social responsibility (CSR) objectives. Here, he talks to UMi about how (and why) brands can make their CSR activity more than simply a ‘tick box’ exercise. There are many reasons firms might look to invest in CSR, with the most prevalent being to ensure their business has a positive impact on the community. However, the way you action your CSR commitment usually depends on what each company does – and if there are any perceived negatives to offset. Whatever your activity, people inside your business – as well as customers and stakeholders – will consider your commitment to CSR when evaluating whether to engage with you or not, so here are five ways to cement that success. Understand it People often confuse philanthropy (nothing wrong with that) with social responsibility. Giving is fantastic – it can motivate staff and make a difference – but social responsibility is more about an organisation aligning its core business with a wider mission. And both are inextricably linked. A crude example might be the difference between an MD of a software company sponsoring an opera concert because they like music and know the performance will be covered in the media, versus the same company championing careers in IT, running education initiatives, offering work experience and apprenticeships. In the latter case, the firm is making a beneficial difference to society, utilising its in-house expertise, aiding recruitment, and rightly benefitting reputationally. Let the business drive the mission Don’t crowbar an issue in that you happen to be passionate about. Start with your business and what it does. As yourself: What is your product or service? How can it be harnessed to make a positive impact on society? Are there any negative impacts of your product or service that you could mitigate against? What are your business needs?Is it recruitment, skills, retention, reputation, quality or efficiency? Be honest with yourself about the answers here, because it’s a two-way thing. There must be something in it for your organisation in order to motivate change. Remember: CSR can be ethically right and beneficial to a company at the same time. Be specific Set an overall bold goal. “By X date, we want to have achieved X”. Set objectives that are targeted, timed, and measurable. It’s easy to go off in many minor directions by trying to appeal to all your stakeholders, but that will water down your impact. Once you’ve established a goal, develop a strategy based upon how the different functions of the organisation can contribute towards that. Then identify additional external expertise you need, a core target audience – and share any achievements with your other stakeholders. Get creative Be different! As the adage goes; “If we do what we’ve always done, we’ll get what we’ve always got.” Collingwood Learning use creativity and the arts to design learning programmes, but creativity in your programme might come from utilising technology, introducing new methodologies, bringing strange bedfellows together, disrupting the ways things are currently done. Having established the problem you want to solve, talk to a range of people – educators, artists, industry experts, thought-leaders, staff, service users – and get their input and opinion. Don’t pre-judge, instead take the time to listen and let ideas emerge. It’s not about supporting existing activities, its about doing something new that will facilitate change. Get real Whatever your objective, ensure that there are genuine interactions with people that helps them in some way – and measure it! By evidencing the impact you’ve made on individuals, groups, organisations, places, and services, you can review how they have – or can be – constantly improved. A marketing or awareness campaign won’t cut it, you need real action, on the ground, with your people and partners. Only then can you tell those success stories with pride. For example, in our work in education, we know it’s all too easy for organisations to send resources or videos to schools across the UK and claim they have made an impact. But, were they really used, or are they sat on shelves gathering dust? What did they know afterwards that they didn’t know before? Did it enable improvements in education? All Collingwood’s work involves quantifiable interventions with real, measurable impact, so whatever you do, make it equally tangible! Collingwood Learning design and deliver social responsibility and education programmes, harnessing the arts and creativity in everything they do. They are the creators of the award-winning Real Safeguarding Stories project (https://realsafeguardingstories.com/) which tells survivors stories of abuse, and The Smashed Project, (http://smashedproject.org/) an international education programme tackling underage drinking in 23 countries globally.

After a close family member developed dementia, Elaine Everett began to recognise that change was needed within the care sector, to not only improve the quality of care but the quality of people's lives. So she did something about it. Now Motivation & Co. delivers specially designed courses delivered in care homes around the UK. Elaine shares her story with UMi. What does your social enterprise do? Motivation & Co. specialise in physical and cognitive stimulation. The Motivation & Co. Class has been designed and fully researched to provide challenging, stimulation and motivating levels to suit all abilities to the residents within the care sector. The Motivation & Co. Class is divided into four sections, mental stimulation, chair-based exercises, game section, and music therapy, it is this format that has been proven to really make a difference. Everything has been developed and designed by the company fit for purpose, including a patented game, all our exercises are pre-recorded ensuring quality and consistency are delivered throughout the UK. What made you start your business up? After visiting my grandfather living with dementia in a care home, I saw a need for change, rolled up my sleeves and developed a ground-breaking new service concept for the care sector that would make a difference. With no business blueprint to follow, Motivation & Co. was created with its unique programmes, and materials including a patented game. I identified a number of specialist advisors, all accredited to work with older people for exercise and physiotherapy, relaxation therapy and research into cognitive mental stimulation therapy. How do you measure your impact? The Motivation & Co. Class has been fully researched independently by Leeds Metropolitan University,  Dr M Cattan – Centre for Health Promotion Research with Dr G M Fox & Dr J C McCreanor in partnership with St James Teach  Hospital. Results showed we really do make a difference. NHS Hertfordshire asked us to develop a falls prevention programme specific for Dementia clients the report showed a 66% improvement and reducing the call outs due to falls by over 50%  making a saving to the NHS in excess of £78,000 in just 10 weeks. What help did you have to start your social enterprise? None financially but good advice from Banks, Accountants and The Franchise company in Darlington. How did you decide on what legal form would work best for your business? With the help and advice form my accountant.

A decade after joining PEAS as a startup, Laura Brown is now CEO and responsible for a staff of over 800 that educates 16,000 children each year in 32 secondary schools. Following on from her entry as one of our UK Social Entrepreneur Index ‘Ten of the Best’, Ashleigh Smith caught up with Laura to find out more about her journey. Please can you tell us a bit about your journey and what led you to become involved in PEAS? “I've always been really passionate about education and its power to transform lives. After university, I qualified as a secondary school teacher in the UK, working in a city school that was involved with a partner school in Rwanda. “At the time, the Millennium Development Goal for education had focused the global community around expanding by 100% the enrolments at primary school level. “In Rwanda and in East Africa more kids were finishing primary school, but with nowhere to go on to secondary school. It meant that for the poorest children and children in the most underserved and typically rural areas, that was the end of their education journey. There was the dual challenge of access and the quality of the education itself. I became really interested in that challenge and possible solutions. “That's when I came across PEAS, which at the time was a small startup organisation founded by John Rendel. It had a really interesting model, which was establishing secondary schools in a not-for-profit but financially sustainable way. This meant that the expansion of education was not dependent on traditional aid and entrenching a dependency culture. “So I joined a very small PEAS team and spent a huge amount of time working the education team in Uganda. But because it was such a tiny organisation and all hands on deck, I was also involved in a lot of project management around launches of different schools and community engagement. “Having spent time in PEAS in Uganda, it was my job to replicate the PEAS model in Zambia. I was drawing on what we knew from Uganda that was relevant to Zambia, and also ensuring that the financial model and the economics would work in a totally different kind of labour market and policy environment too. “I hired the first Zambian team out there and then came back to the UK in a programmes role. One of the principles of PEAS is that, in Uganda and Zambia, things are led and run by Ugandan and Zambian teams. It’s as important to us as financial sustainability. It's about HR sustainability and leadership sustainability as well. I then took over as the CEO of PEAS in 2018.” PEAS adopted a mixture of the public and private partnership model. Was that what you decided on from the early days or something that you learned over time? “Definitely the second. I've been at PEAS for nearly 10 years now and at the beginning, we didn't have the resource to do the thinking or the designing for scale. So we were very much testing and learning as we went along. “We started out in a purely private model where students would pay very low fees, which would cover the operating costs of schools. We designed the school model to be that the fee level would be affordable to children in the most disadvantaged communities. But really for PEAS, we believe that any type of school fee excludes somebody. “The government schools are not free; they also charge a fee. PEAS fees are lower than any other school fees. We're constantly striving to get that towards zero, but in a sustainable way. We could take handouts and aid from the UK and give scholarships, but we don't see that as a locally-led financially sustainable model. “So that's why we started looking at public-private partnership models. But also we were opportunistic. The Ugandan government set up a national programme whereby, if you are a private school in a location where there was no government school, and you could show that you were providing access to education to kids who otherwise wouldn't be able to go to secondary school, you would be eligible for a government per-pupil grant. “With that, we were able to lower school fees for our students or use that funding to invest in quality interventions at the school levels. “That's the model that we had in mind when we went to Zambia and have been working over the years to iterate and tweak that with the Zambian government. And actually one of our key achievements in the last couple of years is that we've set up a partnership with the Zambian government where they provide the schools with enough funding for them to be completely free for the students. Those PEAS schools in Zambia are the only totally free secondary schools that are also financially sustainable.” Besides having this partnership with the Zambian government, what have been your other highlights and biggest achievements of your time with PEAS? “The fact that we've got 16,000 kids in our schools and a network of 32 schools. Every time a new school launches or we expand a school considerably, that's the thing that for me is really motivating. “You know, another achievement is the way that we have built our organisation. PEAS Uganda and PEAS Zambia are totally locally-led, which is awesome. We’ve been able to show that we can do this in more than one geographical location. The model is transferable and being able to prove that is something that's really important because it means that other people could use and replicate the model too. “It's not PEAS' intention to build and run all of the schools. It's that all children get access to education and we want to be a systems player. “We had a three-year external evaluation, which ended last year. It found that PEAS’ students are poorer than students in other types of secondary schools, that they're making faster learning progress and that we’re more cost-efficient. That is really important because we want to say to the government, ‘look at all of these great practices that have been born from the PEAS schools. If you wanted to, you could adopt some of these practices because we're not achieving these great results by just pumping in a load of extra funding. We're doing it at a very affordable price point that can be replicated by others’." As you've been with PEAS for almost a decade, you'll have seen students go from primary to graduate and secondary; that must be rewarding to see? “Oh my gosh, it is, yeah. One of my favourite PEAS gems from back in the day was a young guy called John Mary. I met his family. His Mum was a widow and I was really inspired by the amazing income generation activities that everyone in the family was involved in to help them pay their own school fees. “John Mary did really well at school and then we were able to help him by linking him up with a bursary to go to teacher training college. Then he came back to be a teacher where he had attended himself. He wouldn't have been able to go to secondary school without the PEAS school. And what was really nice is that he had younger siblings who, because of the affordability of the school, were also able to go to that school. So he is teaching some of his younger brothers and sisters.” What have been some of the challenges that you have faced personally as a social entrepreneur and as part of the PEAS organisation? “From an organisation perspective, we didn't necessarily design for scale in the early days. We didn't know that we're going to have 32 schools and they were all going to be in really remote locations. We didn't have the systems and infrastructure upfront to do the most efficient management. “As an example, the majority of our schools are in areas where there's no electricity and we need to get data from the schools in order to support them effectively. So, in the early days, the school leaders would fill in paper-based surveys and put them on a bus that would travel 12 hours. “Now we've got a cloud-based school information management system, but putting that in place across 32 remote locations with staff who haven't necessarily used computers before is a challenge. “I think that relates to another challenge of becoming a mature middle-sized organisation. Getting the right policies and procedures in place that are appropriate for your stage, whilst retaining that nimbleness and flexibility and that startup passion and fire. So that's something we're grappling with at the moment.” It's about 800 people that you have working for PEAS now, is that right? Do you have frequent contact with the different schools? “Yes, there are over 800 people now, including school cooks and teachers, with about 10 of us in the UK. “The Ugandan and Zambian country directors sit on the senior leadership team and I'm in weekly conversations with them and their senior management teams. “I try to get to the schools on a quarterly basis and spend a decent amount of time in school, from 6am until it's going dark. Because then you get a sense of what's happening in that community, not necessarily just by visiting lessons.” How did you feel about being included in the social entrepreneurship index? “It's definitely really inspiring and motivating. When I look at the cohort of entrepreneurs who have been recognised – being part of a community within that – I'm sure there's lots to learn when we start to network together. “And you know, I lead an organisation that I'm really proud of and that I believe in. So recognition for me is recognition for the organisation and that's important to me. “Another thing that's really nice is that looking across the group of entrepreneurs in the index, there's a lot of female representation, which I was really pleased to see. It's important to encourage young women entrepreneurs and to encourage more investment in the enterprises run by women.” You've had a huge amount of growth since you started with PEAS, but how do you see the future of this in five to 10 years’ time? “I really hope that the PEAS network of schools will continue to grow. We've got 32 schools today and we have an aspiration to have more and to grow the existing schools bigger because there are millions of kids out of school, so it feels imperative that we do that work. “As I said, we'd like to establish schools in countries outside of Uganda and Zambia as well, to show that the PEAS model can work over multiple locations. “The thing that's really exciting at the moment is that we don't want to build and run all of the schools, but now we've got over 10 years’ know-how and expertise in how to run secondary schools. So how can we use that to help others and have a positive impact in the systems where we work? “We have a great school model which we know is replicable and the current question we have is, ‘how can we create a model around using those schools to have a wider impact for children who are outside of the PEAS network of schools?’ So that's where we're going over the next period.” Do you have any advice you'd give to anybody considering becoming a social entrepreneur or in really early stages? “Pick the purpose that you love. Because it’s hard and you have to work really hard, you're not going to be able to stick at it unless you truly believe in the opportunity, the purpose and also the model. “I would say be really clear about your own values and principles, but be flexible about other things including the model and things that don't stick rigidly to the model. Be prepared to be flexible within a clear set of values and principles. And then I guess if you're a social entrepreneur, there's more that you don't know than you do know, particularly for young social entrepreneurs. So just try and speak less and listen more.” Laura’s personal experience, business growth and drive to move forward saw her recognised as one of the 2019 UK Social Entrepreneur Index’s ‘Ten of the Best’. To find out more about the Index and see the others recognised, head over to the website. The UK Social Entrepreneur Index is a celebration of entrepreneurs running businesses with social purposes. Out of the 29 entrepreneurs who made it into the Index in 2019, we’ve highlighted our ‘Ten of the Best’ and are bringing you a more in-depth look at some of their business journeys and lives as social entrepreneurs. Nominations are now open!

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street has urged businesses to help improve people’s lives by supporting local social enterprises. The Mayor visited Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath – a much-loved community building saved from closure by a social enterprise – during the launch of the region’s Social Economy Taskforce report at the nearby Moseley Community Hub. Social enterprises are businesses, not-for-profit organisations or charities that reinvest their profits in their social mission. The social economy in the West Midlands is thought to be worth £3.5 billion* and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is aiming to double that figure over the next decade. The Mayor, a former managing director of employee-owned John Lewis, the largest social enterprise in the country, said: “Moseley Road Baths is a perfect example of how social enterprises are helping local communities to thrive. “From my experience at John Lewis, which prides itself on being Britain’s biggest social enterprise, I have seen how the social economy helps people to live happier, more fulfilling lives. “We want to double the size of the social economy in the West Midlands and are calling on local businesses to consider using social enterprises when buying goods or services. “It’s crucial that the WMCA leads by example. To date, the authority has secured £2.7 million of social value commitments through the contracts it has awarded. “We have now pledged to spend at least five per cent of our procurement budget on social enterprises, and to build on the brilliant work that our local authority partners, who are represented on the Social Economy Taskforce, are doing in their areas.” Moseley Road Baths Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) took over the day-to-day running of the historic Balsall Heath building in 2018 to save it from closure, with the support of Birmingham City Council. Trustees of this social enterprise are members of the local community and regular swimmers at the pool. The CIO is working in coalition with the Friends of Moseley Road Baths, Historic England, the National Trust and the World Monuments Fund. The focus has been on keeping the pool open for swimming, carrying out conservation-led building works to halt deterioration, and developing a masterplan that will secure the long-term future of the baths. During the launch the Mayor also heard about other social enterprises in the area, including The Bike Project, which donates refurbished second-hand bikes to refugees, and Sundragon Pottery, which runs courses in pottery for people of all ages and abilities. Cllr Yvonne Davies, leader of Sandwell Council and WMCA portfolio holder for public service reform and social economy, said: “Social enterprises are more likely than other businesses to be based in, and focused on, deprived areas. By boosting the region’s social economy, we are delivering inclusive growth. “As well as buying goods and services, there are other ways in which businesses can support social enterprises. They could join each other’s boards to build a shared understanding, or businesses could back campaigns and events led by social enterprises.” The Social Economy Taskforce has made the following main recommendations for the WMCA and its partners: · Boost the collective identity of social enterprise by strengthening and growing successful initiatives; · Develop a collaborative, ten-year business case for social enterprise business support; · Lead a campaign to encourage closer links between social enterprises and the wider private sector; · Work with social finance and investment partners to identify improvements that could boost the impact of social investment; · The WMCA Office of Data and Analytics to develop consistent approach to measuring public sector spending with social enterprise; and · The WMCA to use its convening role to encourage all regional public sector bodies and publicly funded projects to spend at least five per cent of their commissioning and procurement budget with social enterprise. The next steps will be for the WMCA to develop a baseline to measure the value of the region’s social economy, and then to produce a business plan to achieve the goal of doubling the size of the social economy in the West Midlands over the next ten years.

Midlothian company, Sisaltech launches an innovative plant-based thermal insulation product made from the sisal plant grown in east Africa which is 100% natural and biodegradable and expected to generate a turnover of £250k in year one and create three jobs, thanks to ongoing support from organisations including Business Gateway Midlothian. Whilst working in Malawi, training farmers on coping with climate change, social entrepreneur John Ferguson, from Edinburgh, who has an MSc in Tropical Agricultural Development, began researching ways in which sisal could be used to create innovative products which he could manufacture and allow him to plough funds back into helping small scale farmers in Tanzania. As part of his research with sisal producers, John began experimenting with processing sisal, previously used to make ropes and sacks, to assess its viability to create everything from ‘bags for life’ and composites for kayaks to geotextiles for erosion control, embankment stabilisation and peatland restoration. In his final stages of research it became apparent that the fibre from the sisal plants could be used to produce a sustainable and natural insulation product, which would be safe for installers to use. Sisal plants are grown organically and the same plants can be harvested for up to thirty years. The sisal fibre is sun-dried and no water is required in the processing which helps farmers to cope with the impact of climate change. Although the fibre from the plant is shipped from Africa the end product, after being blended with recycled fibres, sustainable binders and fire retardants, still has a significantly lower carbon footprint than other insulation products in the marketplace, many of which are made from plastic. The company is already is discussion with various suppliers in particular housebuilders, including Robertson Homes and Carbon Dynamic and John Gilbert Architects. The support from Business Gateway Midlothian has included 121 advice and support, and a Digital Boost grant to help the company develop their online presence. John said: “Having worked with small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa I felt motivated to start an ethical business that would help them trade their way out of poverty. “As we experimented and started prototyping I was really excited to discover that sisal can be used to make a great insulation product, particularly when blending with other recycled textile fibres. It means that my business is able to have a great environmental impact as well as a great social impact. “I am very grateful for all the support I’ve received so far to help get the business up and running particularly from Business Gateway Midlothian who have helped me tremendously every step of the way, particularly in areas including digital support and ongoing 121 advice.” Ann Marie Macaskill, Head of Business Gateway Midlothian said: ‘It has been great learning more of Sisaltech’s opportunities to provide sustainable and ethical solutions to insulation in this country and beyond. “As we look towards becoming a low carbon economy, I am delighted Business Gateway Midlothian has been able to support this local company’s ambition and development which has global impact’. Business Gateway Midlothian provides expert support and guidance to new and existing businesses, including free advice from experienced business advisers to help start-ups and growth businesses planning to expand or find new ways of doing business. Free resources include local workshops and seminars covering everything from marketing and finance to HR and ecommerce. To find out how Business Gateway Midlothian can help your business visit https://www.bgateway.com/local-offices/midlothian/local-support or call 0131 516 6944. Issued on behalf of Business Gateway Midlothian by Michelle Brown PR. For more information, pics or interviews, please contact: Michelle Brown / michelle@michellebrownpr.com / 07920 406674

Richard Cobbett, Assessment and Compliance Manager at Social Enterprise Mark, discusses the value of social enterprises getting comfortable with expressing their approach to profit generation and investment. Arguably, what principally distinguishes a social enterprise from other forms of commercial enterprise – including other types of 'social business' – is the commitment to distributing the majority of profits generated towards social purposes. So why is it that some social enterprises take pride in the label of being “not for profit” organisations? The label can be as misleading as it is helpful, sometimes seeing social enterprises written off as unviable businesses, not worthy of support and investment because they are deemed to be 'uncommercial'. One possible reason for this is that the social enterprise model of profit distribution is mistakenly believed to prevent a business from investing in its commercial success, therefore making it less viable. But this is false: a social enterprise can retain and use profits to sustain, develop or grow the business. If there are additional profits beyond this available for distribution, dedicating them to social purposes, rather than individual investors, does not make social enterprises any less commercial. The reality is that a social enterprise should operate along the lines of any other form of business. A social enterprise is committed to pursuing commercial success through trading, but it does so in support of its social objectives and to maximise its potential to generate social benefit. The sustainability of a social enterprise and its ability to maximise social outcomes is therefore dependent on it being commercially successful – in it being profitable. The more profitable a social enterprise is, the more it can invest in activities and resources that create social benefit. But on a more vital level, being a profitable business means a social enterprise can continue to exist and fulfil its social purposes in the long term. Some social enterprises may justifiably argue that their in-year expenditure represents an investment in social purposes that has resulted in a deliberate suppression of profits. Furthermore, in doing so they have avoided corporation tax and have therefore been able to invest more in their social purposes. Just because they resourcefully managed their income in a cost-effective fashion within the business year does not necessarily mean the business is unprofitable. This leaves the question, does being a profitable business mean a social enterprise has to show consistent profits each year? Although this is a more immediately transparent indicator of commercial success and viability, it is by no means the only one. The social enterprise commitment to profit distribution should take into consideration its ongoing expenditure and investment, both in terms of how these show fulfilment of social purposes as well as actions to remain commercially viable. But how a social enterprise actually demonstrates its primary commitment to investing in the achievement of social purposes is much more of an organic process; there is rarely a neat equation of “x profits from last year = y social output this year”. The model in which a social enterprise spends all it earns does not necessarily mean they are either unprofitable or failing to maximise their social output. They may instead be maximising it through the application of income that could have turned into potential profit. How a social enterprise reviews and reports on such matters to stakeholders and communities of interest becomes significant in being able to show transparency of action in line with stated purpose and principles of operation. At the very least, it represents good practice for social enterprises to aspire to this. It is fair to say that approaches to social impact reporting amongst Social Enterprise Mark holders are mixed (which is likely a fair reflection of the sector in general). Most social enterprises just take for granted that income and profits simply carry on sustaining their general social mission. But highlighting key areas of expenditure and investment does not have to be a costly or time-consuming exercise. It shows a willingness to explain such matters – which a social enterprise can then be held accountable to. Our observations of how Social Enterprise Mark Holders report their social impact suggest three broad approaches to how they are investing profits into maximising this: 1. Service enhancements These are investments which go above and beyond service delivery requirements and expectations – ones that add value or reinforce the capability to deliver social outputs (either delivering more, or delivering them “better”). This can include: Additional infrastructure serving stakeholder needs Tools/equipment and similar resources employed in support of stakeholder needs Recruitment or training of people that is not recognisably a service requirement or expectation, but which adds to and/or improves the quality of social output 2. Delivering free or subsidised outputs These are investments which show how social enterprises deliver more social outputs. This may take the form of: Pro-bono work Outputs or outcomes in excess of contracted amounts (that are therefore unpaid) Providing subsidised or free products, resources or materials, that may typically form part of a costed and paid-for service (or go beyond what this usually involves) 3. Altruistic contributions This is most commonly financial and therefore more easily quantifiable – donations to charities, community groups and projects that support wider social or community needs. But it also encompasses other types of resource contribution. For example: The free use of company resources, loans or donations of other properties, in support of social or community needs (premises space; equipment; other materials or usable assets) Allowing employees to volunteer in the community, or do fund-raising on paid time Sponsorship (this may not be entirely altruistic as it involves a promotional benefit but the financial contribution could be well in excess of the value this has) There is much to be gained by raising public understanding of social enterprise as a viable commercial business model that generates income and profits, primarily in service of public benefit – not simply as not-for-profit institutions. Dare I say it… social enterprise is a model through which capitalism can be “re-booted”: inherently hardwired to benefit society, not just as side-benefit to the “for individual and commercial profit” motivations of shareholders and owners, but as a primary socio-economic purpose. Given the right focus and support, social enterprise can be the harbinger of lasting social change and an alternative way of doing business. If social enterprises were to get better at shaping the conversation in these terms, it means they are more actively playing to strengths they can use when convincing others to support and do business with them. Maybe this is an idealistic pipedream. But if social enterprises were to get better at shaping the conversation in these terms, it means they are more actively playing to strengths they can use when convincing others to support and do business with them. These arguments are bolstered by a willingness to stand up to external scrutiny of such claims, and achieving recognition for how they live up to them. This is why the Social Enterprise Mark exists. Through accreditations that define standards of good and best practice, Social Enterprise Mark CIC provides social enterprises of all shapes and sizes with a platform from which to build and better communicate what they are.