An Innovative Programme for Social Enterprise

The programme then moves on to provide a customised knowledge base ‘tool kit’ and capabilities base for:

(a)  those who are starting a social enterprise venture or looking for sustainable development of an existing social enterprise;

(b) business advisers who offer support to social entrepreneurs; and

(c) procurers and commissioners of social enterprises goods or services

Social enterprises are making significant social and economic contribution and have the potential to provide innovative business solutions to social challenges. However, to achieve such potential, they need to be built on sound foundations.

The need for the ongoing development of social enterprise managers with appropriate strategic and operational skills and identification of social enterprise development opportunities is increasingly important.

The partnership has responded to this need by developing a social enterprise support offering which, on the one hand brings together social entrepreneurs, business advisers and procurers for a common foundation and empathy element before providing separate tailored knowledge components for each group.

The course content includes sets of management models, tools and processes. These will be appropriate to:  

• social entrepreneurs who wish to develop strategic and operational management abilities

• business advisers who wish to focus upon how they can help progressively nurture such social entrepreneur capabilities within client social enterprises

• procurers and commissioners who need to look at how they might realistically adapt their procurement processes to allow social enterprises to deliver their goods and services.

Integral to the course in its totality is a unique approach to the treatment of the programme content whereby focus will be upon the individual learning process.

The course will be delivered by Dr Peter Wyer, Head of Entrepreneurial activity at Derby University and Adam Townsend who is currently working within a number of social enterprises.

Dr Wyer’s groundbreaking research into the way that entrepreneurs learn and his focus on available research and up to date thinking around business establishment will form an underpinning framework on which learning around practical knowledge and real experiences in a social enterprise setting can be hung. This blend of academic and vocational learning is unique in the market place as is the focus on how the players in the social enterprise arena interact and progress.

The course is structured in such a way to make it accessible and flexible over  one and two separate days of activity with self directed learning between attendance. The course commences in February 2008.

EMQC Ltd is a SFEDI Centre of Excellence in Business Support, a UKAS accredited assessment organisation and organisational development consultancy. University of Derby is a leading higher education provider with a track record in the development of leading edge sector programmes. The University of Derby recently won the national award for excellence in workplace based learning provision.