| Angus SE Strategy Action | LEAD | Who and what to deliver | Achieved by February 2019 | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Raise Awareness a) Hold an ACPP launch event for the strategy and the consultation on the action plan. b) Additional local events held for partner staff/interested parties. c) Regional Social Enterprise conference in Dundee | VAA VAA, ABC, Senscot DSEN | Invitations to ACPP partners, councillors, social enterprises and other third sector organisations. Raising understanding of SE/exploring opportunities for SE/action plan Promotion to potential Angus attendees | VAA Promoted on social media in May. Generic presentation created. ABC - Fed of village halls ABC open event on What is SE? Promoted to local SE through social media and newsletter. EVENT CANCELLED. An awards ceremony held February 2019. | Awareness is raised of the strategy and the one year consultation programme. MEASURE: Raised awareness among non SEs of the sector through evaluation and event uptake. Identify key messages that need to be shared. New enquires to start up SE. |
| 2. Review the operating SEs in Angus | VAA | VAA, ABC, Business Gateway, AC. Use the Census 2017 list to carry out research on needs | VAA 20 returned. A big push by end November to get more completed. | An understanding of the existing SEs in Angus MEASURE: A report on the findings. Note 1 |
| 3. Review the support available and draw up a map. | DSEN | VAA, ABC, Business Gateway, Dundee & Angus College, Angus Council Departments, HSC Partnership - Through joint meetings and review programmes. | DSEN - Meeting of the providers to agree the final copy. A national route map has also been included. Where best to site the information and Route Map? | Create a shared vision of the support pathways and partners roles. Identify any gaps in provision and partners that are actively working together to fill these. MEASURE: A support map for SEs in Angus to show where to direct enquiries from new starts to growing enterprises. Completed See Note 2. |
| 4. Create a list of strategic opportunities that should be prioritised. | VAA | VAA, DSEN - to identify business opportunities and raise awareness of these. Possible links to other strategies such as Community Empowerment, HSC Integration, City Deal bids, Employability and Childcare provision. | VAA DSEN - completed SE in Tourism report for Tay Cities Deal bid. | Identify key areas for support in increasing trading and, therefore job creation, for Angus SEs and new partnerships to develop these. MEASURE: A report on the opportunities that are currently available. Note 3 |
| 5. Create a training needs report | DSEN | ABC, VAA, Dundee & Angus College - to carry out training needs research | DSEN - the results from the SE survey, ABC and DSEN info. | Ensure that training is available to develop a skilled and adaptable workforce. MEASURE: Promote a training and events programme for SEs. Completed Note 4 |
| 6. Offer direct support that is available currently to existing, new and emerging social enterprises | VAA, ABC, Business Gateway | VAA, ABC, Business Gateway, Just Enterprise and Senscot to continue to provide/promote ‘routine’ support | Angus SE Newsletter circulated May 2018, August 2018, December 2018 and February 2019. Difficulty in getting basic stats on the numbers supported. Ongoing to have a baseline. | Provide support that is available for finance, business development, governance, evaluation of impact, Learning Exchange visits, marketing, contract developments. MEASURE: Number of attendees and variety of support delivered/required. Note 4 |
| 7. Networking and partnership | Social Economy Working Group | Meet three/four times a year to bring interested parties together and draw up a three year action plan. Investigate the future role/remit and membership of the SEWG and its possible role in monitoring and reporting on the Strategy and Action Plan. Review the operation and need for a social enterprise network from the engagement of local SEs | SEWG Event planned for 20 February 2019 for all SEs. Is this what you want? What are the opportunities? Support structure and future of SEWG. Working group to work on the report and draft 3 year action plan that was submitted and discussed at February 2019 SEWG meeting. | Create an understanding of the needs of the sector to enable it to contribute to a sustainable economy in Angus. Completed. Local SEs determine what representative structure they require. MEASURE: A three year action plan bringing together the shared learning from year one. A final review of the Strategy with amendments as required. Clear governance arrangements for delivery. The three year plan represents the needs. Note 5 - the way forward for a SEN and Angus Social Economy Partnership |
- VAA - Voluntary Action Angus, ABC - Angus Business Connections, DSEN - Dundee Social Enterprise Network
- Social Economy Working Group - consists of VAA, DSEN, Angus Council and others who are to be recruited for their knowledge and interest in the development of SE and willing to engage in delivery of support.
Social Enterprise Questionnaire
The questionnaire was sent out to the list of 109 Social Enterprises registered in Angus. There were 20 responses to the social enterprise questionnaire, all existing, new and upcoming Social Enterprise’s had the opportunity to participate. A summary of who responded and the responses are as follows:
- The response and needs ranged from training and assisting with finding funding and larger premises, training needs were as follows good governance/board training, customer service and business planning.
- 10 of the respondents were playgroups and out of school clubs which all had similar answers and needs. The other 10 were a complete mixed of organisations with a number of different needs.
- From the responses it was clear that one of the main needs of these organisations is an opportunity to access more training. This was made evident and listed in the 3 year action plan.
- From the responses there is a an opportunity to look at the SE’s interest to come together as an Angus wide forum or through locality links to share best practice and work more collaboratively.
As aforementioned, the response numbers were quite low in comparison to the number of organisations it was sent to, therefore it would be my recommendation to introduce the questionnaire again at the event giving organisations a clear briefing on the purpose, and either providing time at the end for them to fill it out or at least highlighting that we will be resending to ensure they are aware and look out for it. This should result in a larger return.
Note 2 Angus - Local Social Enterprise Business Support Route
Pre Start
- Angus Business Connections
- Business Gateway
- Coca Cola 5x20 project
- Just Enterprise
- Social Firms Scotland
- Voluntary Action Angus
- Governance
- Business Plans
- Training Business
- Planning/Marketing/IT
- Legal Advice
- Peer to Peer Support
- Mentoring
- Desk Space
- Funding and Investment
Start up/Early Stage
- Angus Business Connections
- Business Angus
- Business Gateway
- First Port
- Just Enterprise
- Social Firms Scotland
- Visit Scotland
- Voluntary Action Angus
- Social Media training
- Bookkeeping
- Legal Advice
- Digital Marketing/Digital Boost
- Peer to Peer Support
- Mentoring
- Community Asset Transfer
- Social Impact Measuring
Existing Enterprise Development
- Angus Tourism Co-operative
- Business Gateway
- Business Angus
- COSS
- First Port
- Just Enterprise
- Partnership 4 Procurement
- Scottish Enterprise
- Visit Scotland
- Finance/Loans
- Market Development
- Employer Advice
- Supplier Development Programme
- Export Help
- Marketing
- Partnerships
- Public Social Partnerships
Business Networks
- Angus Business Connections
- Angus Tourism Co-operative
- Community Resources Network Scotland
- Development Trust Association Scotland
- Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce
- The Federation of Small Businesses
- Tay Country (East of Scotland Tourism Partnership)
Note: National Organisations are identified on national support route map.
NOTE 3 - VAA
Opportunities that are currently available linking to local economy.
| Strategy | Who to link with | Opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| Community | Angus Council | CAT enquiries and Participatory |
| Empowerment | IJB/HSCP | Budgeting |
| HSC Integration | Tay Cities Board | New services |
| Tay Cities Deal | Shared | Progress on bids |
| Employability | Apprenticeships | No of engagements |
| Childcare provision | Education | New services |
| Tourism | Angus Tourism Co-op | No of SEs engaged |
| Grow Angus | VAA | No of SEs in the group |
This is still under review and will form part of the discussions and opportunities that will arise through the Transforming Services Events which fully involves all partners from Third Sector, Angus Council CPP and HSCP.
VAA will increase its strategic resources available to developing social enterprise in Angus. A new Strategic officer will be responsible for stimulating local develop through the Angus Social Economy Partnership, working collaboratively with partners and VAA Locality workers. This will help develop new organizations and approaches, whilst helping existing voluntary sector organizations to develop new market opportunities. The social enterprise innovation hub will increase opportunities for support to new enterprise initiatives. As part of our new digital capacity approached more support will be available on line. The Strategic officer will lead on VAA work and develop strong partnerships. This post will also help support VAA Locality workers as a first point of contact for early stage development.
Note 4 Existing support delivered
This has been recorded through the year. There is no standard recording system or sharing of this data.
| Group/organisation | Training courses | Engagements |
|---|---|---|
| Tourism/ATC | FAM and ATC awareness raising | n/a |
| DSEN | Making connections to realise opportunities (40 attendees) | 4 |
| ABC | support provided/providers meeting marketing /collaboration | 38 |
| Just Enterprise | What is SE? | 5 |
| Business Angus | none specific | 11 |
| Business Gateway | none specific | 3 referrals to ABC |
| First Port | Fine tune your SE - event in Dundee | 5 |
| Visit Scotland | none specific | n/a |
| VAA | 25 | |
| COSS | none specific | 1 |
| P4P | introduction to procurement (8 attendees) | 1 |
| Scottish Enterprise | tourism masterclass (12 attendees) innovation workshop - people, place and practice (11 attendees) | 2 |
Identified Training Needs
From the above engagements and through the different organisations work, the following have been identified as the main areas of training needs.
Social media, Marketing, Networking, Tourism opportunities, Business planning, budgeting and cashflow, Developing new income streams, Digital tax and completing returns. Premises and leases, Legal structures for trading. Measuring social impact and writing case studies.
Strategic areas that enterprises would like to know more about are - Health and Social Care Integration, Tourism strategies (local and regional), Community Asset Transfer.
Note 5 - Feedback from the consultation event on 20th February 2019 Who should be on an Angus Social Economy Partnership?
Local Authority, Third Sector Interface, Health Board/HSCI/IJB, Support organisations (Community
Enterprise, First Port, Just Enterprise), SEN reps, Dundee and Angus College, local SE grass roots reps,
Business Angus.
- Could be a good point of contact for grass roots and agencies.
- Those on it to contribute to the delivery and respond to needs of SE in the area
- Might have LA reps as needed such as Property, Law, Procurement, Economic Development, Elected Officials.
- Bring in Education and private sector as well to realise the opportunities that are identified in the action plan.
What is the role for a SEN?
- Set the direction of SE development in Angus
- A network that meets and shares opportunities and challenges
- Might employ a co-ordinator
- Gives a voice locally that feeds into national. Shares national info to SE
- Develops relationships with the other agencies and public sector. Promotes SE as a goods and service delivery option
- Is an independent network
- Can be big or small - whatever is needed locally
Resourcing a SEN
Peer support but also might be some funds available. Link into funds from TSI and LA. Part of the 92 point Scottish Government actions in the National Strategy offers commitment to support a SEN where needed/wanted.
Angus SEN - What would its role be?
Support the development of a network, Connecting SE to local policy at strategic level, SE’s being part of the decision.
Role of the Strategy Office at VAA
- VAA role to support social enterprise in Angus and so will address this gap.
- TSI role
- Links to the Action plan - need to see how. Compliments the Angus action plan.
- Might signpost SE to support
- Could support the network along with other work
- Work with the SEN in partnership - some TSIs work with their SENs in partnership and some are independent.
How to raise the profile and understanding of SE in Angus?
- Raise awareness of the model across the public sector especially. Clear up misunderstandings.
- Get better links and how to share case studies and best practice.