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Social enterprises need much more support to implement the big society, says think tank
By Femke Colborne, Third Sector Online, 30 June 2010
Institute for Public Policy Research North says 'funding cliff-edge' will hamper plans to involve more social enterprises in delivering public services
Social enterprises will not be able to implement the government’s big society agenda without significant extra support, according to a report to be published tomorrow.
Growing the Big Society, produced by think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research North, says plans to involve more social enterprises in the delivery of public services are likely to be hampered by the March 2011 "funding cliff-edge" and by the move towards larger contracts that are beyond the reach of smaller organisations.
"Public sector contracts are a key route to sustainability for social and community enterprises, but the drive for efficiencies means contracts are increasing in size," said Ed Cox, director of IPPR North and co-author of the report.
"This makes it more difficult for social and community enterprises to win contracts because they’re often small and locally focused. If we’re not careful, this drive for economies of scale will be at odds with the best intentions of the big society."
The report calls for urgent dialogue between policy-makers and representatives from the third sector to address concerns about capacity and funding.
It also says many social enterprises rely on grants and public sector funding. More than 70 per cent of respondents to an online survey conducted by the organisation said they had sought grant funding in the past 12 months, and 50 per cent had sought funding from local government.
The organisations surveyed for the report also include ‘community enterprises’, which it refers to as social enterprises that "seek to benefit a particular geographic area or community of interest and are often run by people from within the community they serve".
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Cliff Willett, 30 June 2010, 16:47
Ah yes, I expect we'll see plenty of new bloated quangos coming along soon to talk big and produce lots of interminable reports, which seems to be what governments actually mean when they blabber on about "supporting social enterprises".
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Leon Kreitzman, 1 July 2010, 19:51
I am afraid that the think tank is wrong in using the future tense. The consolidation of contracts awarded by local councils and PCTs into ever larger units has been going on for some years. The result is that these mega contracts have been handed on a plate to national agency style operations that may not even be British owned let alone have local connections.
In parts of the country this process has already squeezed local voluntary bodies out of contention. Perhaps the situation in the north-west is different, but otherwise I am afraid the think tank is simply out of touch.
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