employment purpose social enterprises

Social enterprises for employment and social inclusion

May LamPolicy and Strategy ManagerSocial Traders

Nambucca Valley Feb 24th 2011

Employment purpose social enterprises

1. About Social Traders

2. Social and economic inclusion through social enterprises

3. Some examples

4. How many social enterprises and what types?

5. Government assistance

6. SE business challenges

7. Policy challenges

1. About Social Traders

• Started 2008 with Vic Government and philanthropist partnership, currently 7 staff

• Information www.socialtraders.com.au and communications

• SE Finder: Australian social enterprise directory (May 2011)

• SE Builder: online social enterprise business planning

• The Crunch: a social enterprise development and finance competition challenge ($1million in

• Policy, research and development

2. Social and economic inclusion and SEs

• Employment is a key component of social inclusion

• People with complex personal, family, poor health, precarious finances and housing, low skills and confidence have needs for particular kinds of:

– skills training and personal development support

– flexible hours and staged transition to employment

• Financial and performance incentives structure of the current JSA system combined with most employers’ needs and requirements does not deliver this

• Viable social enterprises offer the appealing prospect of more responsive, more holistic and more sustainable ways to support social and economic inclusion

3. Examples of DEEWR-funded social enterprises

1. Graffitti removal, metropolitan

2. Training café, regional town

3. Construction of small backyard dwellings, regional city

4. Opportunity shops rollout – metro and regional

5. 3 small businesses: lawns and cleaning, catering, coffee shop - regional

6. Media production company, metropolitan

7. Media production company remote indigenous community

8. Safety clothing supply, regional

9. Translation services for carer support

10 Construction and fencing

8. Safety clothing supply (ctd)

9. Translation and carer support - metropolitan  

* Based on estimates derived from the Giving Australia study indicating that 29% of non-profits operate some kind of business

Around 100 funded by DEEWR

4a. How many social enterprises?

600AustralianDisability Enterprises

4b. Types employment-purpose social enterprises

• Australian Disability Enterprises

• Social Firms

• Intermediate Labour Market model

‘Journey’ vs ‘destination’ types of SEs – and in-between

Various business models and degrees of profitability

5. Sketch of government support for social enterprises

State Governments, eg Vic, WA, Tas

Commonwealth Government

• Australian Disability Enterprises (around 600) FAHCSIA

• Innovation Fund and Community Jobs Fund projects (totalling $74 million) DEEWR

• $1million in SE development support DEEWR

• $20million Social Enterprise Development and Investment fund

Social Traders’ interest in DEEWR SEs

• Survey of DEEWR-funded SEs in August 2010

• Currently proposal being considered by DEEWR for $1m for SE development support 

6a. Social enterprise business challenges

• Shift in culture from grants for social programs to trading income to maintain and grow the business

• Moving from startup capital (easier to get) to longer term viability, related to....

• Realism about future income sources and growth projections

• Hybrid funding, multiple stakeholders and accountability

• Less well-developed enterprise and entrepreneurship skills in community/social services sector

• Workforce composition and balance of staffing in SEs due to employee skills, work capacity, need for flexible hours and social support

• Relationship to employment and social services systems and resources

• Articulation to mainstream workforce opportunities

6b. Social enterprise survey

7. Policy challenges

1. Coordination and cooperation with the employment services system

2. Outcomes and impact measurement

3. Ongoing finance and development support

Social Traders aspirations

1. SEs that are sustainable (if not entirely self-funding)

2. SEs that relate to the employment services systems

3. SEs that know and can report what difference they make

4. SEs that can learn from each other and from other business’ experiences