The Social Greenhouse

BRDO Learning event, March 6th, 2014

A place for social enterprises to grow, developed by Hope Street Centre CIC funded by BRDO

The Problem

Small social enterprises are taking over an increasing number of public services especially in the health and care sectors.They need to demonstrate to commissioners that have robust systems in place and a viable businessThey need to demonstrate compliance with a range of regulatory frameworks

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

The SolutionAn on line resource accessible from any smartphone tablet or computerOn line learning about regulatory requirements and how to establish management systems, underpinned by a learning diaryA capability model to help providers measure, improve and demonstrate capability as a viable sustainable enterpriseFacilities to support the development of a community

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

The Social Greenhouse

There are three online learning sets

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

Each learning set has a number of units

Plan(t)ing your social enterprise• What is a social enterprise?• What type of social

enterprise?• What's special about a CIC?• Is a CIC the right legal form

for you?• Community Interest

Companies as Limited Companies

• The Asset Lock and what it means for your CIC

• How do I register as a CIC?

Propagating your Social Enterprise• What has regulation ever done for us?• Registering with the CQC• Your statement of purpose• What's in the application form?• What you need to do about involvement and

information• What you need to do about personalised care,

treatment and support• What you need to do about safeguarding and

safety• What you need to do about staffing• What you need to do about quality• What you need to do about suitability of

management• How the CQC check you are doing what you say• Keeping your information safe

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

Growing your Social Enterprise• Planning for Growth

• Paying your taxes

• Recruiting the right staff in the right way

• Dealing fairly with diversity

• Motivating staff

• Leadership - Don't be a hero

• Keeping everybody safe and healthy

• Accessing income from grants

• Selling products and services to commissioners

• Selling products and services directly to customers

• The Social Greenhouse Growth Capability Model

Each learning unit starts with a film

A place for social enterprises to grow, developed by Hope Street Centre CIC funded by BRDO

What’s a social enterprise?

Then stops to allow you to think

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

Think about your proposed social enterprise

What makes it a social enterprise? What would be the advantages of creating it as a social enterprise? What would be the disadvantages of creating it as a social enterprise?

Before providing more material

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

In the form of videos, documents and web sitesAnd a learning diary to store lessons learnt

Community learning toolsThe Compost Bin is where you put your garden waste and recycle it to help your garden grow better in the future.The Social Compost Bin is where you can tell the community about your negative experiences and more importantly what you learnt from them. We learn more from failure than success, and your learning can help other social entrepreneurs be successful.

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

Every green house needs a toolshedOther tools can be found in the tool shed: notably the social enterprise capability modelThe capability model is a five level model to allow enterprises to audit, document and improve their capability As well as an internal development tool, it can be used with regulators and commissioners

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

The Capability Model

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

The tool shed provides tools to helpFrom the tool shed, you can: • Audit your capability• Keep track of your development• Store supporting evidence • Demonstrate your capability to

regulators and commissioners

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from

ConclusionsThe Social Greenhouse can:• Help individuals learn what they

need to know• Help social enterprises develop

systems to• Satisfy regulatory requirements• Develop systems and capability to

help them grow• Improve their attractiveness to

commissioners and grow new business

• Help regulators and commissioners to have confidence in the capability of small social enterprises

• Serve as a model for other small business sectors where business growth is linked to meeting regulatory requirements

The social greenhouse has been funded by an innovation grant from