New University Enterprise Network to engage with 2,000 social enterprises

Lord Young, the Prime Minister’s enterprise adviser, is set to speak at the launch of a new public sector and industry-backed national network devoted to nurturing social enterprise and helping them to become more sustainable.

The Social Enterprise UEN (University Enterprise Network) will look to work with 2,000 new and existing social enterprises, and strengthen their value to society by drawing upon local, national and international expertise and knowledge in the higher education and business sectors.

The UEN will not only create a policy portal that will provide access to the latest research on social enterprise from universities across the UK and beyond, but will also offer internship opportunities for around 1,000 students.

It is being led by Plymouth University, in conjunction with the Co-operative Group, SERCO, the Social Enterprise Mark Company and the National Council for Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE).

Lord Young will provide a keynote speech at the London launch today(Wednesday), at the Institute of Directors. David Frost, Chair of NCEE; Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice-Chancellor of Plymouth University; and David Richardson, Business Development Director for Serco’s Commercial & Local Government Division, will address invited guests from the university, social enterprise and private sectors.

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.

“Our ambition is for the UEN to make a substantial contribution to the long term competitiveness of the UK economy and to social cohesion.”

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. Executive Chairman David Frost, CBE, said: “If we are to grow the UK economy, we will need to stimulate enterprise. This Social Enterprise UEN has the potential to make a significant contribution to growth in this country, by linking business, academia with emerging 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 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.

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.

David Richardson, Business Development Director for Serco’s Commercial & Local Government Division: "We're delighted to have the opportunity to become involved with the new network at such an early stage in its development. We're especially pleased to be working with the University of Plymouth and its other partners on this initiative as we are keen to play a central role in forging ever closer links between the private, social enterprise and HE sectors."

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.”