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Whatever we do, health spin-outs seem to give social enterprise a bad name

September 30, 2011
by Alun Severn
1 Comment
Two different — but depressingly related — stories caught my eye in SEWM’s weekly update today. The first concerns NHS Surrey’s decision to award a £500m community services contract to Assura Medical, the Virgin-owned private health company, rather than to Cent
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Labour will focus on ‘social finance’ as primary means of funding social enterprise

September 27, 2011
by Alun Severn
2 Comments
An interesting snippet on Third Sector Online today about Labour’s upcoming civil society policy review. According to shadow civil society minister Roberta Blackman-Woods, while there might be growing anger at the way cuts are affecting the sector and impeding any meaningful imp
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Social enterprise support by App, anyone?

September 23, 2011
by Alun Severn
5 Comments
I’ve just been reading an interesting article in the online version of the British Journal of Photography about photographers who are turning to the immersive experience offered by iPad apps to get their photographic projects across. In a world where traditionally published phot
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New book examines history of social enterprise development in the West Mids

September 23, 2011
by Alun Severn
0 Comment
Now this is interesting. I have just noticed (OK, received a slight nudge) that Lambert Academic Publishing has just released a book called Towards a Paradigm Shift in Social Enterprise, by Chris Newis — who many of you will know, of course. There aren’t many people around
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Social enterprise praised for ‘life-changing’ impact

September 21, 2011
by Alun Severn
0 Comment
A Wyrley Birch community centre run by social enterprise Enta has been praised for its ‘profound and life-changing’ effect on local residents. Lakeside Children’s and Family Learning Centre earned the acclaim in a recent report by Dr Lola Abudu, a Consultant with Public Health Birming
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Government calls on EU to agree ‘protectionism’ for employee-ownerships and mutuals

September 21, 2011
by Alun Severn
0 Comment
Third Sector Online has an interesting and potentially important story amongst its coverage today. Apparently (I won’t pretend I already knew this!) there has been an EU Green Paper on modernising EU procurement rules. The government has responded to this and interestingly is ca
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Soundings

September 15, 2011
by Alun Severn
0 Comment
On Monday the Guardian had a very good piece by Stuart Hall arguing that the roots of the government’s current social and economic policies lie in neoliberalism. It’s an excellent piece for anyone wishing to understand the deeper ideological ideas that lie behind the curre
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Tender Opportunity: BVSC Enterprises — External Catering Provision

September 09, 2011
by Alun Severn
0 Comment
BVSC Enterprises, which operates as a social enterprise owned by BVSC the Charity, is reviewing its current conference catering operation and is putting the work out to tender. BVSC Enterprises operates as a ‘not for profit’ conference centre and gift aids all surplus income to BVSC t
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Government announces £10m fund to encourage use of technology in giving

September 08, 2011
by Alun Severn
0 Comment
Announced in the recent ‘Giving’ White Paper, Nick Hurd the charities minister has just announced that a new £10m Innovation in Giving Fund is now open. The Fund will be operated by Nesta and is currently calling for ideas — an open, public call which closes at noon
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Social Enterprise Mentor teams up with PCC CIC for Networking plus Health Event

September 07, 2011
by Alun Severn
0 Comment
Social Enterprise Mentor returns after the Summer break  for free, informal networking in Birmingham on Thursday 15th September 2011 – register for networking here! Social Enterprise Mentor is Birmingham’s leading networking event for those in, interested in or supporting
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New guidance by Pickles sets ‘fair standards’ for how councils treat voluntary groups & small businesses

September 02, 2011
by Alun Severn
2 Comments
Replacing what was previously 56pp of instructions on ‘best value’, communities minister Eric Pickles today published a new single-sheet guidance paper for central and local government which requires them to deal fairly in their funding decisions and procurement arrangemen
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Speaking truth to power

September 01, 2011
by Alun Severn
0 Comment
There’s a very interesting piece on this blog by June O’Sullivan, chief exec of the social enterprise the London Early Years Foundation. She picks up on an item that appeared recently  in the London Evening Standard about why “Ghetto grammar robs the young of a prope
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BIRMINGHAM & SOLIHULL SOCIAL ECONOMY CONSORTIUM C.I.C., trading as BSSEC. A community interest company registered in England and Wales with company no. 07992674. Registered office: c/o Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP, 134 Edmund Street, Birmingham B3 2ES | All rights reserved | Copyright 2013-BSSEC | Created by Citizen Click