Thought Leadership

Social enterprises had plenty of ideas about the different ways they could significantly increase their positive social impact during the first evidence session of the Social, Cooperative and Community Economy All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)’s inaugural inquiry into the government’s commitment to grow diverse business models this week. Co-op and social enterprise leaders also listed straightforward and low or no cost barriers that the government could remove.  Peter Bundey, CEO of GLL, which operates 254 of the UK’s leisure centres, explained how supporting social enterprises would help with the government’s economic growth ambitions. “A 10% increase in our company would get 100,000 people more active and create 1000 more jobs,” he said. In terms of productivity, this could help a lot with the £138bn lost to sick days, he added. Whilst acknowledging “commendable aspiration” around social value and procurement, Bundey said progress was being held back by “conservative legal restrictions on public service procurement” and asked that the guidance and legislation that surrounds public sector commissioning is clarified.  “We need clarification so that councils can be more agile, more innovative and more prescriptive about wanting civil society organisations rather than turning to lowest cost,” said Bundey.  Peter Westall, Chief Value Officer of the Midcounties Co-op (which runs travel and childcare services as well as the familiar local Co-op shops) told the inquiry “We could do more, but the biggest challenge we face is cost pressures.”   The inquiry heard that a more unified, strategic approach to supporting the social enterprise sector was needed, with greater support, legislative reform, better access to finance, and a greater understanding of the value social enterprises bring to the economy and society.  Legislation  With revenues of £850m, 650,000 members and 6000 employees, Mid Counties Co-op made a profit of £12.4m last year but faces an increased National Insurance bill of £9.3m following changes for employers introduced in April.  Westall thought the government could help by changing ‘one size fits all’ legislation that means Midcounties Co-op face similar business rates and taxes on plastic packaging for their shops as supermarkets that operate giant stores in retail parks. His view was echoed by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) CEO Peter Holbrook, who asked the government to consider how tax could be used to incentivise good behaviour for businesses, particularly around business rates and corporation tax.   Grace Harrison, Organisational Development Lead at Kitty’s Launderette (pictured above), a coop and community hub in Liverpool, asked that community right to buy legislation be tightened up so social enterprises could find properties to operate from.   Harrison also introduced an idea she’d encountered in Italy, where legislation requires both public and private employers with more than 15 employees to hire a certain percentage of disabled people. Employers can also fulfil the quota by entering into agreements with social value organisations. “This has massively transformed the access to work opportunities for disadvantaged groups,” said Harrison.  Access to finance  Finding investment to grow remains an issue for social enterprises irrespective of size. Midcounties Co-op is one of the biggest UK childcare providers offering nearly 4000 places and Westall explained they’d like to expand this service but “as a co-op we are unable, as other business types are, to go to the city and raise funds. How do we get additional finance backing to enable us to do the things that we want to do?”. The government has established an advisory group to look at ways of mobilising social impact capital.   Jonathan Atkinson of Carbon Co-op also called for a bigger spectrum of finance options to be made available and described having limited options for using an overdraft from banks unable to assess their business risk as a social enterprise.  More grant-making startup funds were requested by Harrison, who cited a reduction in non-repayable early-stage funding sources.    Support  More awareness and practical support across the board was also requested – for local authority commissioners looking to contract social enterprises and for business support for social enterprises. Westall also suggested that more co-op development agencies were needed, but this was challenged by Baroness Glenys Thornton who thought something broader was needed who said “this isn't just about developing cooperatives, this is about developing social enterprises and social businesses writ large.”  Holbrook thought government officials should establish “a single vision for how cooperatives, mutuals, and social businesses can collectively recover our economy.” He suggested this might take the form of a Social Business Unit so that every government department could benefit from a level of expertise and knowledge about these diverse business models.  This was the first of four evidence sessions for the Inquiry. All the evidence presented will now be collated and incorporated into a report that will be delivered to government and other stakeholders later this year.  

Community Dental Services CIC (CDS) has partnered with Luton Borough Council to deliver a free pop-up dental clinic, at the Park Town Family Hub, for almost 100 local children under 10. The pop-up session combined oral health advice, information on healthy eating and a ‘lift the lip’ assessment by the dental team. Any children found to require further care were signposted to a general dental practitioner or offered appointments with CDS. Luton has above the national average number of children experiencing tooth decay and the initiative was designed to focus on helpful prevention advice for families around key oral health messages and awareness of healthy eating, combined with a dental assessment. Where appropriate an application of fluoride varnish was also offered – an important preventative treatment for many children. The timing, during the Easter holidays, ensured a busy day, and free toothbrushes and toothpaste were handed out for all the children to take home. Helen Paisley, CDS CEO, who also attended and carried out some of the assessments, said: “A pop-up clinic like this is a fantastic initiative and we were delighted to be involved and get out of our clinics and into the community. We know that many children, especially the ‘Covid Generation’ have struggled to access and see a dentist regularly. A pop-up clinic means we can share oral health information, explain and show toothbrushing techniques in a fun and engaging way and provide a simple ‘lift the lip’ assessment to see if any treatment is needed. It is also a really valuable way for children to become acclimatised to seeing the dentist as we know an increasing lack of acclimatisation is contributing to children being more dentally anxious when they do come to our clinics needing care.” About CDS Community Dental Services CIC (CDS) is a 100% employee-owned social enterprise providing community dental services to the NHS and oral health improvement programmes throughout Bedfordshire, Derbyshire, Essex, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk & Waveney, Nottinghamshire and Oxfordshire.  - Together we will enable our communities to enjoy a better quality of life - communitydentalservices.co.uk

Introducing an exclusive offer for Social Enterprise UK members from cyber insurance specialist Coalition and the team at Keegan & Pennykid Imagine opening your laptop one morning to check the accounts of your social enterprise, only to see a number of transfers have been made to a supplier you don't recognise. You try to open your email to check the notifications you're always sent when you make payments but you're locked out. What's going on?  According to insurer Coalition, the average claim from not-for-profits resulting from cyber breaches (when someone gains unauthorised access to your data) is £86,500. That covers the cost of investigating the breach, removing criminals from your systems, and restoring data and functionality. It doesn’t include legal fees, business disruption, or the potential reputational hit.  When you’ve bought off-the-shelf security software, it’s easy to assume your data is safe. But how many of us take the time to ensure that software is properly configured to suit our organisation's needs?  A big part of cyber security is simply knowing what to look for. For instance, many social enterprises rely on email to communicate with supporters, clients, and staff. But are those emails encrypted? Is two-factor authentication enabled for logins?  If hackers gain access to your inbox, they may also get hold of customer details, intellectual property, and other sensitive information. In the worst cases, this can create serious legal and reputational risks.  More broadly, who’s actually responsible for cyber security in your organisation? Are their responsibilities clearly defined? Have you allocated any budget to this area?  If you’ve got concerns about your cyber security, we’re here to help.  Taking control of cyber risk  Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) members can now access Coalition Control, a cyber security risk management platform, for free, thanks to our long-standing supporter member, Keegan & Pennykid.  Keegan & Pennykid are independent, family-owned insurance brokers with a UK-wide reputation for ethical, expert advice to individuals, businesses, social enterprises, and charities.  This is just one of the many benefits of SEUK membership. By joining, you're not only part of a business network committed to social justice and sustainability – you can benefit from offers like this from supporter members. Your membership also supports research that helps demonstrate the value of social enterprise to government, which has led to favorable policy. Members also gain access to exclusive events and resources. Learn more about SEUK membership.  Here’s how the cyber security risk platform works. Coalition Control scans your organisation’s entire digital footprint - including your domains, IP addresses, apps, and services - and flags potential risks like data leaks and phishing vulnerabilities. It then highlights data leaks and phishing risks.  The platform provides a clear view of your most pressing cyber threats and helps you take action before they turn into problems. It gives you a prioritised list of vulnerabilities, so you can focus on the ones most likely to cause damage.  This means you can build your cyber resilience in a practical, step-by-step way—making your organisation more secure and less vulnerable to attack. In fact, Coalition has found that users of its platform experience 64% fewer claims than those who don’t have access.  To help you explore this further, we’re running exclusive SEUK member webinars to demo the platform and answer any questions. Here are the details To register, sign into our Members' Area and click on RSVP. If you're a member but have not yet registered to our online community please get in touch with us at membership@socialenterprise.org.uk  1. Taking Control of Cyber Risk – 22 May, 12pm  Cyber-attacks against non-profit organisations are increasing at an alarming 63% year on year. During the first of our free webinars on cyber security presented alongside our colleagues at Coalition, we will provide practical advice on what your organisation can do to better protect itself.   2. Cyber resilience and Coalition Control – 5 June, 12pm   As mentioned above, Coalition Control provides a clear view of your most pressing cyber threats and helps you take action before they turn into problems. In this webinar we’ll show you how the Coalition Control platform works, demonstrating how straightforward and easy it is to use. We’ll also be considering what you can do to make your organisation more cyber resilient.   3. Cyber insurance – 12 June, 12pm  The focus for this session will be the vital role that cyber insurance plays within the cyber risk management process and how better protecting your organisation may not be as daunting as perhaps you might think. Remember, these webinars are exclusive to members. Join the world’s largest social enterprise network. 

WYK Digital (WYK) is a social enterprise set up to ensure that ‘what you know’ outweighs ‘who you know’ in the digital sector. Founded in 2020, it’s on a mission to lower the barriers to entry into digital marketing and technology jobs for young people from underrepresented backgrounds. It does this by running free full-time courses running from 8-14 weeks, focused on specific jobs within the digital careers space. These offer not just technical training using tailor-made, hands-on syllabuses but also help participants develop the soft skills needed in a work environment, such as how to communicate effectively and collaborate with peers. Programmes are set up to meet the criteria of exactly what employers are looking for ensuring that when trainees apply for a job, they are fully prepared. Something that really sets WYK apart and which Rob Jackson, their Founder, describes as its USP, is that after a month of deep dive work on a given digital discipline, participants spend two weeks running live campaigns for a real business. WYK works with 200 small businesses for whom trainees run digital marketing projects using real money. As Rob puts it: “There’s that whole thing of you can't get the job without the experience and you can't get the experience without the job - we give them that real world experience as part of the programme and so they've worked in a professional services environment, with a real client and real budget, and the challenges that come with that.” Around 69% of trainees report going into either full-time work, self-employment or further training after completing programmes. WYK has supported a remarkable 1,000 young people in just four years. In 2024, it helped 400 people gain vital skills and is aiming to support a further 600 in 2025. How does WYK work with government departments? WYKs courses are funded by the Department of Education’s (DFE) Skills Boot Camps, for which WYK won a competitive tendering process. The business is on the DFE’s dynamic purchasing system (DPS) – a platform allowing organisations to respond to callouts for contracts that became available through the department. DPS’s are a great way for VCSEs to engage with government procurement as being on one can cut down procurement times. Sometimes if you’re not on a framework you cannot bid as they effectively are a pre-qualification process. WYK responded to deliver services on the Skills Bootcamp, putting in three bids across three different areas, namely performance marketing (including training on paid online ads), digital bespoke programmatic marketing and ad-tec, and data analytics programmes to upskill young people to become data analysts. The contract is a two-year one with the first half delivered in 2024 and the second half in 2025. What were the main benefits to the DFE of working with WYK? As a social enterprise whose articles of association commit it to lower barriers to entry for underrepresented young people, WYK can showcase extensive impact supporting people launch sustainable and meaningful careers. Just under three-quarters of trainees are from minority ethnic backgrounds and over half come from the three lower indices of multiple deprivation deciles. As Rob puts it: “We can show that not only are we getting people into work, we're actually helping people who would really struggle with the barriers that they're facing to get into meaningful employment.” With the purpose of the contract being to support more people into work, another benefit that WYK brings to the delivery of the contract is its “incredibly strong ties to the industry” with its biggest partners being the largest advertising companies in the world, including Omnicom and GroupM. Out of the big six advertising businesses, it works with half of them. It has a deep and wide relationship with Omnicom, with the business having hired 150 of WYK’s trainees over the last four years. Partnering with WYK not only benefits the young people on programmes but also businesses looking for the best talent. WYK has essentially “de-risked” the recruitment process for them as they’ve supported businesses “access upskilled talent they can have confidence in.”  The quality, strength and impact of the social enterprise’s programmes can be summed up by Omnicom telling them that “the best entry level candidates they have coming into the business are from WYK”. How does this benefit the DFE? In short, as well as creating jobs for people traditionally shut out from the tech industry, WYK’s close and trusted relationships with businesses enables a pipeline of motivated, talented young people who themselves are transforming the dynamics of the digital sector. As Rob puts it: “We get the outcomes, we have the ties to business and we can also really point to our impact when it comes to the types of people that we’re supporting.” Top tips for VCSEs looking to work with central government departments A top tip from Rob for other VCSEs looking to work with government is to “lean into the support that’s out there” from organisations which exist to help social enterprises and charities access government money. WYK have been “massively helped through resources from organisations like Social Enterprise UK, by Hatch who carried out an impact accelerator for us and by the School for Social Entrepreneurs.” Based on a conversation with Rob Jackson Founder of WYK Digital wykdigital.com

WYK Digital (WYK) is a social enterprise set up to ensure that ‘what you know’ outweighs ‘who you know’ in the digital sector. Founded in 2020, it’s on a mission to lower the barriers to entry into digital marketing and technology jobs for young people from underrepresented backgrounds. It does this by running free full-time courses running from 8-14 weeks, focused on specific jobs within the digital careers space. These offer not just technical training using tailor-made, hands-on syllabuses but also help participants develop the soft skills needed in a work environment, such as how to communicate effectively and collaborate with peers. Programmes are set up to meet the criteria of exactly what employers are looking for ensuring that when trainees apply for a job, they are fully prepared. Something that really sets WYK apart and which Rob Jackson, their Founder, describes as its USP, is that after a month of deep dive work on a given digital discipline, participants spend two weeks running live campaigns for a real business. WYK works with 200 small businesses for whom trainees run digital marketing projects using real money. As Rob puts it: “There’s that whole thing of you can't get the job without the experience and you can't get the experience without the job - we give them that real world experience as part of the programme and so they've worked in a professional services environment, with a real client and real budget, and the challenges that come with that.” Around 69% of trainees report going into either full-time work, self-employment or further training after completing programmes. WYK has supported a remarkable 1,000 young people in just four years. In 2024, it helped 400 people gain vital skills and is aiming to support a further 600 in 2025. How does WYK work with government departments? WYKs courses are funded by the Department of Education’s (DFE) Skills Boot Camps, for which WYK won a competitive tendering process. The business is on the DFE’s dynamic purchasing system (DPS) – a platform allowing organisations to respond to callouts for contracts that became available through the department. DPS’s are a great way for VCSEs to engage with government procurement as being on one can cut down procurement times. Sometimes if you’re not on a framework you cannot bid as they effectively are a pre-qualification process. WYK responded to deliver services on the Skills Bootcamp, putting in three bids across three different areas, namely performance marketing (including training on paid online ads), digital bespoke programmatic marketing and ad-tec, and data analytics programmes to upskill young people to become data analysts. The contract is a two-year one with the first half delivered in 2024 and the second half in 2025. What were the main benefits to the DFE of working with WYK? As a social enterprise whose articles of association commit it to lower barriers to entry for underrepresented young people, WYK can showcase extensive impact supporting people launch sustainable and meaningful careers. Just under three-quarters of trainees are from minority ethnic backgrounds and over half come from the three lower indices of multiple deprivation deciles. As Rob puts it: “We can show that not only are we getting people into work, we're actually helping people who would really struggle with the barriers that they're facing to get into meaningful employment.” With the purpose of the contract being to support more people into work, another benefit that WYK brings to the delivery of the contract is its “incredibly strong ties to the industry” with its biggest partners being the largest advertising companies in the world, including Omnicom and GroupM. Out of the big six advertising businesses, it works with half of them. It has a deep and wide relationship with Omnicom, with the business having hired 150 of WYK’s trainees over the last four years. Partnering with WYK not only benefits the young people on programmes but also businesses looking for the best talent. WYK has essentially “de-risked” the recruitment process for them as they’ve supported businesses “access upskilled talent they can have confidence in.”  The quality, strength and impact of the social enterprise’s programmes can be summed up by Omnicom telling them that “the best entry level candidates they have coming into the business are from WYK”. How does this benefit the DFE? In short, as well as creating jobs for people traditionally shut out from the tech industry, WYK’s close and trusted relationships with businesses enables a pipeline of motivated, talented young people who themselves are transforming the dynamics of the digital sector. As Rob puts it: “We get the outcomes, we have the ties to business and we can also really point to our impact when it comes to the types of people that we’re supporting.” What were the main challenges in the contracting process A better understanding of the challenges faced by social enterprises that are dealing with vulnerable groups Reflecting on the key challenges WYK have experienced delivering the Skills Bootcamp contract, Rob believes that there can be a “bit of a clash between our intended social mission and the contractual standpoint of the government”. The Skills Bootcamp makes organisations contractually commit to securing interviews for 100% of course participants, but an organisation like WYK, which deals with young people often facing multiple, serious barriers, cannot guarantee this with trainees being at very different starting points at the beginning of a course. “At the start of any programme when we do a start point assessment, probably around 20% of participants would be really confident in getting jobs, around 60% are not ready on day one but we’re confident they will be after ten weeks with us, and then there’s 20% who are often facing significant barriers. When we get to the 10 weeks there’s usually a segment of those trainees who are not ready for work and who need a deeper intervention. We don’t put them forward for jobs because it wouldn’t do them any good, and we’d be setting them up to fail. We also need to maintain a healthy referral relationship with our employment partners – it doesn’t look good on us if we’re putting forward young people who are not ready for work.” Once WYK reports back on its impact at monthly meetings with contract managers there is an understanding of the reality of the challenges it faces, where there can be an issue is the lack of flexibility in the bid stage, with Rob stating that there:  “needs to be an understanding that not all outcomes are going to be successful because of the very nature of helping vulnerable people. This could be reflected in what they (commissioners) look for in contracts”. Payment on outcomes Another challenge identified by Rob is again linked to how social enterprises balance impact with financial sustainability and how this can clash with the contractual process, this time in regard to payment. WYK are paid a cost per learner, which has been agreed contractually with the government. They are given 40% of the contract value upon successful enrolment, which is referred to as Milestone One. Milestone Two is the completion of the course with an agreed number of hours taught and the successful trainee obtaining an interview (30%). The final 30% is paid on a successful job offer. Whilst this is needed to ensure performance and WYK are “hugely invested in securing positive outcomes for our trainees” it does mean that “the risk is on us”. Being a small social enterprise dealing with people who may need additional support, they “know we’re going to get the 40%, we usually score about 85% of our Milestone Two funding but there’s often money left on the table for the Milestone Three.”  This means that WYK has to hire recruitment specialists to try and maximise their funding from this final part of contract delivery. Rob believes that “there should be some leeway on social enterprises to help support them achieve those targets”. WYKs competitors in the for private profit space can often use their size and position to effectively skew the system to take money out of the contract without meeting targets. The business has seen how other larger organisations often build programmes around the initial 40% of Milestone One, delivering a low-quality course but with the attitude that they “will take anybody and if people get an interview and a job then that’s a bonus for them.” Meanwhile WYK goes to great lengths to ensure that they are putting the right young people on their programmes who would benefit most from them. Alternatively, some private profit businesses are also “only putting people on courses who are so smart already that they’re definitely going to get jobs”, closing down opportunities for others who need extra support. Another challenge can be the initial work getting onto a DPS, with WYK having had to hire bid writers to help them get onto the portal. Based on a conversation with Rob Jackson Founder of WYK Digital wykdigital.com

How one clinic in Hull cut emergency admissions for frail people by 50% Health nerd quiz question! What common condition increases an individual’s likelihood of attending a GP surgery by over 50%, undergoing emergency care by 216% and adds almost £6 billion pounds to the NHS bill each year? Diabetes? Heart failure? Cancer? It’s actually something that is barely recognised as a medical condition: frailty. So, when a frontline innovation manages to cut emergency admissions for the most severely frail people by 50%, it’s worth paying attention. This outcome was achieved by the Jean Bishop Centre - a unique initiative of the City Health Care Partnership (CHCP), a social enterprise working in Hull, and led by two remarkable physicians: Anna Folwell and Daniel Harman. Anna and Dan will tell you that the key to their success is flipping the usual model of care on its head. The CHCP and its workforce are committed to the idea that it should be the individual who shapes the support they receive rather than the public sector body. As such, their assessment of a person’s needs begins with a very detailed conversation about their experiences, their hopes, their needs. Armed with that understanding, the clinicians and others working at the Centre can work out exactly what is needed to maintain the health and well-being of someone with frailty and their care-givers and provide it in as effective and flexible a way as possible. And that regularly involves bringing in wider community and voluntary sector support from organisations, often located in the Centre themselves, enabling immediate connection to the people looking for help. Pete’s story* Pete’s story is a case in point. A care home resident in his seventies, Pete’s health had worsened significantly in recent weeks. Severely frail with advanced dementia and multiple conditions, he was eating far less, wandering more and at growing risk of falling and hurting himself. The residential home felt it could no longer offer appropriate care. Under normal circumstances, a situation that would often result in an emergency hospital admission followed by a lengthy stay, draining hospital resources and often leading to a further deterioration in the individual’s overall health and well-being. Luckily, Pete was referred to the Jean Bishop Centre. The staff there first undertook a very detailed medical review which resulted in Pete being placed on a more humane and effective regimen. Some of the medications he had accumulated in recent years and which were now doing more harm than good were removed while other underlying conditions that had gone undetected were treated for the first time. Most importantly though, the Centre spoke with Pete and his wife, Joan, in detail about what they really wanted - and the key thing was for Pete to stay in a care home where he felt supported and connected to others. So, working with the Alzheimer's Society in Hull and their own knowledge of the local residential care network, the Centre was able to find a new care home place for Pete while also offering greater support to his wife. The result: a healthier and happier Pete, a relieved Joan and a long hospital stay avoided. Doing with, not doing to Pete’s story exemplifies a spreading approach that seeks to ‘do with’ people rather than ‘do to’ them. Most fundamentally that means doing with the person or family in need of support or care as well as working closely with organisations and people outside the public sector institution, particularly those in the voluntary and community sector. But it also involves senior leaders ‘doing with’ rather than ‘doing to’ frontline professionals by trusting them to make the right decisions both in the radical redesign of a service and in its day-to-day delivery. This is often overlooked when frontline innovations are analysed but ask the City Health Care Partnership what enabled them to develop and deliver such an effective approach at the Jean Bishop Centre and they are clear. As an independent social enterprise, they have been able to break away from the hierarchy and bureaucracy of the mainstream public sector and free up their clinicians and other employees to think for themselves, take risks and focus on impact and outcomes rather than targets and processes imposed from above. A mindset summarised in a phrase one hears a lot at CHCP: “say yes before you say no”. And it’s an approach that has had an impact across the whole of Hull. When it first opened its doors, the Centre set itself the goal of reaching as many of the 3,000 people with severe frailty in Hull as it could. Within two years, it had worked with 90% of that population. That led not only to the 50% reduction in emergency admissions for the most severely frail in that group but also a 10-25% reduction in GP visits for the rest of the group. Work with a wider cohort with less severe frailty has led to  an overall reduction in A&E admissions for people over 80 by 13.6% and for residents in care homes by 18% and reduction in medicine costs of £100 per person per year. The human impact Of course, reduced admissions and innovative ideas are only ultimately tools to achieve the one thing that matters: meaningful improvement in the health and well-being of individuals and their loved ones. An independent evaluation found that the Centre significantly improved the overall wellbeing of older people living with frailty at 2-4 weeks and at 10-14 weeks after the intervention. In contrast, the evaluation control group experienced a decline in well-being over the same time-frame. And you won’t find a clearer example of what a ‘do with’ approach can mean in human terms than taking five minutes to watch this film about Ray. What he needed to massively improve his life was far less complex than Pete - an electric wheelchair and a ramp - but the simple fact that the Jean Bishop Centre really listened to his needs, treated him with respect and then did everything in its power, as quickly as possible, to respond is impactful beyond any quantitative measure. Get ready to shed a tear or two! *Names have been changed in Pete’s story. By Adam Lent This case study forms part of a series we are producing together with the healthcare consultancy Baxendale and think tank King’s Fund, to demonstrate the innovation shown by social enterprises delivering health and social care.

Social Procurement Connect makes it as easy as possible to connect with leading social enterprise suppliers – businesses that trade for a social or environmental purpose, putting people and planet first. 3 reasons to sign up for Social Procurement Connect Gain insight Practical advice and guidance on how your organisation can work with social enterprise suppliers Identify opportunities Supply chain review to help you identify existing social enterprises in your supplier base Mapping out opportunities and matching your business with the best social enterprise suppliers Connect and grow Premium access to our Social Enterprise Directory to find leading B2B social enterprises with a track record of delivering products and services to corporate clients ‘Meet the Supplier’ events to connect with social enterprise suppliers Join us as a supporter member Businesses joining us as supporter members can also: Gain valuable insights by accessing the UK’s only sector data repository, collected over 20 years Make future-proof decisions based on best practices in forming sustainable partnerships between your business and social enterprise Connect with the leaders of social enterprises and recommended suppliers suited best for your business’s ESG needs Benefit from know-how and guidance on how to find ways into your local community and form social enterprise networks Tap into social value expertise and embed it into your daily business operations Fill out the form below to start the conversation!

Birmingham-based award-winning social entrepreneur and leading mental health counsellor, Martin Hogg, founder of Citizen Coaching CIC, launches a new book series focused on accessible strategies to improve mental health for all.  As Citizen Coaching CIC approaches its 20th anniversary, Martin Hogg has instigated a step-change in the highly successful and sustainable social enterprise, Citizen Coaching CIC.  Citizen Coach CIC operational and day-to-day leadership is now being headed by Carla Lees as the new Managing Director. Meanwhile, Martin continues to drive innovation and develop new products and offers to support positive social and behavioural change for those seeking support strategies to tackle mental health challenges.  His first book series launches March 2025 with three new books capturing his twenty years of specialist counselling experience, and translated into readable, bite-size, practical mental health strategies delivered in his unique and engaging style.  Highly qualified, yes.  Lived experience, yes.  Proven results, yes.  Martin says, “Back in 2005 the waiting times for counselling support were long. I believed that not everyone needed to see a psychologist or doctor and that some small practical, non-jargony, and motivational interventions in non-clinical surroundings could be effective for many people.”  “In 2008, I was asked how I funded the work I was doing. I described the Citizen Coaching CIC model as a modern-day Robin Hood business model, delivering counselling services for those with the ability to pay subsidies to support those who couldn’t afford to pay but were in most need of support. Apparently, that was a social enterprise business model, and that legal structure could help me help more people and secure the service for the future.”  Today, Citizen Coaching CIC works in a third-sector consortium with several other local counselling providers, and together they deliver half of the mental health sessions to the people of Birmingham, Europe’s biggest local authority.  Now, with Martin’s creative approach and drive to support more people to live better lives, he has put pen to paper and written three books as the first release in a series of positive mental health personal development paperbacks.  Just launched on Amazon, ‘My Mental Well-Being Coach Series’ presents My Anxiety Coach, My Relationship Coach and My Anger Coach – not only personal development books but counsellor reference books and additional downloadable tailored management plans to support the journey to well-being.  Martin says, “The hardest thing is that, as a counsellor, you can't help everyone immediately. As counsellors, we hate waiting lists but the fact is there is way more demand than supply. We must use all the tools and technology we have to ensure people get the best possible service.”  “With the continuing demand for mental health support, I want to share what I know with others so it can help them with their issues or equip them with the tools to help others. I like to keep things simple, easily understandable and memorable. It’s the practical application that will mean success or failure.”  “As a social entrepreneur, I’m always looking to innovate and see Citizen Coaching CIC leading the way in creating more quality and accessible mental health resources, courses, online products, books and audiobooks.” citizencoaching.com