Thought Leadership

Jeremy Nicholls is an international expert on social value and has written a paper on the Future of Social Value as part of our Social Value 2032 programme to stimulate discussion and debate. You can read the full paper here Jeremy’s views are his own and not representative of Social Enterprise UK or any of the Social Value 2032 partners. For those of us who think about social value in the context of the Social Value Act, the idea of social value is relatively new. For others it has been around a bit longer – rooted in the idea of value for society. Go back a bit further and economists, politicians and philosophers have been grappling with the question of value for society for a long time. The increase in the use of fossil fuels, the age of exploration – aka invasion, the enslavement of people whose countries had been ‘explored’ and the increase in the use of fossil fuels, alongside innovations in systems to manage all this; financial markets, accountancy, joint stock and later limited liability companies, all contributed to a rapid increase in global GDP.  All this drove, and still drives, more argument and debate over the nature of value. Arguments that became both revolutions and wars, over access to resources that drive capitalism and the distribution of the benefits that arise. And we built an economic system to allocate those resources to activities to meet those demands, And we talk as if markets had agency as opposed to being people, a few people in the end who either manage huge sums on behalf of others or own huge sums in their own right. Unfortunately we (I say we though I mean men) built an economic system on the premise that private financial returns will maximise wealth, a system where there is no feedback loop and no limit to that wealth – aside from there also being no control of its distribution - to the point that 1% of the world’s population own 52% of its wealth. So if social value is to be useful, it needs to be a vehicle for a more radical, systemic rethink of our economic system. It may be already too late to do this for so many people around the world, and the implications are coming closer to all of us. But it is not too late to redress some of this, to regenerate a damaged society or to provide hope for future generations.   We need to recognise that we allocate resources to activities that should meet people’s needs and that those needs relate to their well-being. This means realising that there is only so much well-being (currently largely measured still by wealth) that you can squeeze into somebody and that endlessly pursuing ever more wealth is no good for anyone. It means recognising that a living wage is one without endless worry and should not be a survival wage. It means recognising that dependency on supply chains where people work in conditions that are lower, much lower, than we would ever accept is a legal sidestep of responsibility as they are someone else’s issue. These are all issues that social value should address, and the international networks that promote and support approaches to accounting and management of social value seek to address. But they are also the issues that public sector accounting seeks to address, and that with a couple of small tweaks, even private sector accounting could address. Public sector accounting already references the purpose as being well-being. Charity trustees should already be able to evidence that the public benefits outweigh the negatives. Were it not for a private sector approach to accounting that allows obligations to be ignored, obligations that most people would, and company directors could, already be willing to recognise, it would quickly be much more aligned. Social value is a way that we can divert the corporation away from focusing purely on expectation of financial returns to an expectation of financial, and social and environmental returns. Ironically, despite the opposition from some, this more closely represents the real investor interest, the interests of you, me and wider society, not the “professional” investment managers. Remembering that the purpose of allocating our scarce resources is wellbeing, and that this means recognising how dependent we are on natural, social and human capitals, would allow us to align private public and charitable approaches to accounting, and to be held to account, even if indirectly, by the people experiencing the consequences of our private businesses and our public services. We could even unleash all our human creativity on a goal of contributing to sustainability (and those SDGs which would of course include financial returns). And we might find that sustainability, social value and multi capital approaches all share the same purpose of maintaining and enhancing well-being. Yes, I remain a resolute optimist, but these are all changes within our power, they are all systems created by people and they can be changed by people too. Public, private and non-profit sectors respond to the incentives that society sets in its legal frameworks. Small changes to these incentive systems - to the wiring behind the walls - can have significant consequences for how resources are allocated – to create social value. Some are already happening, like proposals around s172 of the Companies Act. Some changes will need to go further if we are to align incentives around well-being; changing the purpose behind international accounting standards, developing new public sector accounting standards and aligning accounting with cost benefit analysis. This is the future of social value.

In this webinar, we heard from Camilla Rigby, the Co-Founder of the Women's Work Lab CIC - a South-West based social enterprise that helps mums transform their lives by rebuilding confidence and helping them on their journey to find work that works for them and their families. The Women's Work Lab were the winners of the Social Enterprise Team of the Year Award at the UK Social Enterprise Awards 2022 and were also featured on the BBC's We Are England last year. 26 January 2023 https://youtu.be/tZtKJhqd57Q

London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) Invites Children, Parents and all Early Years Settings to Join Them on their Pioneering Sustainability Journey with the Publication of its Unique Strategy. LEYF has launched its very first Sustainability Strategy which sets out its ‘Green LEYF’ approach to become a sector-leading sustainability organisation, working in partnership with the Early Years and Schools to lead and amplify best practice whilst preparing children to undertake their roles and responsibilities as dutiful global citizens. As LEYF celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2023 plus its Planet Mark Award for employee engagement and its ongoing carbon footprint measurement as an organisation, the social enterprise organisation is naming 2023 as its Year of Sustainability – with a call for all Early Years settings across the UK to put sustainability at its core. Framed within the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the United Nations (2015) which are underpinned by the three pillars of sustainability: economic prosperity, social equity and environmental integrity, LEYF’s approach to sustainability is based on its duty to do its bit to give our children the education needed to become rounded global citizens of the future. Sustainability is often focused on environmental issues through climate change issues but it is also critical to how we shape businesses, lead with a social purpose and address unfairness and environmental damage that comes through our current market economy. LEYF demonstrates how a social enterprise can operate an effective business model which allows us to subsidise up to 35% of places to children from more disadvantaged communities who benefit enormously from high quality Early Years education. When LEYF first started to define what was meant by sustainability nearly ten years ago, it sought the support of all the staff. LEYF believes that change needs be championed at every level of an organisation if it is to be fully embraced. The result was a very collaborative approach with engagement from the grassroots right through our governance, pedagogy and operations. LEYF continues to build this into a sustainability community of practice and hope people will join the journey. LEYF initially began looking at ‘little wins’ that would have a big effect such as removing single-use plastics where possible, changing all milk deliveries to glass bottles so they could be reused and recycled, banning glitter and placing wormeries and composters in every nursery garden to help reduce food waste. From that promising beginning, an organisation-wide approach was developed that mapped LEYF’s steps to complete the ISO 14001 and achieve the Planet Mark which provided the framework to plan a strategy that included our governance, operations, procurement and practice. To help educate staff, LEYF also developed and introduced the first Level 4 Cache endorsed qualification - Developing Sustainability in the Early Years and supported this with two books: one on social leadership and the other providing ideas for sustainability in a nursery. All this groundwork helped us make decisions through a stronger sustainable lens  and build a strong strategy. Furthermore, sustainability has been embedded into every element of the organisation including the governance, pedagogy and operations along with an understanding that motivates and empowers children, colleagues and parents. June O’Sullivan, CEO of LEYF says: “Sustainability is finally moving to the centre of political and public agenda, especially as we face huge global issues including growing poverty, inequity in education, environmental degradation and much more. Sustainability needs to be led from the top and engage everyone in the organisation. It needs a holistic strategy if it is to work.  Everyone needs to play their part including the children. People think children don’t understand about sustainability, but they do and they are interested. Our job is to prepare them to undertake their roles and responsibilities as global citizens of the future.” The 8 principles below that are underlying LEYF’s approach to sustainability stem from Permaculture–Permaculture which is a way of creating practical sustainable and self-sufficient ways of living – including principles that align with a holistic approach that can be altered to different scales. leyf.org.uk

Launched as a partnership between Bath Spa University and 3SG, the Bath Social Impact Network brings together like-minded groups and individuals to improve and grow the social economy in B&NES. Created with social enterprises at the heart, along with B Corps, CICs, co-ops, and those interested in the work of these types of organisations, the Bath Social Impact Network will provide the support its members need to flourish through collaboration and idea generation. You can join their launch event in Bath on Thursday 23 February from 5pm-7pm. Find out more and sign up here.

Come along to our monthly networking event and meet other social entrepreneurs and sustainability professionals based in London and beyond! The aim of our event is for you to engage in conversations and build connections with other social entrepreneurs and sustainability/impact-driven professionals in order to spark ideas and maybe even walk away with a business partner or connections to potential clients. Please note there is only a limited amount of seats reserved at our cafe so please reserve your tickets early to ensure access to our event. The next few events will be taking place on: Thursday 16 February Thursday 23 March Thursday 27 April Thursday 25 May CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YOUR PLACE About Trampoline Founded by the team behind NEMI Teas, we share the same objective – to help London’s refugee community integrate, train and become independent citizens. Built on the values of looking forward, being compassionate, and believing in better we’re committed to using our business as a genuine force for good. Building and maintaining relationships that transform lives.

The most recent Social Enterprise Barometer report published on 9 February shows that the next quarter is critical for many social enterprises with more than one in ten social enterprises across the UK expecting reduced turnover or to close due to the tough economic climate. The Social Enterprise Barometer reports are published quarterly and provide a snapshot of social enterprise performance and as well as how specific economic and political developments are affecting social enterprises. The February report showed that overall, across the 101 respondents, 14% are expecting to reduce turnover and staff or to close completely. This is the highest proportion reporting a growth decline since the survey began two years ago. High costs continue to challenge social enterprises. Almost two-thirds of the social enterprises who took the survey (62%) said they saw an increase compared to last quarter and almost half (48%) saw an increase in staffing costs. Although there was a slight improvement in cashflow and reserve positions this quarter, but a high number of social enterprises expressed concern about projected cashflow and income. When social enterprises were asked about their turnover position since July 2021, 21% said they saw a decrease while 37% said their turnover remained the same since then. Factors included a reduction in commissioning opportunities for public sector contracts and smaller contracts as local authority budgets struggle. Despite the tough economic climate, more than half of the social enterprises surveyed said demand for their products and services increased. The number of people being supported through social missions has also increased since last quarter to 63%, demonstrating how social enterprises prioritisation of their mission continues to deliver in times of need. Social enterprises in London reported particularly weak growth and cashflow positions compared to counterparts elsewhere in the UK. Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of SEUK, commenting on the findings said: “As the UK economy is predicted to fall into another recession and interest rates hit their highest levels in more than a decade, social enterprises continue to face a tough economic climate. “For many, the financial support they will try to get next quarter will be critical to their survival. “More than three quarters of social enterprises reported that the profits they reinvested into their social or environmental mission has increased or stayed level, highlighting the resilience and importance of the social enterprise business model to increase investment in the communities they serve. “Government support must prioritise sustaining businesses that serve our economy, community and planet in order to maximise returns on investment and to ensure that otherwise viable social enterprises aren’t lost to economic uncertainty.” The Social Enterprise Barometer report can be accessed through SEUK’s Social Enterprise Knowledge Centre. The Social Enterprise Knowledge Centre seeks to be the UK’s most comprehensive source of evidence on social enterprise. Click here to read the full Barometer Report

Commenting on the need for responsibility for social enterprise to be moved into the new Department for Business and Trade, Peter Holbrook CEO of Social Enterprise UK said: The creation of the Department for Business and Trade is a welcome move that will allow a single department to focus exclusively on creating an environment which will allow business to thrive. However, it is essential that this department is given explicit responsibility for social enterprise. Social enterprises are the best of business, growing the economy whilst also addressing the entrenched social and environmental challenges. As businesses, decisions made in this new department will have a big impact on the sector’s future. That’s why it is important that social enterprise sits with the rest of the business community in this new department. It is why social enterprises have been calling to be treated the same as the rest of the business community for years. We have an opportunity to fully embed social enterprise into the government’s new approach to business. I hope that the Prime Minister will listen to the hundreds of thousands of social entrepreneurs in this country and show them his government backs them.

The UK’s largest independent athlete support programme closes its annual Award programme for new applications next month (20 February). Talented athletes from across 65 areas across the UK are invited to apply for a range of support awards which include financial support, access to sport facilities, physiotherapy, lifestyle mentoring and mental health support. The GLL Sport Foundation celebrates its 15th year in 2023 and it is the UK’s largest independent athlete award programme which has so far contributed over £13m to help over 24,000 athletes on their sporting journey. Previous holders of GSF awards include Darryl Neita (athletics), Anna Hursey (table tennis), Charlotte Worthington MBE (BMX), Alex Yee MBE (triathlon), Anthony Joshua OBE, Aiden and Michaela Walsh (boxing), Tom Daley OBE, Matty Lee MBE and Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix (diving), Tom Dean MBE (swimming), Tully Kearney MBE, Susie Rodgers MBE and Ellie Simmons OBE (Paralympic swimming). The innovative scheme is provided by charitable social enterprise GLL and expects to award £1.2m worth of help in 2023 for successful applicants. Already a popular and essential support programme for athletes, the Foundation is expecting heightened athlete interest as the cost of living crisis hits and training costs, equipment purchases, strength & conditioning costs and travel costs continue to rise.   All successful applicants will be given access to the 250 sport and leisure facilities across the UK operated by GLL under its “Better” trading brand – including the iconic London Aquatics Centre, Copper Box Arena, Manchester Aquatics Centre and National Cycling Centre, Lee Valley VeloPark and White Water Centre. Over the past 15 years, GLL Sport Foundation supported athletes have excelled in major competitions and have gained 76 Olympic and Paralympic medals and 77 Commonwealth Games medals. Peter Bundey, GLL Sport Foundation Chair, said: “With the majority of award holders aged under 21 and 87% receiving no other funding support, our Sports Awards offer a lifeline to many talented young athletes as well as helping local communities discover the opportunities and enrichment that come through sport”.  Applications are open until 20th February 2023 via the website portal – www.gllsportfoundation.org Notes to the editor About GLL/Better Established in 1993, GLL is the largest UK-based charitable social enterprise delivering leisure, health and community services. Operating under the Better brand, we manage 258 public sport and leisure centres, 113 libraries and 10 children’s centres in partnership with 50 local councils, public agencies and sporting organisations. GLL has 850,000 members and welcomes 46 million customer visits per year. www.gll.org For more information, please contact: charles.dean@gll.org or 07813 458 258