New national social enterprise network to be launched at Plymouth University

A new government and industry-backed national network, which will support social enterprise and help higher education institutions grow sustainable businesses, is set to be launched at Plymouth University this week.

The National Social Enterprise UEN (University Enterprise Network) will involve a number of universities working with founding partners from the private sector the Co-operative Group and SERCO, together with the Social Enterprise Mark Company and the National Council for Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE), to develop this increasingly important sector of the economy.

The UEN will research, pilot and communicate best practice to help shape national policy, and work with students and staff in the partner institutions to build social enterprises. It will also work with SMEs and existing social enterprises to provide targeted business advice, mentoring and support.

Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice-Chancellor of Plymouth University, said: “This is the first network of its kind in the country and presents Plymouth and its partners with a fantastic opportunity to lead the higher education sector in establishing best practice principles for social enterprise.

“It is a tripartite partnership between industry, the public sector and universities that will look to make a substantial contribution to the long term competitiveness of the UK economy and to social cohesion.”

The Universities of Salford and Northampton are already confirmed as partners to Plymouth, and negotiations are taking place with other institutions, as well as several national and global companies.

The NCEE leads the national development of UENs across different sectors and in different locations and with a diversity of industry and academic partners. NCEE chairs the UEN’s Strategic Management Boards. Professor Paul Hannon, Acting CEO, said: “This is an exciting new UEN with immense potential for significant impact in an increasingly important part of the economy.

“The UEN will demonstrate the real value of collaborative partnerships between industry, academia and social enterprises.”

The first step for the UEN will be to create an internet portal through which it can share best practice with the industry and higher education stakeholders. This will ultimately lead to a formalised annual research programme.

The UEN will also organise a number of high profile national events aimed at students and SMEs, supplemented by regional workshops for small businesses and one-to-one sessions involving business start-ups and experts.

The project will also work with university procurement teams to espouse the benefits of sourcing from social enterprises in their supply chains, and hook internship opportunities for students into social enterprises.

Adam Chambers, Chief Executive of Serco’s Peninsula Enterprise operations, said: “The new initiative represents an exciting development for anyone currently operating or looking to set up a social enterprise.

"The new network will, for the first time, provide a national platform for private, independent, public and third sector organisations to pool their expertise and knowledge for the benefit of any enterprise that has primarily social objectives. It will showcase ‘Best Practice’ and will provide tailored business support to help such enterprises maximise their competitiveness and sustainability. This represents a huge step forward for an increasingly significant business sector.”

Andrew North, Regional Secretary for the South West Region of the Co-Operative Group, added: “As a social enterprise which has been trading since 1844, The Co-operative is proud to support this exciting new development which will help existing and new social enterprises to fulfil their role in the economy.”

The SEUEN will be launched on Thursday 17 November at Plymouth University, and will form part of the Global Entrepreneurship Week activities.