Brighton and Hove Social Enterprise Directory
Download the full report here
The Brighton and Hove Social Enterprise directory is the first attempt to comprehensively map the social enterprise sector in Brighton and Hove.
The project was developed by the Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership in collaboration with the University of Brighton. Many other partners in Brighton and Hove were also involved. These include:
- Brighton and Hove City Council
- Brighton Hove and Sussex NHS Primary Care Trust
- East Communications
- Sussex Community Internet Project (SCIP)
- Action in Rural Sussex
The objectives of the project were:
- To clarify the characteristics of social enterprises in the Brighton and Hove context.
- To promote the social enterprise sector in Brighton and Hove by estimating economic and social impact and collecting data for a directory. This will encourage increased procurement and purchasing from local social enterprises.
- To facilitate more effective networking between local social enterprises and social entrepreneurs, through the sharing of resources, information and best practice on the Routes to Social Enterprise email group and through events and training by any organisation.
- To provide an evidence base that will identify the support and training needs of social enterprises and estimate the capacity of the sector to absorb work-placements. This will inform project delivery, identify potential clients, and enable better targeting of social enterprise support.
Using this approach to map social enterprise:
The methodology for the survey was developed with the aim of ensuring support from all the relevant stakeholders, including statutory bodies, social enterprises themselves and support agencies. The development of the data fields and survey methodology included periods of consultation and testing with both social enterprises and support agencies. Four principles were identified underlying the methodology:Stakeholder-led process
Data fields were selected in order to match the priorities and interests of stakeholder groups as much as possible. This was intended to provide an incentive for all second-level organisations (such as support agencies and other networks of social enterprises) to circulate the survey, ensuring maximum possible coverage.
User-driven survey
Agreeing who should be included in the survey was the first problem encountered in the development of the methodology. The question was resolved through the development of a user-driven methodology. In this approach, the person extracting the data has the option to filter results according to their own preferred definition. This enables any user to extract details according to the main areas of controversy in defining social enterprise. For example it is possible to filter according to percentage of income from trading, or level of turnover.
Comparable
It was also agreed that the data collected should be comparable to other mapping exercises currently underway nationally. Guidelines provided by the Department of Trade and Industry (2004) were followed in order to ensure comparability.
Open Source
In order to ensure the widest possible buy-in, it was agreed that the data should be ‘open source' to the highest possible extent. A web-based interface for the survey was agreed so that any user or stakeholder could interact with the results for their own purposes. Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership owns the data - however, with the permission of the participants, all findings are publicly available.
If your organisation would like to use the specification or approach in this survey you are free to do so. We would ask the following:
- Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership is credited
- Any improvements to the methodology are shared and similarly ‘open source'
- Please contact us is you are interested in using or adapting technology for the survey ‘front end'. This can easily be adapted to meet the needs of other users. We can work with you to develop a throrough and practical social enterprise mapping of your local area.
Findings and analysis:
A full report on the Brighton and Hove project can be downloaded below. This includes technical specifications and an analysis of findings of the initial project in Brighton and Hove.
Full report on social enterprise in Brighton and Hove
Attachment 1: Stakeholder meeting report
Attachment 2: Data specification
Attachment 3: Respondants and organisational profile
Attachment 4: Additional support needs
