Blogs

Our Social Value story: SUEZ recycling and recovery UK

SUEZ recycling and recovery UK are a partner on the Social Value 2032 Programme - find out more about how they are embedding social value across their work in this blog.Read more

Tackling affordable housing and isolation issues – Homeshare UK

Find out how Homeshare UK are helping tackle loneliness and the rising cost of housing by bringing together people with spare rooms who are looking for company and support with those looking for a place to live.Read more

The State of Social Enterprise across English regions

Key takeaways from the English regional state of social enterprise reports and a call to action to use the findings from across the regions to achieve genuine 'leveling up'Read more

I started a social impact venture during a pandemic. Here are three things I learned

Eloise Skinner set up a social enterprise during the pandemic. In this blog, she writes about what she's learned - from the opportunities that can come through uncertainty to the importance of networks.Read more

Cost of Living Crisis: Social Enterprise Advisory Panel members want structural economic reform, not just one-off handouts

This blog looks at some of the data from the March Social Enterprise Adivosry Panel (SEAP) which looks at levels of concern amongst social enterprises about the cost of living crisis.Read more

Five reasons to celebrate Fair Tax Week 2022

Fair Tax Week 2022 runs in the UK from 11-19th June, incorporating Tax Justice Sunday on 12th June. It’s an excellent opportunity for social enterprises to further show their commitment to creating positive change. But why, and how, should businesses, organisations and individuals be part of it?Read more

Helping businesses and communities tackle the climate crisis - Climate Action North

Find out more about Climate Action North, a social enterprise set up to support people and organisations take meaningful steps to tackle the climate emergency.Read more

Changing the conversation on disability – Diversity and Ability

Find out more about the ground-breaking work of Diversity and Ability which is helping re-define how society views disability. Using the concept of disablement and intersectionality they address the social barriers which create disabling situations, centering the importance and diversity of lived experience.Read more

Using beekeeping to support mental health – Wings and Radicles

Find out more about how start-up social enterprise Wings and Radicles are promoting the mental health benefits of beekeeping whilst raising the profile of the importance of bees for people and planet.Read more

Demystifying the Just Transition

The shift toward net zero will bring economy-wide transformation on an unprecedented scale impacting many industries, jobs, and communities. In this blog, Jennifer Clair Robson, Content Director at Climate Action North, looks in more depth at the idea of a just transition and why this is important for social enterprisesRead more

Cambridge Carbon Footprint – taking the first steps

Find out how social enterprise Allia is working with Cambridge Carbon Footprint (CCF) as part of their year-long climate in focus campaign. CCF has created the Cambridge Climate Change Charter which allows companies to take a pledge to show their commitment to sustainability in their business decisions, supply chain and community.Read more

Supporting vulnerable children through the education system – Athena Education Support

Athena Education Support is a social enterprise born out of the need to make children’s lives better, especially those struggling in school and with mental health issues. Find out more about their transformative work in this Social Enterprise Story.Read more

How a social enterprise is opening up film production to young people and those in the criminal justice system – Inside Job Productions

Find out how Inside Job Productions is supporting young people struggling with mental health issues through work in film production and the social enterprise's ground-breaking work in prisons.Read more

Celebrating social enterprises this Fairtrade Fortnight

The eBay for Change programme, a groundbreaking collaboration between the World Fair Trade Organization and Social Enterprise UK has shown that there are lots of synergies between SEUK members and fair trade. Many of our members are also working in Fairtrade, find out more about three of them in this blog.Read more

Benefits of Fair Tax Mark accreditation & how it contributes to social and economic good

Find out more about Fair Tax Mark accreditation and why being a responsible business and paying tax go hand in hand.Read more

Demystifying Net Zero for small businesses

What is the difference between net zero and carbon neutral? Why is it important for social enterprises to take action to reduce their emissions and where do you even begin? Jennifer Clair Robson, Content Director at Climate Action North helps demystify net-zero in this blog.Read more

Butterfly Books – a social enterprise breaking down gender stereotypes in the classroom

‘My Mummy is an Engineer’, ‘My Mummy is a Firefighter’, ‘My Daddy is a Nurse’ - these are just a few of the books published by social enterprise Butterfly Books. Find out how they are tackling harmful gender stereotypes in the social enterprise story.Read more

Combining the social with the environmental – Community Wood Recycling

Find out how Community Wood Recycling looks to take on the climate crisis whilst creating jobs and training opportunities for people marginalised in the labour market in this Social Enterprise Story.Read more

Business Department says it has “massive interest” in social enterprise, but what next?

At the 'One Nation' Conference Business Minister Greg Hands spoke of the government's interest in social enterprise but how can this interest be translated into real change? In this blog, our External Affairs Director writes about how if we are to reduce inequalities we need to level up business and the limits of traditional models of devolution.Read more

Highlights of 2021

Find out how we worked hard with our members & partners to ensure we're doing all we can to promote the social enterprise movement.Read more

2021 in Social Enterprise… the year’s proudest achievements

It’s been an eventful year. Did the new year’s resolutions that social enterprises made back in January 2021 bear fruit? Read on to find out…Read more

Navigating routes to market for social enterprises – useful links

We've put together some useful links and top tips for social enterprises looking to reach prospective customers across different market segments – the consumer market, the business-to-business market and public sector markets.Read more

Responsible finance meets ethical fashion - Fredericks Foundation & birdsong:

Fredericks Foundation has provided loans to financially excluded individuals for over 20 years and has helped almost 2000 business start-ups. This blog explores how they supported fellow SEUK member, Birdsong through a Revenue Share Agreement.Read more

Corps Security – committed to their military roots

Find out about Corps security, set up to support soldiers returning from the Crimean War and which is now a leading social enterprise security company creating jobs for veterans and the armed forces community.Read more

What is the role of businesses in addressing the climate emergency?

Journalist Sharlene Gandhi has written this piece on how an individualistic perspective on how to tackle the climate crisis doesn’t work in a world where we are all as interconnected and interdependent as we are. Instead, we have to change how we do business no longer accepting business-as-usual and striving for seismic shifts in the ways that entire industries operate.Read more

How can we increase diversity in the social enterprise community?

When it comes to diversity our sector rightly has much to be proud of but if we look beyond the headlines we see that it still has more work to do when it comes to breaking down barriers for specific groups. How can we increase diversity in the social enterprise community?Read more

Budget & Spending Review 2021: Repeating the same old mistakes?

In this piece our Director of External Affairs looks at the strategy behind the Budget & Spending Review and what the long term implications are for social enterprises.Read more

Spark & Co – no social justice without racial justice: a pandemic-inspired start-up

Find out about Spark & Co a social enterprise set-up at the height of the pandemic to support racialised people and communities to access information and support that was trustworthy and accessible.Read more

Homebaked Bakery – The power of communities to ‘level up’ for themselves.

The story of Homebaked Bakery is one of a community coming together in the face of adversity to breath life into a cherished local institution and take local development into their own hands after years of neglect by government.Read more

Party Conference Review: A new economic consensus?

Our Director of External Affairs looks back at one of the most significant conference seasons in our country’s recent history. One in which both parties started to think about the fundamental structure of the economy and whether it is delivering for the country.Read more

Winning the social enterprise vote

How well do social enterprises think that political parties are serving their needs? This is the question we put to our members this party conference season. Find out what they thought in this blog.Read more

Read all about it! Creating a social enterprise community newspaper

Find out how a social enterprise is putting local news in local hands, bringing back the authenticity and accountability vital to an independent media.Read more

Leading by Social Purpose

June O’Sullivan, CEO of the London Early Years Foundation writes about the need for social leadership in early childcare and education looking at models which are not about individuals making change by themselves but which create and nourish communities of practice that can foster social leadership across the sector.Read more

Social enterprises supporting gender empowerment - Flourish Together CIC

In this final blog in our series on social enterprises and gender empowerment with Westminster University, we speak to Nickala Torkington, co-founder of Flourish Together CIC on the importance of economic independence, the need to involve men in the battle for gender equality and how the pandemic has unravelled much of the progress that has been made.Read more

The heart of success, John Steel CEO Cafédirect

Pioneering social enterprise Cafédirect turns 30 this year. In this piece their CEO John Steel looks back at Cafédirect's incredible legacy.Read more

Why being an anti-racist social enterprise is better for mental health

Ama Afrifa-Tchie, Head of People, Wellbeing and Equity at Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England on why being an anti-racist social enterprise is better for mental health and how we can begin to address the mental health inequalities which disproportionately affect People of Colour and Black colleagues in the workplace.Read more

Providing safe houses for LGBTQI asylum seekers and refugees - Micro Rainbow

Jon, a trans man from Saudi Arabia and his partner Marbilla were forced to flee persecution in Saudi Arabia and seek safety in the UK. This Social Enterprise Story tells their story and how they found safe housing through Micro-Rainbow - an incredible social enterprise providing support, safety and security for LGBTQI asylum seekers and refugees.Read more

Breaking down barriers to work for refugees - NEMI Teas

Refugees arriving in the UK have above average levels of education and many of them are accomplished professionals - nonetheless, unemployment in the refugee community sits at nearly 20%. In this Social Enterprise Story find out how NEMI Teas is creating employment opportunities, breaking down some of the barriers refugees face in accessing work.Read more

Refugee Week 2021

For Refugee Week 2021 we’ve put together this list of just a few of the incredible social enterprises working to ensure that refugees are welcomed, supported and their contributions acknowledged.Read more

From hierarchy to empowerment - how one social enterprise is transforming the workplace

Find out how Chiltern Music Therapy set out to transform the way they work to ensure that everyone in the organisation's voice is heard, not just those in the prominent or more visible positions, and how they shifted their model so services are designed by their clients and their team.Read more

Social Enterprises Supporting Gender Empowerment - Impact Hub Bradford

This is the third in a series of blogs we're working on with Westminster University through which we explore ways in which social enterprises empower women, and collectively, advance gender equality. This piece focuses on Impact Hub Bradford, nurturing social innovation and enterprise in Bradford, and how supporting efforts to improve gender equality.Read more

eBay for Change - What is it all about?

eBay for Change is a new programme to support the growth of the social enterprise sector. We asked Chris Gale, Head of Social Impact at eBay, about what the platform is all about, its importance to eBay and how it will help social enterprises grow and increase their impact.Read more

Backing the data – Big Society Capital becomes Co-Sponsor of the Social Enterprise Advisory Panel

Find out from Melanie Mills, Senior Director of Social Sector Engagement at Big Society Capital, about their sponsorship of the Social Enterprise Advisory Panel and how it can help social investors work more closely with the social enterprise sector.Read more

Beam: creating equality of opportunity at scale

Regina became homeless after escaping an abusive relationship but through the support of Beam and their innovative approach using crowdfunding to take on homelessness, she's now a dental nurse. In this Social Enterprise Story, the CEO of Beam talks about their innovative setup and what inspired him to found the social enterprise.Read more

Turning a cafe into a supermarket – how a Salford social enterprise is transforming how a community can address health inequalities.

In Salford, Greater Manchester, one social enterprise is radically changing how a community can address health inequalities through redefining what is possible when it comes to the delivery of care. Find out how in this Social Enterprise Story.Read more

Designing social investments with an impact-first approach

Ben Smith, Head of Social Investment at the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation looks at how the organisation designs social investments with an impact-first approach. Drawing on case studies, the piece runs through three different types of social investment to help demonstrate how an impact-first and flexible approach can be applied in their design.Read more

Ten Top Tips for marketing your Social Enterprise

Jane Thompson of Thompson Marketing gives us her top ten tips for marketing your social enterprise.Read more

A roller-coaster year - how the House of St Barnabas has adapted over the pandemic

As venues start to open up again, the CEO of the House of St Barnabas gives her reflections on what has been a roller-coaster year, defined by continuing to support people experiencing homelessness, and looking ahead to the post-pandemic future.Read more

Self-care in the social sector

The first in a series of blogs from our friends at Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England on mental health and the social enterprise sector. This first piece looks at the importance of self-care and making time for yourself in a sector where we commit so much to the causes we care about.Read more

What do the local elections and Queen’s Speech mean for social enterprises?

Our Director of External Affairs on the key announcements in the Queen's Speech and what the local election results may mean for social enterprises.Read more

Our largest donation ever

Co-Founder of Elvis & Kresse, Kresse Wesling, on the social enterprises largest-ever donation to the Fire Fighters Charity and how every time you buy social from Elvis & Kresse you're supporting firefighters and their families in their time of need.Read more

Social Enterprises supporting gender empowerment - Turtle Dove

This is the second in a series of blogs we're working on with Westminster University through which we explore ways in which social enterprises empower women, and collectively, advance gender equality. This piece focuses on Cambridge based social enterprise, Turtle Dove, which seeks to improve the future of young women who are at risk of becoming unemployed through not having the confidence or experience to seek employment.Read more

Ideas for a New Fashion Industry: A Manifesto

The conversation about sustainability in fashion often offloads responsibility onto consumers and their individual choices, missing structural change completely. This new manifesto from pioneering fashion social enterprise, Birdsong, looks at some of the policy changes we need to create an ethical and sustainable fashion industry.Read more

A Social Enterprise on the COVID frontline – Livewell Southwest

This Social Enterprise Story looks at the work of Livewell Southwest, a social enterprise that's been on the frontline of the vaccination roll-out and which has been pioneering new ways of delivering health and care services for communities.Read more

Transforming mental health support during a time of crisis

With the mental health effects of COVID becoming more and more apparent this Social Enterprise Story looks at how P3 has transformed a telephone helpline service into a personalised mental health support line which takes up to 70 calls a day.Read more

Radical Reformers – a new podcast showcasing social enterprise leadership

A fantastic new podcast hosted by Andrew Laird, Managing Director at Mutual Ventures, interviewing pioneering leaders from social enterprises working in the public sector.Read more

Social Enterprises Supporting Gender Empowerment: What does it mean and how do we get there?

This is the first in a series of blogs in collaboration with Westminster University through which we want to explore ways in which social enterprises empower women, and collectively, advance gender equality. In this openning piece, we look at what it means for social enterprises to support gender empowerment and how we get there.Read more

The social enterprise changing lives through washing machines

70% of the world’s population lack access to a washing machine - something which is preventing many women from accessing education or financial independence. In this Social Enterprise Story find out how a chance meeting with his neighbour in rural India led social entrepreneur Nav Sawhney to come up with a solution to help take on this issue.Read more

How can social enterprises help fight male violence?

The murder of Sarah Everard served as a stark reminder as to why the fight for gender equality is so important but what can social enterprises do to help end male violence? This Social Enterprise Story looks at the systemic nature of gender-based violence and how one social enterprise, LUX LUZ, is working to support survivors.Read more

The State of Social Enterprise in Thailand

In this fascinating insight into social enterprises in Thailand, Sudarat Rojphongkasem, General Manager at the Social Enterprise Thailand Association looks at the impact social enterprises are having in the country. From the issues they work on and where they're based to how government is looking to grow and develop the sector, this blog shows what's working and what more needs to be done. Read on to find out what the rest of the world can learn from Thailand when it comes to creating an eco-system of social enterprises.Read more

It’s Great in Greenwich! Our Social Enterprise Place in SE London

Idrees Sarwar, Social Enterprise Development Office at GCDA on the importance of social enterprise in building the “social infrastructure” holding society together and what it means for Greenwich to be an officially accredited Social Enterprise Place.Read more

International Women's Day 2021

Social enterprises are all about creating a more gender-equal world. To celebrate International Women's Day 2021 on 8th March, we've asked our members & partners to answer a few questions.Read more

What did the Budget mean for social enterprises?

Our Director of External Affairs runs through the key announcements from the Budget which will affect social enterprises including new coronavirus support schemes, a Community Ownership Fund and the extension of social investment tax relief.Read more

Social Investment Tax Relief: A “shovel-ready” tax relief to help build back better

SEUK's Director of External Affairs on how Social Investment Tax Relief could be used and expanded to give social enterprises the access to capital they need. With the relief due to expire in April, he makes the case for SITR as one of the methods we can use to truly build back better.Read more

Supporting people into work through coffee

Sophia is a single mother living in London and she’s just opened a community café during lockdown. The opening of Carmen’s Family Coffee House is the culmination of her ambition to create a family orientated coffee shop rooted in the local community that provides a safe and welcoming space for parents. Find out how she was supported on her journey by social enterprise, Well Grounded.Read more

The social enterprise transforming the cleaning industry and taking on the gig-economy

Precarity, low pay and exploitation are all too common within the cleaning sector. In this social enterprise story find out how one social enterprise is looking to transform the industry through living wages and employee ownership, in other words by doing everything that is the opposite of what is common in the industry.Read more

What Ethical Banking Means For Social Enterprises

Social Enterprises play a crucial role in society, and making the switch to an ethical finance provider can be a powerful step in driving positive change.Learn more about the role of ethical banks in this blog by Linda Martin, Regional Director at Unity Trust Bank.Read more

Voices from the Sector - Anna Ware, Clear Voice

Anna Ware, Director of social enterprise Clear Voice told us about how the business is an interpreteing service like no-other, it's work supporting vulnerable groups including Syrian refugees, how the pandemic saw a boom in demand and what needs to change to take on negative perceptions of asylum seekers.Read more

Why COVID was the first digital disruption and what comes next

Liam Cahill, the founder of Sector Three Digital, on why COVID was the first digital disruption, what comes next and how businesses can best adapt to the changes ahead. This piece is a summary of an exclusive webinar Liam delivered for Social Enterprise UK members.Read more

Social enterprises must prepare for a shake-up of procurement following Brexit

Now the UK has left the EU notable changes are being made to public sector procurement. In this blog SEUK's Andrew O'Brien looks at what the proposed changes will mean for social enterprises, the opportunities for the sector and the need for a clear framework so social value is at the heart of procurement decisions.Read more

#Buysocial this Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day – A made-up holiday created up by the big greeting cards lobby or a day to share with your partner and show them how much you care? Whatever your view there are some great social enterprises you can buy from this Valentine's Day. Here are just a few...Read more

Social enterprises working in health and social care

Our Public Services Lead, Nancy Towers, writes about some of the vital work being carried out by social enterprises working in health and social care through the pandemic. She also looks at what may lie ahead for these social enterprises and our work to help make sure they are not left out of decisions around the future of the health and social care systems.Read more

An interview with Yvonne Field, CEO of the Ubele Initative

We spoke to the CEO and Founder of the Ubele Initiative, Yvonne Field about the incredible work the social enterprise is doing supporting communities through the pandemic and the continued fight for racial equality.Read more

The social enterprise fighting to ensure that Black Lives Matter

In this social enterprise story find out about how social enterprise, the Ubele Initiative, sought to address the racial inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19, holding the government to account and fighting to make sure communities got the support they need.Read more

Transforming the coffee industry

Find out how social enterprise Cafédirect is not only taking on the injustices found in the coffee industry but also supporting farmers adapt to the challenges brought about by the climate emergency.Read more

The start-up using hand sanitiser to support their community

Social enterprises have been at the heart of community responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of our Social Enterprise Stories series find out how two sisters, worried about the lack of availability of hand sanitiser, set up a social enterprise to address this issue.Read more

Supply Unchained- Tackling Modern Slavery in Business Supply Chains

Supply Unchained work by providing management consulting services for international development across the private and public sectors. The aim and mission of the organisation is to prevent systemic causes of modern slavery, by providing training, consulting, and compliance support to businesses.Read more

Social Enterprise Futures - what it's all about

Our Vice-Chair, Karen Lynch on what Social Enterprise Futures is all about and how it's the perfect opportunity to bring the social enterprise community togetherRead more

Voices from the Sector - Michelle York, Nuneaton Signs

We spoke to Michelle York, Commercial Director at Nuneaton Signs about the work they do creating employment for people with disabilities, adapting to COVID and what it means to work for a social enterprise.Read more

Voices from the Sector - Charlotte Vitty, CSH Surrey

We spoke to Charlotte Vittey, CFO at CSH Surrey, about what it means to be a social enterprise delivering health and care services, the impact of COVID and how the organisation is supporting other social enterprises in the communities in which it works.Read more

Voices from the Sector - Paula Gamester, The Sewing Rooms

Hear from the founder of the Sewing Rooms, Paula Gamester, on their incredible work supporting their community through the pandemic, pivoting their business to manufacture masks and getting them to the people who most need them.Read more

What does the latest government announcement on social value mean for social enterprises?

On the 24th September 2020, the Government issued a new Procurement Policy Note on Taking Account of Social Value in the Award of Central Government contracts. With social value to now be evaluated not just considered, SEUK's Andrew O'Brien looks at what the changes may mean for social enterprises.Read more

Everything to play for: Party Conference Season 2020

Our External Affairs Director, Andrew O'Brien on this year's Party Conference season. What can the social enterprise movement take away from politicians are saying? Find out in this blog.Read more

A new dawn for a greener and more socially inclusive economy?

Carl Britton, Chief Operating Officer at social enterprise energy company, Planet First Energy on the need for an environmentally focused Covid-19 recovery plan to boost a greener economy and how Planet First Energy both addresses the climate energy and combats fuel poverty.Read more

Plotting a path to the future: time to reset the economy

Paul Nicoll, social and cultural team lead at Triodos Bank UK on why now is the time to re-set the economy to create a different kind of extraordinary times - reshaping our businesses and our lives to create a better future for all people and our planet.Read more

Transforming the South Bank

Coin Street, a social enterprise working in Waterloo and North Southwark, explain how they have adapted during the global health crisis to support the needs of local families, key workers, individuals who are isolating, vulnerable adults, tenants, small enterprises and anyone that needs a bit of much needed TLC.Read more

Voice from the Sector- Natalie Campbell, Belu

Natalie Campbell took over at Belu Water just as the COVID crisis hit. In this interview she talks about taking over during a pandemic, the need for a fundamental change in how we do business, her own story and what the future holds for one of the UK's best known social enterprises.Read more

‘Buy Social’ to build diversity, innovation and sustainability into your supply chain

Janette Evans-Turner, Head of Sourcing & Procurement UK & IOM at Zurich Insurance on how the company's involvement in the Buy Social Corporate Challenge has enabled them to drive social procurement across many parts of the businessRead more

The power of a sign – getting the Buy Social message across to corporate customers and the wider public

Michelle York, Commercial Director at Nuneaton Signs on how the Buy Social Corporate Challenge has helped open up markets for social enterprises and how it's helping change perceptions of the sector amongst corporate buyersRead more

Transforming narratives on asylum

Majeda fled the war in Syria, leaving her family behind. With the help of social enterprise, Migrateful, she's now set up her own catering company. Find out more about Majeda's journey and how, in the light of increasing hostile language, Migrateful are transforming attitudes towards asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.Read more

Transforming healthcare for people who are homeless

Dominic Maddocks was on the verge of homelessness. He's now in charge of a street outreach team getting vital health services out to people who are homeless. Find out more in this piece on how social enterprise, Bevan Healthcare CIC is transforming primary care services, breaking down barriers of access.Read more

Voices from the Sector - Gina Rowlands

Bevan Healthcare CIC is social enterprise providing care services to people who are homeless, asylum seekers and refugees.It's so much more than just a primary care practice and in this interview, Gina Rowlands, Managing Director at Bevan runs through its model of care, the challenges faced by the homeless and those seeking refuge, and also Bevan's inspiring response to COVID.Read more

How a social enterprise is re-defining what is possible in social care

Neil Woodbridge, CEO of social enterprise Thurrock Lifestyle Solutions (TLS) writes about what it means to be a social enterprise on the front-line of social care, what it means to put people truly at the heart of how care is delivered, and the organisation's incredible community centred response to COVID-19.Read more

How a social enterprise is transforming the fashion industry

In the second of our 'voices from the sector' series, we spoke to Sophie Slater, co-founder of Birdsong, about how the social enterprise is transforming the fashion industry, the impact of COVID, sustainability and the murky world of global supply chains.Read more

Voices from the Sector: Karen Lynch

In the first of a new series of interviews with sector leaders, former Chief Executive of Belu Water, Karen Lynch tells us about her experiences running one of the UK's most successful and well-known social enterprises.Read more

How have we at SEUK been supporting our health and social care members who are working on the front line of this crisis?

We've been fighting to ensure social enterprises delivering vital health and care services are supported through the pandemic. In this piece SEUK's Nancy Towers runs through some of the ways we've been working with our members to ensure that social enterprises on the front line are recognised and supported.Read more

Why working together is part of our commitment to help social enterprises build back better

Melanie Mills, Senior Director Social Sector Engagement at Big Society Capital responds to the findings from the data captured in regional State of Social Enterprise Reports which look at how data from the nine English regions compare to the national averageRead more

How one social enterprise is using artisan bread to create jobs for refugees

Social enterprises will be vital to ensure that we build back better post coronavirus. Social enterprises are job creators but they do this in a way which brings people into the economy, helping reduce inequalities. Find out how one social enterprise, Breadwinners, is creating meaningful jobs for refugees.Read more

How Accelerate Optimises an Illness to Wellness strategy for our community

The wellbeing of patients is at the heart of how social enterprises working in health and care operate. For Wellbeing Week 2020 find out how AccelerateCIC optimises an illness to wellness strategy for the patients it supports to deal with wound, lymphoedema + mobility issues and how the social enterprise adapted its services during Covid-19.Read more

Refugee Week 2020

For Refugee Week 2020 and World Refugee Day, we’ve put together this shortlist of just a few of the incredible social enterprises working to ensure that refugees are welcomed, supported and their contributions acknowledged.Read more

None of us can pretend we really know what’s going to happen.

With the old economic model collapsing in the wake of the pandemic and the uncertainty ahead, Dan Gregory looks at the possibilities within the chaos and how the future of the economy lies in community, in co-operation and in social enterprise.Read more

Meet the Social Enterprise tackling the plastic problem in Uganda

Find out how Social Enterprise UK member Eco Brixs is taking on plastic pollution in Uganda with a solution that has social and environmental justice at it's core in this special blog written for Global Recycling Day 2020.Read more

Fair Trade and Social Enterprise: two sides of the same coin

Erinch Sahan, Chief Executive of the World Fair Trade Organisation gives his thoughts as to how without a truly mission-led business-model, Fair Trade becomes limited.Read more

Unfolding women’s power in India - Secret Projects Community Benefit Society

Secret Projects drives female led micro-enterprise and trains and empowers women in India through the making and selling of clothing and homeware.Read more

The public sector must focus on achieving all three pillars of social value

Senior Associate at Anthony Collins Solicitors, Gayle Monk, discusses the importance for public sector bodies to recognise synergies between the social, economic and environmental in order to maximise social value.Read more

Wates and social value

Social value at Wates is characterised by a focus on creating sustainable communities through employment and skills, and advocacy of trade with the social enterprise sector. Su Community Investment Manager at Wates Group, Pickerill explains more.Read more

Call to action from the National Social Value Conference - it’s Time to Act!

CEO of Social Value UK, Ben Carpenter, reflects on the 2020 National Social Value Conference, highlighting 10 key takeaways that will help to shape the strategic discussions of the Social Value Leaders Summit in March.Read more

Building a strong social purpose

Social enterprises represent the best that business can offer: innovative, commercially focused organisations that give back to society or the natural environment. Businesses that engage with social enterprises are helping to support this growing sector, with its strong social purpose. Amanda Williams, Sustainability Manager at Landmarc Support Services, explains how this is just a natural progression for a company that understands its place in wider society.Read more

Social Enterprise Community: it is time to talk about mental health

On Time to Talk day, CEO of of Mental Health First Aid, Simon Blake, talks about the importance of being open about mental health in the social enterprise sector.Read more

A day on the Rapid Response Team

SEUK's Public Services Lead, Nancy Towers, spent a day observing the Rapid Response Team at health and social care social enterprise, Your Healthcare. In this blog Nancy looks at how being a social enterprise allows it to empower staff to make decisions and create a way of working which puts the needs of service users at the heart of how it operates.Read more

Celebrating bringing outstanding care to our communities

Social enterprises are working across the country delivering quality health and social care services. In this blog Zoe Nicholson, co-founder of Social Enterprise UK member, Here, reflects on the brilliant news that their community services have been rated outstanding by the Care Quality Commission.Read more

Working across systems and building partnerships to deliver more effective health and care outcomes.

Extract from Jo Pritchard’s speech to the Building Health Partnership’s Conference on working across systems and building partnerships to deliver more effective health and care outcomes.Read more

General Election 2019

A run through of our campaign for the 2019 General Election which involved guerrilla light displays, an ad-van and a message that business as usual isn't working.Read more

General Election 2019 Brexit Policy

The third of our election blogs is all about Brexit. What are the parties saying and what might it mean for social enterprises?Read more

General Election 2019 Key Policy Battlegrounds

The second in our election series of blogs looks at some of the key battlegrounds in this election and what they mean for social enterprises from the future of public services to how we do business.Read more

How serious are politicians and media about changing this country?

Our External Affairs Director on our campaign to push the message that business as usual isn't working. With an election immanent, we need to make sure that we change how we do business if we're to take on the climate emergency and build a fairer economy,Read more

General Election 2019 Manifesto Analysis

The first in a series of blogs from our Director of External Affairs, Andrew O'Brien, looking at what the upcoming election will mean for social enterprises.Read more

The Greatest Show

Our Chief Executive, Peter Holbrook offers his thoughts on this year's momentous Social Enterprise World Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia which was a showcase of our global social enterprise movement.Read more

Politics trumps economics – social enterprises must take this election head on

Our Director of External Affairs, Andrew O'Brien on why this upcoming election will probably matter more than most.Read more

Can Early Years be the Bridge to Helping Combat Loneliness and Isolation in Local Communities?

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is not an education at all.” In this blog CEO of London Early Years Foundation, June O'Sullivan, talks about their upcoming Margaret Horn debate which asks the question: Can early years be the bridge to helping combat loneliness and isolation in local communities?Read more

The public sector must lead by example in Buying Social

On Thursday 9th October, the #BuySocial for a Better World campaign is focusing on the impact that can be made when public sector bodies buy from social enterprises. VCSE Crown Representative, Claire Dove, writes of the importance of government leading the way in buying social.Read more

10 tips to win at online video

Video is now a much preferred way to share any type of information online. In this video and blog post, The Chocolate Films Glasgow team shares their advice on how to create great video content for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.Read more

Anti-Economist

The Economist ran a leader titled "What are companies for?" In this blog SEUK's Andrew O'Brien takes on the key arguments in the article arguing that businesses don't need to choose between social purpose and financial successRead more

Whatever happened to public service reform?

Our Director of External Affairs makes the case that we need to grow social enterprises in the public sectorRead more

Social enterprises need to be political entrepreneurs if we want to grow the sector

SEUK's Director of External Affairs makes the case that we need social entrepreneurs to also be political entrepreneurs and how growing our sector’s political influence will do more than anything else to turbo charge our impact.Read more

Housing: property or home?

Tessa Gooding from Urban Patchwork writes about how social enterprise can help bridge the gap between housing as property and housing as home to help address the housing crisis and contribute to a more sustainable society.Read more

We need to invest in markets – not impact

SEUK’s Charlie Wigglesworth on why we should be investing in markets not impact.Read more

How to win more contracts with the public sector? - Talk to Procurement Pt 3

The final blog in this series looks at the benefits of embedding social value into corporate supply chains to help boost sales and win contracts.Read more

How to attract and retain talent? Talk to procurement - Pt 2

The second blog in our 'Talk to Procurement' series looks at how companies can use their supply chains to attract and retain talent.Read more

How to engage consumers and drive up revenue - Talk to Procurement Pt 1

The first in a series of 3 blogs from Andy Daly, who works on our Corporate Partnerships, which looks at the potential of corporate procurement to increase their impact through their supply chain.Read more

Stop right now - the Spice Girls and big business aren't the answer to equality

Our Marketing and Communications Officer, Kate, argues that we shouldn't be fooled by big business co-opting feminist campaigns. Instead we should be supporting businesses set up to build a more equal society.Read more

Government must ask itself: what are we getting for our tax cuts?

Following news that corporation tax cuts will cost billions more than previously suggested, SEUK's Andrew O'Brien argues that tax cuts just don’t cut it anymore.Read more

Autumn Budget 2018 - Government is running out of road with its out of date economic thinking

Andrew O'Brien, our Director of External Affairs, gives his thoughts on the Autumn Budget, arguing that to boost productivity and build inclusive growth the government needs to back social enterprise.Read more

Social Investment: It’s not just about the money

Big Society Capital's Social Sector Engagement Director, Mel Mills looks back at the UK Social Enterprise Awards and those organisations shortlisted for the Social Investment Deal of the Year Award making the point that when it comes to social investment it's not just about the money.Read more

We can’t wait for Brexit to begin the difficult job of reforming our economy

SEUK's External Affairs Director, Andrew O'Brien argues ahead of the Budget that we cannot ignore the the difficult but necessary job of reforming our economy.Read more

‘Trading with organisations that support local communities is a powerful opportunity to make a difference

Wates Construction recently confirmed £313,010 of spend with social enterprises in the year to date from its Bedfordshire base in Luton. As MD of the Home Counties region, Ian Vickers discusses the role social enterprises play in building successful, sustainable communities when part of a local supply chain.Read more

A Hidden Revolution is transforming the UK economy and everyone must take notice

SEUK's Charlie Wigglesworth argues that Government cannot afford to ignore social enterprise following on from our latest research which showed social enterprises contributing £60bn to the UK economy.Read more

Workers on boards alone won’t stop reckless corporate culture

SEUK's External Affairs Director, Andrew O'Brien, takes a deep dive into the announcement at the 2018 Labour Party Conference for more worker representation on corporate boards, and argues for social enterprise as an avenue to improve corporate culture and its impact on society.Read more

Social Enterprise UK – Going Global

SEUK's Director of International and Sustainable Development, Dan Gregory shines a spotlight on our work around the world, learning from other countries and sharing knowledge to grow the global social enterprise movement.Read more

Being Brave and Bold in Durham and Darlington

Jane Hartley (VONNE), Lee Mack (CDDFT), Catherine Parker (PHE) and Jenny Steel explore the opportunities offered by three CCGs and two Local Authorities committing to a new five year contract for community health services.Read more

We must turn the Civil Society Strategy into a coherent plan to support social enterprise

SEUK's External Affairs Director, Andrew O'Brien looks into the Government's Civil Society Strategy, what it means for social enterprise and how we can make it work for our sector.Read more

Swimming with a social conscience

Power to Change's Communications Coordinator, Matt McKeown, looks at a social and environmentally conscious way of cooling off in the heat.Read more

I was very privileged to have this week away to learn more about the morals of the organisation I work for

Graham Organ is a driver for Bristol Community Transport, part of HCT Group. In May, he took part in the HCT Champions Programme, which involved a group of front-line employees visiting social enterprises in Bristol and London to learn about the world of social enterprise and the social impact their own organisation has.Read more

I felt inspired to make more of my colleagues aware of how HCT/CT Plus operates as a social enterprise

Caroline Wilson is a Travel Care Assistant at HCT/CT Plus in Fulham. She joined the Champions Programme for HCT Group in May 2018, which involved a group of their front-line staff visiting a broad range of social enterprises in Bristol and London to understand the world of social enterprise and the social impact of their own organisation.Read more

Why I'm looking forward to sitting next to the CEO of NHS England at Fit For The Future

Gina Rowland will be sharing the keynote plenary at Fit For The Future with CEO NHS England Simon Stevens. Here she explains why she's using it as an opportunity to get NHS leaders to pay more attention to the outstanding health and social care services provided by social enterprises.Read more

Mixing water, energy and ethics

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Social Enterprise Summit in Salford

Gareth Hart, Director, Iridescent Ideas CIC and Chair, Plymouth Social Enterprise Network reflects on the Social Enterprise Summit in Salford held in April.Read more

SEUK visits the Yorkshire Coast

David Stone from Coast and Vale Community Action reflects on a jammed packed couple of days of social enterprise activity and a visit from Social Enterprise UK.Read more

Joining the dots: the role of corporates in addressing societal employment challenges

Mark Hicken, Managing Director of Janssen UK & Ireland, a pharmaceutical company of Johnson & Johnson, gives his perspective on the importance of working with social enterprises.Read more

World Water Day 2018

Karen Lynch CEO of Belu Water talks about the importance of World Water Day and how it inspires Belu to do business differently.Read more

Seriously, we must have a purpose beyond profit. Here’s how.

Laura Kekuti, Policy Officer at UnLtd UnLtd (the foundation for social entrepreneurs), shares the top tips from some of the UK’s most purpose-driven businesses on how to make purpose work in practice.Read more

We Must End Exploitative Lending Practices And Make Credit Fair For Those Who Need it

Social Enterprise UK Patron Michael Sheen explains why he has launched the 'End High Cost Credit Alliance' - a project designed to back fair alternatives to high-cost credit providers.Read more

Social value – no longer lip service, just good business sense

Ahead of the Social Value Summit, Josh Steiner, Social Value and Sustainability Manager at Wates Construction looks at the social value landscape and the new opportunities open to businesses looking to maximise their impact and capitalise on the prospect of effective social value.Read more

#BuySocial this Fairtrade Fornight

26th February until 11th March is Fairtrade Fornight. We encourage you to #BuySocial this Fairtrade Fortnight to support both the Fairtrade and social enterprise movements.Read more

Achieving Social Value through Effective Contract Management: The importance of a holistic approach

Associate at Anthony Collins Solicitors, Gayle Monk, discusses the need for a holistic approach to social value procurement.Read more

"Building Health Partnerships has been about culture change within the NHS and beyond"

We interviewed Emily Holloway from the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust about her involvement in Building Health Partnerships (BHP), a programme that facilitates collaboration between STPs, local people and the voluntary sector. Find out more about the focus of work in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the challenges of working across sector and how these have been overcome, and what they would do differently in the future.Read more

100 years on - how social enterprises are driving the fight for gender equality

On the centenary of the 1918 Representation of the People Act becoming law, we take a look at some of the social enterprises that are tackling gender inequalities and empowering women through who they work with.Read more

Maximising social value – it’s a mindset – just follow the Principles

Dr. Adam Richards from Social Value UK touches on the third 'M' of social value, ahead of his workshops at this year's Social Value Summit.Read more

Social Enterprise and the Industrial Strategy - Lord John Bird's comments on the Industrial Strategy

"If Government were to get behind social enterprises and take us from a niche into the mainstream, that would do all sorts of wonderful things " Our Patron, Lord John Bird's comments in the debate on the Industrial Strategy on 8 January in the House of LordsRead more

SEUK Awards 2017 – Social Investment Deal of the Year

Geetha Rabindrakumar Head of Engagement at Big Society Capital and a judge for the 2017 UK Social Enterprise Awards looks back at the inspiring stories behind the Social Investment Deal of the Year Award.Read more

How embedded is social value and social enterprise in Government?

Our Public Affairs Manager, James Butler, looks at how Government is using the Social Value Act.Read more

Social Enterprise: all aboard?

Should social enterprises have a monopoly on ‘social’? Are they in danger of losing territory to other kinds of businesses that are adopting a version of social enterprise primarily because it offers access to new markets? Or perhaps there really are ways that business can deliver social good and we should welcome this changing landscape? Hempson's Simon Lee considers some of these issues.Read more

What makes you feel good?

Our Deputy CEO, Nick Temple, reflects on the first partnership session of the Building Health Partnerships Programme for the Humber Coast and Vale STP region.Read more

Autumn Public Affairs and Policy Update

Our Public Affairs Manager, James Butler, looks back at this year's conference season and what is on the horizon.Read more

Celebrating Social Saturday by June O’Sullivan, CEO of London Early Years Foundation

CEO of pioneering social enterprise the London Early Year's Foundations, June O'Sullivan celebrates Social Saturday 2017Read more

Access for all: promoting an inclusive society with social enterprises

As we enter National Inclusion Week Emily Davies, Head of Social Impact at Amey writes about how their work with social enterprises is creating opportunities for those who need them most, promoting a more inclusive society.Read more

Putting the social (impact) in social investment

Social Enterprise UK's Deputy CEO reports on an initiative aimed at improving social impact practice in social investment intermediaries.Read more

An Open Letter to the UN Security Council to intervene to end the human crisis in Myanmar from Nobel Laureate, Muhammad Yunus

Nobel Laureate and social entrepreneur, Muhammad Yunus has written this open letter to the UN Security Council to end the crisis in Myanmar faced by the Rohingya people.Read more

Tackling inequality requires us to re-imagine business - Erinch Sahan, Oxfam

Erinch Sahan, Acting Head of Private Sector, at Oxfam GB on why the current reality of mainstream business isn’t cutting the mustard when it comes to tackling inequality.Read more

Building Health Partnerships: Self-care

Our Programmes Officer, Nancy Towers explains the BHP: Self-care programme supporting Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) footprints to engage with the VCSE sector and citizens on wellbeing and self-care priorities.Read more

Summer Policy Briefing

Our Public Affairs Manager, James Butler, looks at what the policy agenda may hold for social enterprises as Parliament breaks for the Summer recess.Read more

Urgency and ambition: what the social sector needs now

A blog post from SEUK's Deputy CEO looking at how organisations should think about influence and making change in the current political landscape.Read more

What the Queen’s Speech means for the social enterprise movement

Our Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Butler, discusses what Her Majesty's speech means for the sector of social enterprise.Read more

Election Reflections

Our CEO Peter Holbrook looks back at the shock General Election results and what changes in Government may mean for the sector.Read more

Creating a Powerhouse that’s about people

What started as a Twitter discussion around the lack of female speakers at the Northern Powerhouse Conference in February rapidly became something much bigger, writes Tracy Fishwick.Read more

HCT Champions 3: balancing commercial and social

HCT Group is a leading transport social enterprise seeking to embed a culture and understanding of social enterpriseRead more

General Election Viewpoints: 6 - Creating people-powered housing

In the run-up to the General Election, Social Enterprise UK is providing a platform for its members to share their views in key policy areas. This blog is from Rob Greenland, co-director of Social Business Brokers CIC. They are best known for their Empty Homes Doctor service, and Rob is also a founder member of Leeds Community Homes.Read more

General Election Viewpoints: 5 - Transport, social enterprise & requests for an incoming government

In the run-up to the General Election, Social Enterprise UK is providing a platform for its members to share their views in key policy areas. This blog is from Dai Powell, CEO of HCT Group, a leading transport social enterprise.Read more

General Election Viewpoints: 4 - On education for sustainable development

In the run-up to the General Election, Social Enterprise UK is providing a platform for its members to share their views in key policy areas. This blog is from Jen Baughan, CEO of Solutions for the Planet, a social enterprise working with businesses, schools and communities to promote education for sustainable development, social enterprise, and STEM careers for young people.Read more

General Election Viewpoints: 3 - The Fourth Industrial Revolution; social impact at a human scale

In the run-up to the General Election, Social Enterprise UK is providing a platform for its members to share their views in key policy areas. This blog is from Rose Marley, CEO of Sharp Futures, a social enterprise supporting young people into employment.Read more

Here - Investing in HiSBe through our start-up fund

Zoe Nicholson, Chief Executive of Here writes about their investment in fellow SEUK member, HiSBe through their start-up fund.Read more

General Election Viewpoints: 2 - Six steps to a world-leading childcare strategy

In the run-up to the General Election, Social Enterprise UK is providing a platform for its members to share their views in key policy areas. This blog is from June O'Sullivan, CEO of LEYF, a leading social enterprise delivering childcare.Read more

General Election Viewpoints: 1 - A mutual solution for social care

In the run up to the General Election we will be featuring blogs from SEUK members across the social enterprise sector, sharing their viewpoint on key issues that need to be addressed by the new Government. The first blog is from Dr Guy Turnbull from CASA: Care and Share Associates.Read more

Everything you need to know about the General Election

What does the election mean for social enterprise?Read more

What would an inclusive industrial strategy look like?

SEUK's Deputy CEO thinks about what an industrial strategy aiming at an inclusive economy might look like...and what it might mean for social enterprise.Read more