social enterprise and entrepreneurship...

Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development: Have Your Say - Ireland!

November 14th 2013: European Union House, Dublin 2 Introduction The European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee are co-hosting a major participatory event on social enterprise and social entrepreneurship on January 16 and 17 in Strasbourg. On November 14th, Clann Credo – the Social Investment Fund and the Irish Social Finance Centre organised a seminar (programme attached) to prepare for the Strasbourg conference and to articulate what the social enterprise sector in Ireland believes is necessary to develop and grow the sector. The Irish government has committed to the development of the sector in its Programme for Government and Action Plan for Jobs. A Minister with responsibility for Social Enterprise has recently been appointed and an inter-departmental group for social enterprise has been established to progress the recommendations made by Forfás, Ireland’s national policy advisory board for trade, enterprise, science, technology and innovation, on developing the social enterprise sector. At both EU and national levels, a vibrant social enterprise sector is considered to be an important component of sustained economic and social recovery. In advance of the seminar delegates were asked for their opinions on how a range of stakeholders – the European Commission, national and local government, the financial sector, the community sector, the corporate sector and the social enterprise sector - could facilitate the development of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship in Ireland. This report summarises the synthesis of the findings from this exercise and the key points made by speakers and participants during the seminar. What can the European Commission do? The current Commission has played a strong role in placing social enterprise on the agenda for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and promoting the development of a competitive social economy market. Into the future, it was considered important that the Commission continues with this agenda and continues to prioritise the development of the sector across the EU.

Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development

Have Your Say – Ireland: European Union House, Dublin 2 November 2013

The European Commission was considered to have an important role in developing overarching policy on social enterprise and creating the conditions for national governments to respond, e.g. by naming social enterprise in operational programmes. The Commission also has a role in co-ordinating the efforts of Member States, creating opportunities for networking and cross-country learning and the input of Member States to the EU strategy regarding social enterprise was considered an important step. Access to finance continues to be a challenge for social enterprises. A contributory factor that was discussed was the risk profile of social enterprises, which is higher than the profile of many organisations that use social finance lending. However, if a lender were to charge interest rates commensurate with this level of risk, this would be prohibitive for social enterprises. It was considered important that the Commission facilitates access to finance, e.g. by providing guarantee or first loss provision schemes for lenders. Changes to the public procurement directive provide an opportunity to support the social enterprise sector. It was proposed that the Commission should examine how EU funding can be framed in such a way as to support innovation in the re-design of public services that would involve the social enterprise sector more in service delivery as a way to open up access to public markets. The drive to simplify grant application processes for EU funding was welcomed. It was suggested that the Commission should support the expansion of the community led local development approach to include the delivery of social enterprise initiatives. It was proposed that the sector needs to be able to quantify the benefits and impact of its work and that this will contribute to increasing its visibility. While work at EU level to develop social impact measurement systems was welcomed, it was considered important that these should not be bureaucratic or stifle development and that social enterprises are involved in developing practical measurement systems. What can National and Local Government do? The Irish government needs to engage and be involved with policy initiatives and development at EU Level and in particular attend at the high-level expert group on social enterprise, GECES. It was considered important that the sector receives recognition and is valued for its contribution to social and economic development by national and local government. Demonstrating commitment to the development of the sector by developing a national strategy and cross departmental responses were considered important first steps in recognising the sector and prioritising its development. It was also considered important that in doing this the government engages with the social enterprise sector in order to ensure that strategies are aligned with the real needs of the sector. The failure to identify ‘Social Enterprise’ as a priority in the draft Partnership Agreement for the 2014 – 2020 round of European Structural and Investment Funding was difficult to reconcile with the stated aims in the programme for government and the Forfás recommendations. Supportive policies with dedicated funding streams needed to be named in the overall national development plan and the individual operational plans.



Across Europe, the sector should be recognised as being about being enterprising and being part of national enterprise ministries. The issues faced by and needs of social enterprises are very similar to SMEs and it was considered important that social enterprises should have access to the same suite of supports and benefits that SMEs have. However, support agencies will need to educate themselves about social enterprise and understand the differences between them and conventional enterprises. While much development work on access to finance and access to public markets was underway, it was considered as important that the government also develops national responses to these access issues. For example, by promoting the development of seed capital funds for social enterprises, by providing guarantee or first loss provision schemes for lenders to social enterprises, by utilising public procurement to create market access for social enterprises, by providing access to a co-ordinated support infrastructure and by creating the conditions for social entrepreneurship and innovation. There was some discussion about the language used at national level in the context of social enterprise. Many social enterprises deliver social services on behalf of government agencies. Often these are described as grants by the statutory sector when in fact they are contracts for service that deliver real outcomes and value for money for the State and need to be recognised as such. What can the Social Enterprise & Social Entrepreneurship Sector do? The sector itself needs to engage in awareness raising and promoting what it is about. The sector needs to engage with a wide range of audiences in order to do this, e.g. community groups, educators, private business, local and national government, young people and students. It was considered important that the sector makes known its views on the challenges and barriers it faces and the supports it needs to develop and grow. The sector needs to communicate with relevant funding departments, e.g. Public Expenditure & Reform, Enterprise, Education, Environment & Local Government, about the importance of including social enterprise as a priority in the Partnership Agreement with the European Commission for 2014-2020. Capacity building in the sector emerged as a theme during the discussion. Social enterprises are a business model and need to be operated as professionally as any other business. It was considered important that social enterprises and entrepreneurs educate themselves on how to successfully set up and operate a social enterprise. The sector needs to develop capacity to compete for business and to respond to initiatives that might be put in place to support the sector, e.g. responding to public procurement targets for social enterprise inclusion, new sources of funding, etc. Capacity building also emerged as a challenge in the context of developing social enterprises in urban areas, particularly underserved areas or disadvantaged areas, where the necessary blend of skills to develop a social enterprise may be absent. Providing access to the existing enterprise support infrastructure would go some way to addressing some of these capacity issues. Sharing information and developing models of best practice is another way that it was considered this issue could be addressed by the sector. What can the Financial Sector do? While social enterprise is a business model, it was considered that outside of the social finance sector understanding of the differences between social enterprise and conventional enterprise



by the financial sector was limited and needed to be addressed to enable the financial sector to develop relevant competencies and confidence to actively engage with and provide finance to the sector. The development of affordable and flexible funding options for start-ups and existing enterprises as well as new products suitable to the social enterprise sector was another way the financial sector could support development of the sector. What can the Community & Voluntary (C&V) Sector do? Social enterprise in Ireland has strong roots in the community and voluntary sector. Many organisations in the C&V sector already engage in trading but would not be aware that they are a social enterprise or consider themselves as such. It was considered important that the profile of social enterprise be raised in the sector in order to create awareness and understanding of its potential to address local and national issues and as a model that can support sustainability for C&V organisations. The C&V sector could proactively seek out and work with individuals or groups that are interested in becoming a social enterprise. It could also identify social enterprise and social entrepreneurship champions within local communities. Another way the C&V sector could support the development of the social enterprise sector would be to trade with it by purchasing goods and services provided by social enterprises. What can the Business Sector do? Again, awareness raising and understanding were identified as necessary precursors to the business sector valuing the role of social enterprise and engaging with it. Many business people are already involved on an individual basis as volunteer members of the Boards of community organisations engaging in trading activity or social enterprises. However, it was considered that there are also opportunities for corporate level engagement, particularly under Corporate Social Responsibility, to stimulate and provide support to social enterprises and entrepreneurs, e.g. providing philanthropic donations, bursaries, mentoring, internships, etc. In other countries, the business sector has actively lobbied government for tax incentives or other mechanisms that support the transfer of financial aid to or investment in the social enterprise sector and it was considered that these examples might be explored in an Irish context. The business sector could also support the development of social enterprise by trading with it and by working collaboratively with it, e.g. on public procurement tenders, piloting of cross sectoral innovations, etc.

November 14, 2013

Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development: Have Your Say - Ireland!

November 14th 2013: European Union House, Dublin 2 Programme 2.30pm Registration 3.00pm Welcome and Introduction from the Chair, Dr Emer Ní Bhrádaigh, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, Dublin City

University 3.05pm Opening by Phil Hogan TD, Minister for Environment, Community &

Local Government 3.25pm Keynote Address

The European Social Business Initiative – creating an eco-system for development and growth of social enterprises

Ariane Rodert, Vice President of European Economic and Social Committee

3.45pm Q&A 3.50pm Social Enterprises Creating Jobs: Case Study Maria Kyte, Waterford & Suir Valley Railway 4.00pm Q&A 4.05pm Social Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Development Paul O’Sullivan, CEO, Clann Credo 4.15pm Q&A 4.20pm Have Your Say! - Gathering inputs to Strasbourg Conference: Ann

Clarke 4.30pm Open Forum Your opportunity to make comment, ask questions 5.00 to 5.30pm Tea / Coffee & Networking

Speaker Biographies

Ann Clarke (B.Commerce, MBS (Enterprise Development)has over thirty years experience as a business consultant and evaluator. She has carried out more than 100 pieces of research for the statutory, community and voluntary sectors in Ireland. Her specialist interests are social enterprise, social finance, social impact investing and outcomes measurement. She is a director of Eustace Patterson Limited and a member of the Social Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Task Force.

Dr Emer Ní Bhrádaigh is a lecturer in Entrepreneurship at Dublin City University. Emer’s research interests include entrepreneurship in minority language communities, social entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship education. She is an entrepreneurship education evaluator for the European Commission and sits on the Project Support Committee of Clann Credo. Emer leads the development of social entrepreneurship in DCU, most notably its membership of the international Ashoka U Changemaker Campus network in which universities promote social innovation among staff and students. Under her mentorship, DCU’s Enactus team has represented Ireland twice in the Enactus World Cup, an international 40-nation student social entrepreneurship competition.

Phil Hogan, TD, was appointed Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government following 2011 General Election. He was first elected to the Dáil in 1989 and has been successfully elected in all subsequent elections. Minister Hogan is one of Fine Gael’s most well-known politicians and was the Party’s Spokesman for Environment, Heritage & Local Government in the 30th Dáil. He was Fine Gael’s National Director of Elections in the 2011 General Election and served as Minister for State in the Department of Finance in the last Fine Gael Government at a time where job growth was at an all time high. In Fine Gael he has held an array of positions including Parliamentary Party Chairman, Director of Organisation, Enterprise Spokesman as well as Consumer Affairs, Regional Affairs and Food Industry positions. He served as a Senator from 1987 – 1989. He is a graduate of University College Cork (BA, HDipEd).

Maria Kyte, originally from Caherdaniel, Co Kerry has managed the Waterford & Suir Railway Company since 2001. This is a community enterprise project set up to develop and operate a narrow gauge railway as a tourist attraction on one of Waterford's abandoned railway lines. Prior to this position Maria, a graduate of Dublin College of Catering, Hotel & Business Management, worked for over 20 years in the hotel business throughout Ireland, holding roles in General Management, Sales & Market, HR and Event Management. Maria also holds a Diploma in Public Relation from the Public Relation Institute of Ireland. Paul O’ Sullivan is Chief Executive Officer at Clann Credo - the Social Investment Fund. He is a founder member of the Social Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Task Force. In 2012, he was invited by the European Commission to join its Expert Group on the Social Business Initiative. He is a member of the Advisory Group on Social Impact Investing which is advising the government on ‘localising’ the social impact bond concept to Ireland. Paul serves as a director of the National Traveller Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABS) and of the Wheel, an organisation representing the Community and Voluntary Sector. He graduated from the National University of Ireland, Galway and holds a Masters from University College, Dublin. Paul has lead the Clann Credo team in extending its reach and scale of social investment. Paul is passionate about empowerment through local development and sustainable community initiatives. Ariane Rodert, is the Vice-President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). She is a board member of the EESC internal market section and the EESC representative on the European Commission’s high level expert group on social business (GECES). Her key area of expertise in the EESC and at European level is social enterprise and social economy for which she has drafted key opinions. As a Swedish member of the EESC she represents Famna – the Swedish umbrella organization for non-profit health care and social service providers, as well as Forum for Voluntary Social Work - the platform for social voluntary organizations in Sweden. Ariane has published several publications in the area of volunteering, civil dialogue and not-for-profit service provision. She holds a Master of Science degree in Business and Economics from the University of Stockholm.

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