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Start as you mean to go on in 2017, expanding our network, changes to licence fee, international collaboration, embedding social enterprise in higher education & more...

January 2017

Welcome to the first Social Enterprise Mark CIC newsletter of 2017! We wish you all the best for a successful and rewarding year ahead.

As mentioned last month, this monthly newsletter will now focus on providing updates on Social Enterprise Mark CIC and our accreditation services. We are now sending weekly bulletins to highlight news from our network of accredited social enterprises.

 

Start as you mean to go on....
 
Stand out from the crowd in 2017, as an independently guaranteed social enterprise, with a proven commitment to trading primarily for the benefit of people and the planet.

It only takes a few minutes to complete our short online form to register your interest. We will be in touch within 2 days to find out more about your organisation and to discuss the next steps for applying for the only internationally available social enterprise accreditation.

It's easier than you think - applications can be approved within a week!

New Mark holder - Appoint Us Services

 

We are delighted to welcome new Mark holder Appoint Us Services (Midlands) CIC

Appoint Us Services was formed to provide a pathway to making life easier for people.

They offer services that support independence, which are client led and delivered by experienced staff.

Services include:
- help at home
- therapeutic services
- independent care services

New international Mark holder - NAPP


We are delighted to welcome new Mark holder Network of Asia Pacific Producers (NAPP).

NAPP, part of the global Fairtrade organisation, is the 5th organisation outside the UK to be awarded the Social Enterprise Mark. NAPP works to secure a better deal for farmers and workers in Asia and Pacific.

They certify farmers and workers across the Asia Pacific region, and ensure their voices are heard in the system.
 
In response to the Prime Minister's recent announcement of the 'Shared Society' to deliver real social reform, Lucy Findlay reflects on some of the key points for social enterprises.

In her latest blog post, she considers the important role of social enterprises in addressing some of society's biggest issues, and how Social Enterprise Mark accreditation can help engender trust in the social enterprise business model.

Please click here to read the full blog post.

Help us develop our accreditation services

 
 
Many thanks to all those who have taken the time respond to our stakeholder survey.

There is some really useful feedback in the responses, which will be used to inform the future strategic direction of the Social Enterprise Mark and Gold Mark.

There's just over a week left to have your say, helping us develop a robust and credible standard that works for the sector. The survey closes on Friday 27th January.

Changes to annual licence fee

 

From 1st April 2017, there will be some changes to the annual licence fee for Social Enterprise Mark and Social Enterprise Gold Mark accreditation. 

The changes will not apply to all fee tiers - if you would like more information on these changes, please get in touch on 0345 504 6536.

Ahead of the fee changes, why not register your interest now to get your application started? Check out the benefits here.

Social UP project to support emerging social enterprises


We are excited to be involved in a new EU co-funded project, which aims to improve the sustainability, social impact and scalability of social enterprises, to enable them to achieve their societal mission in a financially viable manner. 

The Social UP project will embed a design thinking culture, to support social enterprises to scale up their operations. In cooperation with design thinking experts and social entrepreneurs from across Europe, a design thinking-based training handbook will be produced, which will provide tools to support and motivate design thinking within social enterprises in order to grow, scale–up and prosper. 

Our main role in the project is to conduct desk research and consultation on the development of the field guide. We will also be hosting an event towards the end of the project in 2018, to present the completed field guide and report on the main findings of the project.

Social UP is being led by DesignThinkers UK, and partners include social enterprise support organisations from Greece, Finland, Spain, and Cyprus.

New resources for public sector commssioners

 

We have recently developed a new set of resources to support commissioners in developing and embedding an outcomes based approach to the procurement of public services.

Our aim is to encourage commisioners to use Social Enterprise Mark and Gold Mark accreditation as an indicator of social value created by accredited social enterprises. 

Please feel free to share these with commissioners that you work with.

Embed social enterprise in higher education



University leaders can transform the way their higher education institution is perceived by students and stakeholders by applying for Social Enterprise Mark/Gold Mark accreditation

This demonstrates to students how the values and knowledge that are taught are applied in practice, and how students can be part of a social enterprise culture.

To find out more about the benefits available to universities, please visit the website.

Events



Sector News

 
 


Events

Save the date - Social Enterprise Mark CIC Conference 2017

Monday 5th & Tuesday 6th June 2017
University of Winchester

Get the dates for our 2017 annual conference in your diaries now - the event will be held in Winchester on 5th and 6th June 2017, kindly hosted by University of Winchester.

Further details will be announced soon and tickets are expected to be on sale by the end of February. Please get in touch if you are interested in being involved as a speaker at the conference.

 
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Open:2017 Platform Cooperatives conference

16th & 17th February 2017
Goldsmiths University of London

The Open 2017: Platform Cooperatives conference aims to develop the theme of 'platform cooperativism' within the UK.

The event, organised by The Open Co-op LLP, a partnership between United Diversity, Focal Point Marketing and Events and Defacto Design, aims to accelerate the development of alternative organisational models to increase democracy.

For more information please visit the website.
 

 

Sector News


VODG launch Social Value Toolkit for social care commissioning

VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group), a national charity representing not-for-profit providers of services and support to disabled people, has launched a toolkit to support the delivery of social value in the commissioning of social care services.

The toolkit has been launched to support not-for-profit social care providers to demonstrate to commissioners the added social value they create.

For more information and to download the toolkit, please visit the VODG website.

 

 


Free research, strategy and design for websites and apps

General Assembly London are offering 300 hours of free research, strategy and design to help move London-based charities and social enterprises to move their website or app forward.

The GA User Experience Design Immersive Program is a 10-week, full-time, graduate-level educational program that helps early to mid-career professionals break into the field of UX design. Client projects are the final project of the UX Immersive Program. Teams of 3-5 UX designers, under the guidance of 2 seasoned mentors, dedicate 2.5 weeks and 300+ hours of research, strategy and design to help move your product forward. 

This could be a new feature or function of an existing digital product, something in your backlog, or anything that could benefit from a fresh, user centred design team. 

There is no cost for participating, and GA are currently seeking companies who are interested in participating. To express an interest, please complete an application form.

For more information please get in touch with Callum Goodwilliam at General Assembly on 07916 277928.

 
 
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