Hello CED practitioners and supporters,

Over the last month it has been heating up on the social enterprise and social innovation front. It’s great to see that organisations from various sectors are bringing inspirational international speakers to our shores. They include… The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services brought Nic Francis, leading UK social entrepreneur and the author of The End of Charity, to speak at the Future Wellbeing Conference.

Also in March, Canadian Nicole Foss, international speaker on finance, energy, resilience and  environment  issues, that have been key drivers in the Transition Town Movement, was in New Zealand  and was interviewed on Kim Hill. Check it out here

The New Zealand Social and Civic Policy Institute and ANGOA brought Lindsay Driscoll, a charity law and governance expert from the UK, to talk about social Investment, the law and the Community Interest Company (CIC), the UK social enterprise specific legal entity. Check out CIC Association.

On the academic front,  Assistant Professor Mary Lee Rhodes from Trinity College, Dublin lectured at the University of Auckland Business School  about the emergence  of “hybrid” organisations, social impact and social return on investment (SROI), and a new approach to measuring social progress, referred to as moving ‘beyond GDP’.

And at Massey University, the NZ Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Centre hosted distinguished academic in the field of social innovation and social entrepreneurship, Dr Alex Nicholls who was the first lecturer in social entrepreneurship appointed at the University of Oxford, UK.

Peter Holbrook

CEO of Social Enterprise UK

And to top things off, this week, The British Council brought Peter Holbrook, CEO of Social Enterprise UK to our shores, in conjunction with the NZ Centre for Social Innovation and the Office of Ethnic Affairs. I heard Peter speak in Auckland and am still feeling inspired. Some of the highlights were:

• Affirmation that jobs and employment are the most effective way of bringing people out of poverty– and that social enterprise can play a significant role in providing many of these jobs.
• The importance of social procurement to enable organisations that purchase services to add social value to their procurement processes.  In the UK this is now covered under legislation! In February 2012, the UK introduced the Public Services Value Act that requires all public sector commissioning to factor in social value. This was inspired by a recommendation in Social Enterprise UK's 2010 election manifesto and something the social enterprise sector has long campaigned for. This is what can be achieved through a national network that brings a cohesive voice to advance the needs of the social enterprise sector
• Corporate Social responsibility (CSR ) as an “add on” to business as usual  is yesterdays' news – and Peter thinks that that in future all business  will seek to  incorporate social value at the  heart of the organisation
• Big Society Capital is a 600 million pound social loan fundthat has been established in the UK from unclaimed money in dormant bank accounts. I wonder if we could do something similar in New Zealand?
• Social impact bonds are working in the UK for a social enterprise that employs ex-offenders and has reduced the re-offending rate from 80% to 15%. The enterprise receives a share of the government savings in return
• Fightback Britain, a national report on the social enterprise sector shows that the social enterprise sector in the UK is dynamic, attracting entrepreneurs, working in the UK’s most deprived communities to tackle the root causes of deprivation and, as a sector, is both out-pacing and out-innovating comparable SMEs.

A Social Enterprise Network

for New Zealand

Peter Holbrook’s visit confirmed for many of us that the time is ripe for a Social Enterprise Network to be established in New Zealand. My experience is that a network – whether it is called CED (as in Canada); Social Entrepreneurs (Scotland);  Social Enterprise (England) or Social Traders (Australia) has a crucial role to play in connecting the players, growing expertise, advocating for the social economy to potential partners and investors and providing a cohesive voice for the social enterprise sector. The Community Economic Development NZ Network was established as an outcome of the CED Conferences that were held in 2010 and 2011, but it has been challenging to find the financial support needed to develop the network.  In response,  a committed group of community leaders and other stakeholders from around the country have been meeting to explore possibilities.   Sub groups are currently meeting to develop key messages and determine the nature of a financially sustainable vehicle that can grow the social enterprise movement. Some of us were fortunate to gain invaluable advice as to how to move forward on this initiative from Peter Holbrook while he was here, so watch this space….

CED research

will determine success factors and challenges

I have been working on a literature review for the CED Research project that has been funded by the Lotteries Research Fund, with supervisory support from UNITEC. The research, “Understanding CED in the New Zealand Context”, will involve focus groups and one to one interviews with social enterprise practitioners around the country to ascertain what the success factors and challenges are for social enterprise in New Zealand at this time. I was privileged to access a two day mentoring session with Australian researcher, Ingrid Burkett, to develop the research.  Ingrid has spoken at both of the CED Conferences to date, and has authored a number of reports on both social enterprise and social procurement including Social Procurement in Australia.

We had some illuminating conversations about social enterprise profit distribution and the sometimes contentious asset lock (that requires that both profits and assets are retained for community benefit and social impact -not distributed to individual shareholders).  It is a really important mechanism that distinguishes social enterprise from business as usual.  However, there are times when profits are distributed to community shareholders (through a community shares offer) or employees in the case of employee owned cooperatives).  I think that the fundamental question to ask is who is benefiting from the profits?If the profit provides community benefit and/or addresses inequality, then for me, it sits within the broad definition of social enterprise.

OCVS research

will map extent of social enterprise

Over the next 12 months, the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector (OCVS) is carrying out a mapping exercise to determine the extent of the social enterprise sector.During June and July 2012, a survey will be circulated that aims to ‘map’ the social enterprise sector in New Zealand. The findings will paint a picture of the range of social enterprises and will help build understanding of the social enterprise environment. The survey questions will include: What industries social enterprises are found in? What activities they are undertaking? How these activities relate to the core mission of the social enterprise? The survey will largely follow the definitions and methodology used in the Finding Australia/s Social Enterprise Sector (FASES) research, published by Social Traders in July 2010.

The results of the survey will be published by the Department of Internal Affairs in the later part of 2012, and will be useful for social enterprise practitioners and others interested in social enterprise development in New Zealand. These results will also inform policy discussion about the most appropriate role for government in supporting social enterprise development in New Zealand.OCVS would appreciate it if you would keep an eye out for the survey going into the field in June, and distribute it amongst your networks – the more responses the survey gets, the clearer picture we will have on the current contribution of social enterprise to New Zealand’s society and economy. If you’re keen to help distribute the survey, please e-mail james.king@dia.govt.nz

Social Enterprise Institute

Opens in Christchurch

The Social Enterprise Institute starts in Christchurch on Friday 4 May, with an initial intake of 10 students from community organisations and social enterprises. The Social Enterprise Institute (SEI) is being established by social enterprise practitioner and CEDNZ Trustee, Lindsay Jeffs, to identify, support and encourage New Zealand’s not-for-profit sector to explore social enterprise opportunities to create wealth.

Auckland SEI classes will start on 21 June, and will run one day per week over a 20 week period. There are still a few places left for this intake and partial scholarships may be available. The course involves a commitment of one day a week for a period of 20 weeks.  For further information and to enrol, click here or email lindsay@csbec.org.nz or phone 0274351732.

Social enterprise to address poverty

Sanjit "Bunker" Roy is a key speaker at the Adult and Community Education Conference that is coming up on 27-29 June.  Sanjit “Bunker” Roy has been a leading figure in the Indian NGO community for the past thirty years and has nurtured a grass-roots social entrepreneurship that is redefining the way the world thinks about fighting poverty. His Barefoot College has trained more than three million people for jobs in the modern world using a unique bottom-up approach. The college's "barefoot professionals" then return home to use their new skills — as solar engineers, teachers, midwives, weavers, doctors and more. Bunker combines humanitarianism, entrepreneurship and education to help people steer their own path out of poverty, fostering dignity and self-determination along the way. In April 2010, Bunker was recognised by TIME as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

News from the emerging local networks:

Capital Comment

Things are heating up in Wellington on many fronts. Popular discussions include social procurement, legal structures to enable social enterprise and social finance.  A number of international speakers have been ‘in town’ with ideas and perspectives to inspire the many conversations.  If you would like to be on the database for the Wellington CED Network please email: rogertweedy@xtra.co.nz if you do, an invite for an exciting event will be arriving in your mail box in May.

Coworking space for changemakers

The Kitchen, a shared work space for social changemakers, was launched in Ponsonby in March. The launch was a wonderful event that celebrated the dedication of Murray Sheard and his dynamic team to get this exciting initiative off the ground. It is a beautiful space that is already working well to link social innovators and entrepreneurs, share ideas and inspire action. It is great to see so many young people involved with the Kitchen, taking up the challenge to make positive change.

Auckland Council's Social Entrepreneurship role

The Auckland Council have recently advertised for a Principal Advisor in Social Entrepreneurship in their Community & Cultural Strategy Unit.  As far as I know, this will be the first social enterprise specific role that has been created in a council setting in the country.  If they recruit the right person, it could be the beginning of some cross council expertise being developed – and the beginnings of some much needed council support for social enterprise in the Auckland region. If you are a council officer and would like to know more about how a council can enable social enterprise development, check out The Social Enterprise Guide for people in local government that has been developed by Social Enterprise UK.

Social procurement

The Auckland Council has also commissioned a briefing paper on social procurement to inform the development of their procurement policy. I am working on this together with Jon Siddall from Synergia. Procurement processes all sounds a bit dry I know, but as I get to see the impact that  social procurement is having  on growing the social economy  overseas,  and the potential that exists to develop this in New Zealand, my interest is growing fast. An advantage of social procurement is that it need not add costs to create the added social value, but involves purchasing organisations, in government, local government and private sectors, contracting in new ways. In this age of austerity, this is the kind of innovation that will make a difference.

If you have relevant news from your region or community that you would like to be included in a future CED ebulletin, please email di@ced.org.nz

That’s all from me for now, wishing you all the best in your various socially just and enterprising adventures.

Di Jennings
Convenor, CED Network
di@ced.org.nz

Hello CED practitioners and supporters,

When I was working in Scotland, I attended a DTA Scotland conference where I was very inspired by a presentation from social enterprise practitioner, Peter Holbrook, who was at that stage, CEO of the Sunlight Development Trust. Sunlight is viewed as a successful, community led, cutting edge social enterprise in the UK. It delivers a wide range of community services, including youth engagement, health services, support for parents and the elderly. I suspect that much of the success is down to Peter’s inspired leadership.

Peter Holbrook
CEO of Social Enterprise UK

Social Enterprise UK is the UK national body for social enterprise. The good news is that the British Council are bringing Peter to New Zealand in April.Peter is one of the UK’s Social Enterprise Ambassadors, a member of the Government’s mutuals taskforce, the employee engagement taskforce and is a board member of Big Society Trust, overseeing the delivery of Big Society Capital. Peter has previously worked for Oxfam, Greenpeace, Marks and Spencer and Body Shop International. Get to hear him speak if you get the chance, he is the real deal – passionate, innovative and inspirational. The NZ Centre for Social Innovation are hosting an event in Auckland – go here to register. In Christchurch he is being hosted by the Office of Ethnic Affairs. Here is a link to programme. I understand that a Wellington event may also be in the pipeline.

The Kitchen
A co-working space for changemakers

Social Entrepreneur Murray Sheard is behind an innovative new shared work space in Auckland. “The Kitchen” is a co-working space for changemakers that offers an inspiring work environment and seeks to catalyse initiatives for a better world. The Kitchen does this by providing space to work, meet, host events, learn, collaborate and celebrate what is good. The core focus is on social entrepreneurs, not-for-profits, and those working for ‘more than profit’, but they also welcome freelancers and small businesses of many stripes.

Situated in Maidstone St, Ponsonby, The Kitchen offers a combination of permanent desks and hot-desks, as well as full, and part-time, membership options. They provide meeting rooms, event hosting space, smoking-hot internet, printing, scanning, and photo-copying as well as incubation services and mentoring. Not to mention the 270-degree view over Auckland from their 270-degree deck! For enquiries see http://thekitchen.net.nz or email murray@thekitchen.net.nz

Social Enterprise Institute (SEI)
Website is now up and running Christchurch and Auckland

The Social Enterprise Institute is being established by social enterprise practitioner and CEDNZ Trustee, Lindsay Jeffs, to identify, support and encourage New Zealand’s not-for-profit sector to explore social enterprise opportunities to create wealth. The Institute offers a programme that enables a not-for-profit organization to identify and assess profit making initiatives that can assist the organization to become more financially independent and sustainable whilst retaining their values and a commitment to social, environmental and cultural outcomes. The programme builds on the lessons of the programme leaders who are experienced social enterprise practitioners who have run successful social enterprises in their own communities

The course runs one day per week over a 20 week period and will be run in Christchurch from March to July 2012; and Auckland from June to October 2012. Partial scholarships are available. For further information and to enrol go to the Social Enterprise Institute website or ring Lindsay on 0274351732.

Social Entrepreneurs School
Inaugural social entrepreneurs

The Social Entrepreneurs School, is a New Zealand Centre for Social Innovation initiative, commences on 8th March in Manukau with the inaugural thirteen social entrepreneurs who will accelerate their projects through a nine month intense action learning period. A public launch is being held on 21st March with Mayor Len Brown attending.

How Communities Heal
Stories of social innovation and social change

The long awaited book by Vivian Hutchinson and the New Zealand Social Entrepreneur Fellowship has recently launched and is available to purchase online.
The book tells the stories of a unique group of New Zealand social entrepreneurs, who are bringing insight, entrepreneurship and practical hope to our communities. This book profiles the personal stories of these innovators, and their work to create systemic and sustainable solutions to social and environmental challenges.

Each profile includes photographs of the entrepreneurs, and their projects and programmes, as well scenes from their participation in the retreats of the New Zealand Social Entrepreneur Fellowship.
How Communities Heal also includes a series of articles from Vivian Hutchinson on entrepreneurship and innovation, and the tools and ideas that are helping make these projects happen. For more information about How Communities Heal and the Social Entrepreneurs Fellowship go to NZSEF

BNZ Closed for Good

On Tuesday 8 May, Bank of New Zealand will be closing its doors ‘for good’ for the third time to help out communities across New Zealand for one day. In 2009 and 2011 the volunteers were BNZ staff, but this year they are asking members of the New Zealand public to get involved and lend a hand on community projects.

In order to place approximately 8000 volunteers Closed for Good needs as many projects as possible. They can help out on anything you have that needs doing, particularly large-scale projects and projects requiring business-related skills.

If you have a project that needs volunteers you can easily register it by visiting www.closedforgood.org. All submissions should outline what the project involves, how many people are needed for the day’s work, objectives of the day, what you need the volunteers to do and how your project will benefit the community.

Key Dates

17 Feb – 16 March: Projects can be submitted on www.closedforgood.org
By 23 March: Community organisations will know if their project has been accepted.
2 April – 23 April: Volunteers will be able to select projects. Projects are not guaranteed to go ahead until after 23 April 2012: when minimum numbers have been met and volunteers have been assigned. The Project Leaders will then be in touch to do a project site visit to finalise details.
8 May: Closed for Good

For any questions please contact the Closed for Good team via email on closedforgood@bnz.co.nz or 0800 275 269.

United Nations International
2012 is the year of Cooperatives

“Cooperatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The International Year of Cooperatives is intended to raise public awareness of the invaluable contributions of cooperative enterprises to poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration. The Year will also highlight the strengths of the cooperative business model as an alternative means of doing business and furthering socioeconomic development.

Cooperatives, like social enterprise are part of a bigger vision – which sees economies working for the common good, rather than the unlimited is a part of this same vision. For more information go to International Year of Cooperatives

Empowerment in times of Austerity

A recent report from the New Economics Foundation, Creating stronger and more inclusive communities which value everyone’s right to contribute; Some lessons for positive action on the context of austerity responds to fears that, in a prolonged period of austerity, the “Big Society” rhetoric of empowerment and inclusion will remain just that.

I can’t help but reflect that, here in New Zealand, our government has not subscribed to any empowerment rhetoric – but they have certainly taken on the austerity measures! The content of this report has relevance here for those of us that feel that people at risk of marginalisation can contribute to their local communities as well as receiving their communities’ support.

And finally, check this out Community Lover’s Guide to the Universe. It is part of the Social Spaces Project. It’s a grass roots global initiative (I hear that some are using the term “glocal” to describe this space) – that could do with some New Zealand content! Now there’s a challenge…

That’s all from me for now, wishing you all the best in your various socially just and enterprising adventures

View the original CED bulletin – March 2012 »

Hello CED practitioners and supporters,

No-one can predict how the global economic crisis will pan out in New Zealand, but what seems certain is that the most vulnerable in our communities will be feeling the brunt of it for a long time to come. What also seems certain is that the resourcefulness of our sector to respond to these challenges is going to be tested like never before. It seems to me that strengthening communities needs to move quickly up the agenda.

Despite operating successfully for many decades throughout NZ, social enterprises are not generally well known. Yet interest and awareness of their social and economic benefits is growing. Both community sector organisations and local/central government are becoming increasingly interested in the role that social enterprise can play in addressing social disadvantage, support economic participation and strengthen local communities.

The Community Economic Development Conferences (CED), held in 2010 and 2011, have helped to build the momentum here. In recent years specialist support for social enterprises and social entrepreneurs has started to emerge including the CED Network, the Social Entrepreneurs Fellowship, theSchool for Social Entrepreneurs and the Social Enterprise Institute. Auckland Council considered a report on CED last year, and is currently working on the implications for the Auckland Council. If Auckland Council takes a lead – it is possible that other Councils around the country may follow suit. It may be a promising start to the year.

Great news re CED research funding

Also promising – just before Xmas, the CED Trust received good news from the Lotteries Research Fund that resource has been granted to carry out significant research about CED in the New Zealand context. The research will involve focus groups and one to one interviews with social enterprise practitioners around the country to ascertain what the success factors and challenges are for social enterprise in New Zealand at this time. UNITEC are partnering the CEDNZ Trust in the research – and discussions are currently being held with OCVS who are also planning research in this area. This feels like quite a coup as reluctance to invest in CED has oftentimes been put down to the lack of relevant NZ based research.

Growing the CED movement

Over the last month I have received several inquiries asking is a CED Conference is to be held in 2012? My answer has been that a conference requires considerable resource and commitment – and unfortunately that has not been forthcoming of late. There is considerable commitment – but minimal resource! Over the last six months the CED convening role has been carried out on a voluntarily basis – and this is, of course, unsustainable. Fortunately many CEDNZ Network supporters are keen to find a way to progress and grow this movement. With the blessing of The CEDNZ Trust, they organised two “think tanks” in Auckland over the November/December period. This wider support for the agenda is both welcome and encouraging. As the CED Trust cupboard was bare, BNZ provided resource for external facilitation and Telecom provided the venue. This was much appreciated. Finding a way to resource a convenor role will be pivotal to keep growing this agenda. The “think tank” process will continue in 2012 and I will keep you posted as to how this develops…it sufficient support is found, more events will likely be coming your way. Fingers crossed.

Two training opportunities…

Combining community sector know how and business skills can be challenging. Training to understand the social enterprise space has been needed for some time. In 2012, two opportunities are emerging…

1. Social Entrepreneurs School

The inaugural 10-month Social Entrepreneurs School Programme will commence in March 2012. The 2012 programme include tutorials, action learning sessions, business coaching and study sessions as key elements, delivered on a weekly basis, with breaks aligned to NZ school terms. The action learning programme delivers a practical blend of business fundamentals, funding and strategy concepts for social enterprises, and soft and hard skills. It will offer the practical how and why of social business, in a weekly hands on learning session setting that emphasises innovation and practical application. It is designed to help social entrepreneurs grow their social ventures and improve their effectiveness and social impact.

The School is seeking applications and expressions of interest from 15 -20 social entrepreneurs to become the first cohort of the programme from March to November 2012, which is designed to accelerate and enhance their respective impact on their communities. To make an application go to SSE application »

2. The Social Enterprise Institute

The Social Enterprise Institute differs from the SSE in that it takes an organisational rather than an individual approach. It is being established by social enterprise practitioner and CEDNZ Trustee, Lindsay Jeffs, to identify, support and encourage New Zealand’s not-for-profit sector to explore social enterprise opportunities to create wealth. The Institute offers a programme that enables a not-for-profit organization to identify and assess profit making initiatives that can assist the organization to become more financially independent and sustainable whilst retaining their values and a commitment to social, environmental and cultural outcomes. This programme provides an invaluable opportunity for any not-for-profit organisation which is considering developing a social enterprise or trading arm that is compatible with their organisations’ values, vision and mission. The programme leaders are experienced social enterprise practitioners who have run successful social enterprises in their own communities. The programme builds on the lessons they have learnt.

Participant’s employers will be requested to sign an agreement with the Institute to provide active support, including access to relevant organisational information to develop an appropriate business plan.

The course runs one day per week over a 20 week period and will be run in Christchurch from March to July 2012; and Auckland from June to October 2012. Partial scholarships are available. For further information and to enrol go to Social Enterprise Institute »

A defining characteristic of social enterprise – the asset lock

One of the contentious issues around social enterprise has long been the importance of the “asset lock”. The asset lock refers to both profits and physical assets of a social enterprise being retained for community benefit/ reinvested in line with their social or environmental mission – and not distributed to individual shareholders. That this is what distinguishes a social enterprise from social business and private sector enterprise. I share this view based on my three years experience working in the social enterprise sector in Scotland – where this issue has been strongly debated over the years. The prevailing view there is that the asset lock is fundamental to social enterprise. Check out this article from Michael Roy’ from the Yunus Centre for Social Business & Health Institutes for Applied Health Research and Society & Social Justice Research. He restates Muhammad Yunus’ position – that the defining characteristic of a social enterprise is it’s asset lock. The necessity for a definition, he says, is ‘that there are a number of organisations which describe themselves as SE’s but are frankly nothing of the sort’. Laurence de Marco from Senscot says “I stand with Muhammad Yunus – social aims and investor profits are incompatible.” Not everyone agrees and it is a debate that will no doubt continue in New Zealand as interest in social enterprise grows.

Charities Commission Information Sheet

The Charities Commission appear to support the above view in their recent information sheet Charitable purpose: Social enterprise where it says “Social enterprises can be eligible for registration as charitable entities if they have purposes that are exclusively charitable in accordance with New Zealand law and are not established for private profit.” The information sheet is well worth a read – and is another positive sign that this hybrid model is starting to gain traction in government circles.

Social businesses and private enterprises that successfully balance social, environmental and economic mission, while distributing profits to individual shareholders and directors, are, of course making a positive contribution to our communities. But they are not social enterprise. As we watch the global economy unravelling, largely due to unbridled greed, it seems to me that it is important that social enterprise is defined by a significantly different set of characteristics – and represents a more cooperative and equitable way of doing business.

New peak body for sustainable business

Members of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development (NZBCSD) have formed a new Sustainable Business Council (SBC) in association with BusinessNZ’s Sustainable Business Forum (SBF). The new peak body will start with more than 49 member companies, including some of the country’s largest, like Fonterra. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly describes as an opportunity to build “a strong collective voice” on sustainability led by business. He says “New Zealand has a strong interest in sustainability. It makes sense for us to have one consolidated voice representing the New Zealand business community, providing businesses with leadership, best practice and advocacy in an area that is now a key issue in mainstream business all over the world,” Mr O’Reilly says. I wonder if they will include support for social enterprise as part of their approach to sustainability, as the business sector has done in other parts of the world? Notably, the Westpac Foundation in Australia – that provides significant support for social enterprise development. Now that would be something!

Measuring social impact

Measuring our social impact is something that social enterprises can put in the too hard basket. Yet it is so important to demonstrate the difference that we have made in social (and/or environmental) terms. There are many roads to measuring social impact and finding the right one for the context is challenging. Take a look at the new economics foundation (nef) social accounting toolkit Prove and Improve it provides all the information needed for an organisation to assess its own social, economic and environmental impact. The toolkit offers a simple and straightforward route into an area which can seem complex and daunting. It is comprehensive while avoiding a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Other resources for measurement of social impact can be found at Social Audit Network or at the The SROI Network.

Clara Miller

If you came to the Clara Miller event that was hosted by the CEDNZ Network in Auckland in October 2011, – or if you didn’t and would like to know what she had to say – Clara’s PDFs and power point presentation are now available for viewing and printing at this address: http://www.giving.org.nz/node/8089

Living Economies and Timebanking

Living Economies promotes pathways to community resilience through promoting and supporting “real value” alternatives to money. These include local savings pools, local money systems, local food and time banks. Take a look at Living Economies website

I am now living in Raglan and have become interested in a timebanking initiative that is being started here. I am aware that there is a growing interest in timebanking and a number of timebanks are springing up around New Zealand. In a Time Bank, everyone’s time is equal, no matter what type of work is done. Credits are earned when you give your time and you can “buy” someone else’s service. Community cohesion is grown as anonymous strangers are transformed into friendly neighbours.

Lytelton people have pioneered timebanking in New Zealand. A timebanking national hui was held in October 2011 and there is now a national association. To find out how timebanking can work in your community check out Timebank Aotearoa

A final thought I couldn’t resist sharing…. I am just reading a Ghandi’s autobiography. When asked what he thought of western civilisation, he replied “I think it would be a good idea!”

That’s all from me for now, wishing you all the best in your various socially just and enterprising adventures

View the original CED bulletin – February 2012 »

Hello CED practitioners and supporters

A recent visit from US social financier, Clara Miller, helped us to understand why it is so challenging to gain investment for change and development in our sector. The points that she made and the conversations that ensued were very relevant for us right now. Thanks to Philanthropy New Zealand for bringing Clara to talk to us. It will be very interesting to hear how our funders respond to what she has to say…

Clara Miller Event in Auckland emphasises importance of Change Capital

The CED Network recently hosted Clara Miller, a leading international expert in social finance, in Auckland. Named among the NonProfit Times “Power and Influence Top 50” for four years running, Clara Miller is President of the F B Heron Foundation in New York City – a grant making institution dedicated to building wealth in low income communities. The Auckland event was collaboration between CEDNZ Trust, BNZ and Philanthropy New Zealand.

Clara provided us with some useful reframing. The points she made that resonated for me were:
• It is much tougher to be a manager in the community sector than private sector – because we have to run two businesses – our mission business and the business that provides the means to finance it

• NFPs embrace a “market flaw” – that is, providing services to people who cannot pay

• There are two roles for funders- Buyers and Builders
o Buyers provide income for services. It is short term funding – and, if successful, funders will buy again (sometimes!).
o Builders provide the capital needed for development. Builder capital is episodic and long term. Clara calls these builder funds – Change Capital or Philanthropic Equity. As we know, it is far sexier for funders to provide funds for tangible services than to build the infrastructure that helps organisations to deliver services in new and innovative ways.
This distinction felt very relevant in terms of the challenge facing community organisations that want to move to social enterprise to fund some of their services. Unless we emphasise the importance of these builder funds, the innovative change is unlikely to happen.

• Clara says that we need to change the conversation and tell our programme stories in enterprise terms, i.e. in a way that includes our overheads and development costs. She called this “redefining our market proposition”.

• We will see an increasing shift from government funded programmes to multiple players providing the investment and funds

• The conditions that we all operate in are rapidly changing from predictable and fixed to changing and volatile. We need to be able to adapt in order to survive

• Real estate is not the only kind of capital investment to consider. In terms of executing our mission, investing in human capital and/or technology may be a better investment than buildings. There was lively debate about the pros and cons of owning buildings

• Clara says that corporate philanthropy is going global and that recession and failing industries has lead to “place” being less important. Participants felt that in NZ we have a growing emphasis on place in response to the ill effects of globalisation – and that place and localism are a very important part of building a sustainable future.

Social Impact Bonds – inviting the rich to make money from the poor?

Clara also talked about Social Impact Bonds http://www.socialfinance.org.uk/sites/default/files/SF_CriminalJustice.pdf which are a relatively new, results-based funding mechanism. Effectively, the bonds enable investors in successful programmes to receive a share of cost savings from government. Social Impact Bonds are being lead by Social Finance UK and are starting to gain traction in the US. Early application is around the rehabilitation of prisoners.
There is much debate around Social Impact Bonds. Some of the debate suggests that Social Impact Bonds could open up possibilities to fund social enterprise. But where results are hard to demonstrate, the bonds could leave the most marginalised out in the cold. Social and political commentator, Polly Toynbee from the Guardian, is rather scathing. “It’s a novel solution to extreme inequality” she says “inviting the rich to make money out of the poor!” There is no doubt that it is early days and the jury will be out for some time to come. I suspect we would be smart to wait and see how Social Impact Bonds pan out overseas before jumping too quickly on the bandwagon.

Wellington CED Network gains traction

It has been a tough time for the CED NZ Network recently, so it was very encouraging hearing that at least one local network is emerging and gaining traction. The Wellington CED network recently held an event with special guest, Mark Daniels from Social Traders, Victoria, Australia. (www.socialtraders.com.au)The guest speaker was followed by a question and answer panel that included Charles Brass, Future of Work Foundation, Melbourne and Sam Rye from Enspiral, Wellington. I hear that around 60 people attended the event and that the discussion was lively. Mark Daniels also met with government officials while he was here. Good to hear that the conversation around CED and social enterprise is building in both community and government circles. .
It’s great to see a local CED Network getting it together – good on you Roger Tweedy and Sam Rye for making this happen. For more information about the Wellington CED Network, contact Roger Tweedy on 0221088140

School of Social Enterprise heads to Auckland

Enrolments are now open for the 2012 Social Enterprise Business Development courses to be run in both Auckland and Christchurch starting in February. The School of Social Enterprise offers active learning that enables a not-for-profit organisation to assess profit-making social, environmental, community economic development and cultural initiatives that can assist the organisation become more financially independent and sustainable.
The Social Enterprise Business Development course has been designed by people experienced in operating social enterprises in the New Zealand environment and runs one day per week over 20 weeks. Participants will be people currently working in a not-for-profit organization which is looking to:
• Diversify funding income
• Establish sustainable income streams
• Become less grant dependent
• Avoid funder capture
• Find new sources of funds and/or establish a profit-making training division
.

Each participant will also receive on-line support during the training plus six months post course mentoring and coaching support. The emphasis of the course is on the enterprise rather than the individual and the participating not-for-profit organisation will be asked to sign an agreement with the School of Social Enterprise agreeing to support the person taking part in the programme and to seriously consider any business opportunities developed by the student.
The course fee is $2500 per student with some scholarships being available. Each class will have a maximum of 18 participants. Potential students are encouraged to contact Lindsay Jeffs, via email lindsay@csbec.org.nz or by phone 03 3669978.

The blurring of sectoral boundaries and the emerging fourth sector

Over the past few decades, the boundaries between the public (government), private (business), and social (non-profit) sectors have been blurring as many pioneering organizations have been blending social and environmental aims with business approaches.
There are many expressions of this trend, including corporate social responsibility, microfinance, venture philanthropy, sustainable businesses, social enterprise, privatisation, community development and others. As this activity matures, it is becoming formalised as a ‘Fourth Sector’ of the economy. To better understand the emergence of the Fourth Sector, it is helpful to study recent shifts in organisational behaviour across the three traditional sectors.
Interesting reading here http://www.fourthsector.net/

“Is social enterprise really changing the world – or is it being changed by it?”

Laurence deMarco’s recent speech at a Senscot Seminar has much for us to chew over as we consider where this movement is heading in New Zealand.
Senscot was established 12 years ago and has been largely responsible for growing awareness throughout Scotland around social enterprise, advocating for financial investment, developing a pipeline of support to grow social enterprises at all stages of development. In many ways, in New Zealand we are currently in a similar place to where Scotland was in 2002 – so let’s not reinvent the wheel, but learn from the Scottish journey. Relevant points from Laurence’s speech are:
• There was much resistance to social enterprise in the early days
• As the dominant global economy fails, social enterprise is part of the transition to a new economics –shared values, protecting the ecology and habitat for future generations and reducing the gap between rich and poorThe new economics will involve a whole different set of production and ownership relationships which enable and motivate wider participation and will include more co-operative business models and mutualised banking services

• Traditional commerce is inherently expansionist and centralist. The new economics has a fundamental belief that society works better on a local collective basis rather than driven by global shareholders and private equity. This is where social enterprise and the localism agendas come together.

• The movement is currently under threat from private sector encroachment and it is imperative to maintain the integrity of the asset lock – that profits and assets are retained for community benefit, not for private shareholders.

This very brief synopsis does not do the speech justice and I highly recommend a thorough read of Laurence’s speech http://www.senscot.net/view_art.php?viewid=11558

Zeitgeist 2011 and the “Occupy” movement

It is also worth spending some time viewing the 2011 Zeitgeist movie.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w It weaves many threads together that have lead to such widespread economic, societal and environmental dysfunction – and points to the end of the current “free market” and monetary systems to a whole new paradigm – a brave new world where the 99% stop the 1% in their tracks and resources are shared according to need not greed. I have been watching the “Occupy” movement with much interest and I think this where it is heading. I have always been of the view that it is more powerful to be for something than against something. Of course I share the extreme frustration with unethical speculation, toxic debt and political corruption that is bringing the world as we know it to its knees. What I love about the views expressed in Laurence deMarco’s speech above, is that the new economics, that includes social enterprise and localism, is a positive response to all that – it provides us with a picture of what a more workable and equitable world could look like. Let’s give voice to the new economics. There is an alternative!
That’s it from me for now

Wishing you all the best in your various adventures
Di Jennings
Convenor, CED Network
di@ced.org.nz

Jobs

Enterprising Communities Coordinator, Community Economic Development – West Auckland.
The Waitakere WEA is looking for someone who understands how sustainable community economic development (CED) practices can improve community wellbeing. Closing date is 18 November 2011.
For a copy of the job specification and application form please emails waitakere.wea@xtra.co.nz or phone: 09 837 1471.

Resources

The Social enterprise builder from Social Traders Australia is a step-by-step guide on how to build a social enterprise. This guide is written for anyone wishing to understand more about social enterprise and how to start one. The Builder guides you through a rigorous business planning process, which underpins the future success.

Australian Government Support for Social Enterprise

Whilst we are peddling hard to get government buy-in to a social enterprise agenda – in contrast, the Australian government is currently making a $22 million investment. Foresters Community Finance has just been awarded $6 million in seed funding – matched by Christian Super Fund taking the total fund value to $12 million. Social Enterprise Finance Australia (SEFA) has been awarded $10 million in seed funding with a further $10 million being invested by a range of corporate and individual investors. Kate Ellis, Minister for Employment Participation says “Ensuring social enterprises have access to appropriate finance at the right time, combined with sound business and investment advice will help this industry to grow, to create jobs and deliver meaningful results for the community. For further information check out SEDIF program

The Rousing Giant of Maori money

In a recent NZ Herald article journalist Anne Gibson talks about “The rousing giant of Maori money”. The article says that last year, the Maori economy was estimated to be worth $36.9 billion! This article points to Tanui, Ngai Tahu and Ngati Whatua as the three richest iwi in the country. The NZ Herald article quotes Chris Wikaira from Tanui as saying “You can conceivably see out in provincial New Zealand the biggest game in town, apart from maybe Forestry or Fonterra, is likely to be an iwi asset holding company – and its all money that’s invested in New Zealand”.

Ngarimu Blair from Ngati Whatua made a moving presentation at the 2011 CED Conference, and for many of us, a penny dropped – that the Iwi-led maori enterprise and the CED movement are very closely related in terms of social mission and profits being retained for community benefit. I see all of the above coming under the broad umbrella of our “Social Economy” – the economy that has a history of growing and thriving when and where private sector enterprise has failed.

Don’t miss this Social Finance Workshop

CEDNZ invites you to a workshop with Clara Miller, a leading international expert in social finance. Clara Miller is President of the F B Heron Foundation in New York City – a grantmaking institution dedicated to building wealth in low income communities.
Previously, Clara founded and ran the US’s Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) – a national leader in nonprofit, philanthropic and social enterprise finance. Clara was named among the NonProfit Times “Power and Influence Top 50” for four years running.

The workshop will be held on Monday 31 October from 10am to 2:30pm. The venue is
BNZ, Level 8, 80 Queen Street, Auckland

Thanks to support from the BNZ this workshop is free – but places are strictly limited so it is necessary to RSVP to info@socialdevelopment.org.nz to ensure you don’t miss out on this opportunity. The workshop includes morning tea and a light lunch.
This workshop is brought to you by the CEDNZ Trust and BNZ with support from Philanthropy New Zealand

How Communities Heal

Vivian says “New Zealand was once proud to be considered the “social laboratory” of the world — a place of can-do creativity, and an early adopter of many new social ideas. We have had an inspiring history of local social entrepreneurs who created, implemented and spread new ideas until they became an everyday part of our communities. Despite this history, it is perhaps surprising to realise how little has really been known about the process of social innovation – compared to the vast amount of knowledge and research that has been gathered on how innovation happens in science and in business.”
The How Communities Heal project is being published in fortnightly instalments on the internet at How Communities Heal

Congratulations to VisionWest

VisionWest’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Stephanie Yost, was also awarded the Rosebank Business Association Young Business Person of the Year Award. Lisa Woolley, CEO of VisionWest Community Trust said “Winning these Awards is a true testament to the strong sense of vision and commitment of our people…we’ve come a long way since our start as a little drop-in centre in Glen Eden, but our partnership with the Glen Eden Baptist Church and vision for hope and transformation for families in our communities has remained strong.”
VisionWest now employs more than 400 staff and about 70 volunteers across its integrated community-based services which now include; Community Housing, Property Care, Home Healthcare, Training Centre, Christian Kindergarten, Counselling Centre, Budgeting Service, Foodbank & OpShop and Community Care.

SBN Social Innovation Award 2011: entries close 30 September

This year’s Sustainable Business Network awards have a new category recognising outstanding programmes, innovations or businesses that use entrepreneurship to meet pressing social needs. For details on this and other award categories, and to download the entry form, see the SBN Awards

The trickle down that never came!

I recently made a presentation to Adult Community Education (ACE) Aotearoa – to help explore social enterprise possibilitie for community education coordinators. After the workshop, I met a chap who was involved in public relations for Maggie Thatcher back in the eighties. Once a proponent of free market ideology, he has done a complete turnaround and is now firmly of the view that neoliberal economics has spectacularly failed us, that the “trickle down” has never trickled down – and that underlying cause is rampant greed. He was very interested in the more collective and equitable social enterprise model that underpins community economic development. Made my week!

Laurence de Marco from Senscot says ….”Folk I talk with fall loosely into two camps – those who believe that the neoliberal world order will regain its poise – that ‘business as usual’ will return – and those, like myself, who believe that we are experiencing something epochal – that the present economic system is a busted flush!” He points to journalist Charles Moore recent article that The Left MayBe Right – that the ‘free market’ in fact only accords freedom to a super rich elite – while it condemns the rest of us to increasingly insecure lives.

I have been enjoying some alternative news sources recently that comment on the unravelling of the free market economy. The Keiser Report consistently looks at the scandal behind the financial news headlines is entertaining as well as informative. On Collapsenet Michael Ruppert explores our uncertain economic future. The news we don’t get on mainstream media – thank heavens for the internet!

Some overseas inspiration

CED Policy Framework from Canada

The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet) has just released a new publication, Building a Federal Policy Framework and Program in Support of Community Economic Development . The report says that a CED Policy Framework would equip government officials with a policy tool to ensure more effective responses to the complex economic, social, and environmental needs of local communities, particularly those that are vulnerable. A federal program is recommended that would commit multi-year core and project-based funding to organisations that employ the CED model in designated urban communities across Canada. The report addresses the ongoing challenge for CED organisations in Canada to maximize their long-term community benefit when multi-year funding for core costs remains out of reach. To remedy this problem, the report recommends that the Canadian government develop and implement a federal CED Policy Framework and Neighbourhood Revitalisation Program (NRP).

Fightback Britain

The UK social enterprise sector is outstripping mainstream enterprise and turning deprivation into business success, reveals a major new report. Fightback Britain has shown that 39% of all social enterprises are working in the most deprived communities in the UK, compared to 13% of all SMEs.

The report also says that social enterprises are twice as likely as mainstream businesses to have reported growth in the last year and also more likely to be led by women, young people, and minority ethnic groups.
Fightback Britain says one in seven of all social enterprises is a start-up, more than three times the proportion of start-ups in mainstream small business and that social enterprises are twice as likely as mainstream businesses to have reported growth in the last year. Three times as many social enterprises as mainstream small businesses are operating in Britain’s most deprived communities. The report adds that some of the biggest social enterprises operating in the UK today began life in the recession of the 1980s.

The Skoll Foundation

The Skoll Foundation is one of the leading foundations in the field of social entrepreneurship. Jeff Skoll created The Skoll Foundation in 1999 to pursue his vision of a sustainable world of peace and prosperity. Led by CEO Sally Osberg since 2001, the Skoll mission is to drive large scale change by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs and the innovators who help them solve the world’s most pressing problems. Over the past 10 years, they have awarded more than $250 million, including investments in 81 remarkable social entrepreneurs and 66 organizations on five continents around the world who are creating a brighter future for underserved communities. To find out more go to Skoll Foundation

And back to the very local…
Victory Village – a community anchor

Victory Village in Nelson is a great example of a community anchor organisation. Centred around the vibrant Toi Toi neighborhood in Nelson, Victory Village is an inclusive and eclectic multicultural community of artists, musicians, businesses, parks, schools and individuals. Victory Village won the 2010 New Zealand Community of the Year award.
The Victory Village Forum, hosted by Inspiring Communities, Families Commission and Victory Village, was held in Nelson at the end of July. I was fortunate to attend and make a presentation about how social enterprise and community owned assets can make initiatives like Victory Village more financially sustainable.
Innovation in a government funded school environment must have had its challenges for the school and community leaders. Their willingness and perseverance to work together for the benefit of the whole community has had outstanding results. In Victory Village the school is the centre of hub. In other communities it may be the marae, the community centre – I have seen community anchors grow from arts centres, sports centres – it can look different in different communities, but there are some core characteristics.
The Scottish Community Alliance says “ An examination of the characteristics of strong and independent communities shows that they possess the ability to unite – and `hold together` – usually around some local organisation which they own. For some reason – in certain areas – the local community sector, the fragmented array of small voluntary groups, invest authority in a local umbrella vehicle to champion their collective interests. There are no examples of sustained community empowerment without some such locally embedded organisation, although in some areas this leadership role is achieved by two or more groups.”
That’s it for now. Wishing you the very best in your various enterprising adventures…
Di

Di Jennings
CEDNZ Network
di@ced.org.nz

Coming Events

Investing in Impact Social Return on Investment (SROI) Australia conference

Friday, October 7, 2011.
Sydney
Register by 3rd October, 2011. For further information go to SROI Conference

Social Finance Workshop with Clara Miller

Monday 31 October
10am to 2:30pm.
BNZ, Level 8, 80 Queen Street, Auckland

CEDNZ invites you to a workshop with Clara Miller, a leading international expert in social finance.

Thanks to support from the BNZ this workshop is free – but places are strictly limited so it is necessary to RSVP to info@socialdevelopment.org.nz to ensure you don’t miss out on this opportunity.

This workshop is brought to you by the CEDNZ Trust and BNZ with support from Philanthropy New Zealand

Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship International Conference

“Extending Theory, Integrating Practice”
3 December 2011
Massey University’s Albany Campus
In addition to keynote and paper presentations, and dialogue in a Conference Panel discussion with practitioners and policy makers, the conference aims to move toward perceptual mapping of the role and best practices of social innovation and entrepreneurship in catalysing development for individuals, communities, regions and the global society. For further information go to Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference

Hello Community Economic Development practitioners and supporters,

It’s so great to be home! I am just back from a trip to the UK –visiting colleagues I worked with during my time spent working in the social enterprise sector over there. It is interesting to see how the CED agenda has moved forward in the UK over the last two years, especially in Scotland. Since I have been back a number of people have asked me what I see as the next steps to progress the CED movement here – now that the 2011 CED Conference is behind us. So my main focus for this ebulletin is to outline a possible way forward.

CED website www.ced.org.nz

Before I get into ”the plan”, I want to mention the CED Website. Unfortunately it was “hacked” while I was away. Apologies to people who were trying to access information while the site was down. Good news is that www.ced.org.nz is now live again – but looks a little different. We have lost some of the branding, but the content is there and that is such a relief! Thanks to Mikael Aldridge from WOW Communications for lending a hand. The CED Network also has a facebook page that we are planning to increasingly use in the future, so I encourage you to go to community economic development (and like!)

Back to New Zealand …and the next steps for CED here?

The emphasis over the last year has been to develop relationships and grow awareness about CED within the community sector – and beyond. It is crucial that the CED movement grows from the grassroots, and there is also a significant supporting and enabling role for government, the private sector and philanthropics. To date it has been a “broad church” approach.

Looking overseas for inspiration and pathways – where social enterprise practice and infrastructure is more developed – has been helpful to get the ball rolling. It is now time to bring increased focus to exploring the NZ context through practitioner informed research and to determine priorities for growing CED capacity here through a peer exchange programme and local CED networks.

The significant CED conferences held in both 2010 and 2011 have inspired practitioners and supporters and opened up many possibilities and opportunities. The emphasis now needs to shift from a “broad church” approach to more of a practitioner focus.

At the same time it is important to maintain and grow relationships with supportive “intrapreneurs” from business, government, councils and philanthropics and continue to make the case for the rewards from investment in social enterprise.

In the UK, I had the privilege of catching up again with leading social financier, Hugh Rolo, from Locality who presented at the recent CED conference. Hugh ‘s view is that to grow the sector we need investment at all developmental stages, including research and development in the early stages, as well as social loans for start up and scaling up. Over the last year or so in NZ, the social finance conversation has focussed on social lending – a necessary and useful tool – but it is just part of the investment mix that is needed to grow our sector.

The need for NZ based research

I was impressed by the Australian research that Ingrid Burkett presented at the recent CED Conference. The Australian context is different again and the point that Ingrid made of the importance of research being carried out in the local context resonated for me.

At this point in time NZ research is needed to:

• Identify social investment opportunities, challenges and barriers to growing social enterprise here

• Identify policy barriers to growing CED – at central and local government levels – and identify useful policy frameworks.

• Identify community based infrastructure and capacity building needed to support CED, from a national regional and local perspective

• Develop a library of case studies that exemplify best practice in CED from around New Zealand

Research will indicate the policy enablers and barriers, the easy wins – and the longer term policy development that is needed – at both central and local government levels. This will provide us with substance in conversations with government

A capacity building programme is needed to:

• Enable peer sharing between practitioners in local/regional CED networks

• Provide pathways in social enterprise for beginners

• Convene events to enable sharing across regions

Local CED Networks

Encouraging independent local CED networks around the country is a key next step. The CED Network would have a light touch enabling role, pointing to resources and enabling information sharing through the website – with the emphasis being on developing local leadership.

Some fledgling local CED Networks have already been initiated – in particular In Wellington, Waitakere and Christchurch.

For information about the Wellington Network, contact Roger Tweedy email epeople@xtra.co.nz

For Christchurch, contact Lindsay Jeffs. Email lindsay@csbec.org.nz

For Auckland, contact Di Jennings di@ced.org.nz

…and if you are from any other areas and are interested in initiating a local CED network that links to the national CED network, please contact di@ced.org.nz

What about the National CED Network?

The national network currently sits under the umbrella of the CEDNZ Trust. The Trust intends to continue to develop the CED National Network through maintaining a CED Network Convenor position that will:

• Utilise the existing CED web platform as a means for sharing information and resources

• Continuing to send regular ebulletins to CED supporters

• Continuing to grow the support base – currently numbers are 611

• Provide lightweight support to the local networks

• Convene or support regional and national events

It will be important over the next year to expand both membership and capacity of the fledgling CED Trust that was established to convene the first CED Conference in 2010. And of course there is a need for ongoing advocacy to promote this agenda to government and potential investors.

Resourcing the CED movement

All of the above will be dependent upon accessing the necessary investment. Resourcing infrastructure for the CED movement is challenging here in New Zealand. Recent fund raising attempts for CEDNZ have not been successful- and additional funds will be needed to enable even a minimal convenor role to continue beyond August. It is possible that an events programme can be partly funded through a user pays approach. Ideally the CED Network will be resourced in the future through a mix of earned income, plus investment from philanthropics, government – and possibly partnerships with business. The local networks may be able to access their own funds from local councils and philanthropics.

Community Waitakere has been an active supporter of the CED National work and since the recent conference has sponsored an 100 hours towards a convenor role to keep up the momentum. Aside from this, the cupboard is bare, and the future of the CED movement is in jeopardy. Any suggestions re how to resource the CED movement to keep the momentum rolling are much appreciated.

Highlights from my UK trip

I spent much of my time away in Scotland where things are looking up for our sector. The Scottish National Party (SNP) were recently re-elected with an overwhelming majority – it was an unexpected landslide. Seems Scots are keen for at least a degree of independence from England. As SNP are principally about devolution of power and resources, they are philosophically aligned with a localism agenda and are investing in social enterprise, localism and asset transfer. A far cry from the current situation in New Zealand.

The Scottish Government has recently published a discussion document – “Building a Sustainable Future “. The paper accepts that the economic crisis has fractured the traditional models of regeneration and proposes community led regeneration as the way ahead.

The feeling is different south of the border where the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government are promoting “The Big Society” philosophy – that appears on the surface to have a lot to recommend it in terms of civic renewal and community empowerment. But…at the same time, the UK government are slashing and burning community services at an alarming rate. This is such a contradiction – and has had the effect of the Big Society being largely seen as a smokescreen for the cuts. In an article for Civitas – the institute for the study of civil society, Patrick Diamond argues that the terms of reference for the debate around Big Society have been too restrictive. He says that the real crisis is not about the economy or public services, but with civil society itself which he suggests has become badly eroded. I hear that some of our government policy people are following the Big Society with much interest. From the Big Society to the Good Society is worth a read for folk who are interested in how this is panning out in England from a community perspective

The cuts are also having an impact on the asset transfer programme in England. As the government is letting go of so many libraries and community facilities there is a huge demand from communities to find a way of retaining these assets for community benefit. Asset transfer is most successful when local government takes a partnering approach, with a long term commitment to make the transfer work for the benefit of both the community and council. I am hearing that currently in the UK it feels more like a “dump” of assets onto communities – too much all at once – and is very challenging for all concerned. Anne-marie Naylor from Locality presented about asset transfer at the 2010 CED Conference. Here is an article by Ann-marie in the Guardian on the speed and scale of public asset disposal.

The community led infrastructure to support community economic development in the UK continues to shape-shift to respond to the changing climate. Two leading community networks, the Development Trust Association and BASSAC have recently amalgamated to form Locality – an impressive network of community led organisations. DTA Scotland is not part of this amalgamation and their website is also brimming with resources and case studies – the scale in Scotland is more akin to us so well worth checking out DTA Scotland.

Local People Leading (LPL), is an alliance of Scotland’s leading community sector networks campaign for a strong and independent community sector in Scotland. LPL has now rebranded as the Scottish Community Alliance The Alliance has two main functions – to promote the work of local people in their communities and to influence national policy development. There is lots of meaty content on this site and the newsletter is worth signing up to.

Finally, some thoughts on – the cost of doing nothing

While I was away, I was also reminded of the cost of doing nothing. Doing nothing in a deprived community leads to spiralling government costs in terms of unemployment, poor health, crime etc… Investment in community economic development provides employment for marginalised people and enables empowered, resilient communities with better health outcomes, reduced crime and a significant saving to government over time. Plus CED provides income streams to feed local services that respond to the community’s needs. So yes, CED needs investment, particularly in the early stages. And that investment will represent significant savings in the long term.

That’s it for now. Wishing you very best in your various enterprising adventures…

Di

Di Jennings

CEDNZ Network

di@ced.org.nz

Coming Events

Victory Village Forum, Nelson

27- 29 July

Places at the Forum are now fully registered, but a waiting list is available, so that places can be re-filled if there are cancellations. Please contact Sian@confer.co.nz to add your name to the Waiting List

Social Entrepreneur Fellowship Masterclass, Auckland

11 – 15 September

Long Bay, Auckland

Registrations will close at the end of this month.

The Registration Form is available at http://tinyurl.com/nzsef11regf

For further information, please contact Billy Matheson billy@regeneration.org.nz 021-688-770 or Lani Evans lani@regeneration.org.nz 021-474-496

Investing in Impact SROI Australia conference, Sydney

10 October

The Centre for Social Impact, in partnership with SVA and PwC, will be hosting the first Investing in Impact SROI Australia Conference in Sydney on:

Registrations close 6 October

Conference website

Massey University Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference, Auckland

“Extending Theory, Integrating Practice”

1-3 December 2011

The New Zealand Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Centre is pleased to announce the inaugural Massey University Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference which will be held at Massey University’s innovative Albany Campus, in Auckland.

Conference website

Hello community economic developers and supporters,

Today is my last day at work in New Zealand – before I head off to the UK for a break that is part holiday, part opportunity to talk to social economy sector people over there – and soak up some of their accumulated experience and wisdom. The last couple of weeks since the CED conference have continued to be hectic… debriefs, conference highlights, what worked well, what we could do better another time – and most importantly, discussing next steps for continuing to grow the CED agenda in New Zealand.

The CED conference

Feedback has been that the conference was, in the main, very successful. It was a high energy event and many new connections were made and golden oldies maintained. The programme had depth and width and was generally well received. We are in the process of compiling conference evaluations – of course there is always room for improvement – and we will be using the evaluation feedback to plan future events.

New innovations this year were the “Hothouse/Dragons Den” and “Politics in a Lunch Box.” The Hothouse, organised by the NZFVWO, was an opportunity for social entrepreneurs to test their sales pitch to a panel of “Dragons”. Results will be posted shortly on the CED website. Politics in a Lunch Box was disappointing. Despite being well briefed by conference organisers, it was obvious that the politicians (aside from Metiria Turia), didn’t read the briefing papers and were not up to speed with this agenda. It was a frustrating experience for conference delegates – but also a reality check – and shows how much work we have to do to raise awareness in government circles. Minister Turia, who spoke at the conference dinner is another exception and her support for CED is encouraging. Ditto the support from the handful of government officials who did come to participate in the conference.

After the conference, we flew UK presenter and social finance expert, Hugh Rolo (from Locality in UK – was DTA) , and Bruce Hamilton (from Buller Community Development Company) to Wellington to speak at a Wellington gathering organised by NZFVWO – and I understand that some headway was made in terms of opening up some doors and minds in government.

Also post conference, Lindsay Jeffs (from CEDNZ Trust), hosted Irish presenter, Conal McFeely, (from Creggan Enterprises in Derry) – in Christchurch. Derry was devastated by bombings during “the troubles”. The private sector moved out and Derry was largely rebuilt through the social economy. It is a fascinating story (here is link) and there are lessons from the Derry experience in terms of opportunities for a community driven rebuild of Christchurch. Hats off to Lindsay who is still operating a social enterprise in Christchurch against all odds – and still helped with conference organisation, made presentations and is involved in promoting the social economy as a means to rebuild his city.

CED Conference Presentations

PowerPoint presentations from both conference plenaries and workshops are now online here . All plenaries were filmed – and they will be posted online shortly – so if you didn’t make to the conference, this will be a chance to soak up the main presentations. Discussion notes were taken at workshops- they are currently being typed up and will be posted online shortly.

Since the conference, a number of colleagues have written articles in response to their experiences at the CED Conference. These include articles from Vivian Hutchinson (from the Social Entrepreneurs Fellowship), Denise Bijoux (from Inspiring communities) and Tina Reid (from NZFVWO). These articles are also online here

So….what now?

Community Waitakere support to grow the CED agenda though an “incubation” period has been wonderful. Neither of the two CED conferences to date would have happened without the resource that they have brought to the table in recent times. However, one of our challenges is to change perceptions that the CED Network is Waitakere–centric. The CED Network aims to have a national focus – so in future, it will be important to enable activities around the country.

What is needed is a central holding/brokering role – with a light touch that enables maximum freedom and empowerment at the grass roots. A number of local champions have put up their hands to get things happening in their communities (in fact some are already establishing local hubs and networks) and this local activity and ownership of CED will be pivotal to grow the movement. We are currently exploring a “constellation model” of collaborative social change as a possible governance model for the CED Trust. It is currently being used by the Social Innovation Centre in Canada. It seems to me that it is just the kind of fluid, bottom up, collaborative model that this movement needs. Check this out constellation model

The resource?

The immediate issue is finding resources to enable the CED Network to continue. Right now the cupboard is bare. There are a number of conversations happening with potential partners, and a couple of funding applications in the mix. So I have fingers well crossed that something will come to fruition while I am away in the UK. Resourcing this intermediary work in New Zealand is challenging. We are exploring possible enterprise opportunities for the network (lets walk the talk!), but in the short term we will need some funding support. In the UK, most social economy intermediaries are funded from central government. It is such early days here… but there is so much support for this work to continue from sector leaders, that I am confident that, together we will find a way.

Some food for thought

Here are some interesting links to continue to keep the grey cells activated! Thanks to colleagues who regularly send relevant material my way – so that I can disperse it to the network.

“Radical Reinvention” was mentioned several times at the conference. It is a recipe for social innovation and social entrepreneurship that challenges the status quo and describes the kind of culture that we need to develop to enable a collaborative, innovative approach to social change. Take a look at this Radical Reinvention

For policy people, this article Financing the Third Sector: Introduction, from Science Direct, emphasises the importance of a policy framework from government to underpin a successful social enterprise sector

In the UK, the Big Lotteries Fund has a funding stream, as part of their Investing in Communities programme, called Growing Community Assets. It is about communities having more control and influence over their own future through ownership of physical assets. These are usually physical assets, such as land, buildings or equipment, but may also include other types of asset such as energy. DIA- how about a similar programme in New Zealand?

OK. I am now off to the airport! I will stay in touch through the odd blog from the UK. If you have any queries between now and 21 June, please contact Pat Watson – email pat@community Waitakere.org.nz or Logan McMillan –email funding@nzfvwo.org.nz

In the meantime…. wishing you the very best in your various enterprising adventures…
Di

Di Jennings
CEDNZ Network
di@ced.org.nz

Hello community economic developers and supporters,

I agree with the concept that has been coming through from a range of sources that people are currently divided into two groups: those who are determined to hang on to “business as usual’ – that is, an economic paradigm based on unlimited growth that has led to environmental disaster, dominant power elites and widespread inequity. And those who recognise that the days are numbered for “business as usual” and are seeking new models and ways of working that enable increasing community empowerment, equity and justice. The latter group are the people who will be gathering at the CED Conference in Auckland on 19/20 April.

Watching the post quake devastation in Christchurch has, of course, been heart breaking.

In the last week, it has been encouraging to talk to colleagues from Lyttelton about the community infrastructure that has been developed through timebanking – and how this has helped the community to help itself post quake. It seems to me that resilient and well organised local communities fare better in good times and bad. When the chips are down its good to know your neighbours. And Lyttelton are so resilient that they are still able to make a presentation at the CED conference about “Lyttelton in the midst of chaos – and the role of time banking in nurturing and rebuilding their community”.

There are now around 50 presenters at the conference over seven plenaries and 35 workshops and the conference programme is now online!

It is a feast that is not to be missed! The conference will effectively create a two day learning community –through the many discussions and debates at workshops, open space, chats between sessions and in the bar! The one day Master Class being held the day prior to the conference is now fully subscribed, but there are still conference places available. Check out the link to the registration form

Here are some of the inspirational speakers that have been confirmed over the last month:

Conal McFeely – Development Executive, Creggan Enterprises, Ireland

Conal is a founder member and Development Executive for Creggan Enterprises, a social economy enterprise company providing 100,000 square feet of retail, community services and workspace provision. Since its inception in 1991, Creggan Enterprises has acquired an asset base in excess of £3.5m and attracted investment in excess of £9m. Creggan Enterprises is seen as a model of best practice within Northern Ireland and beyond. Conal is a founder member of Maydown Precision Engineering, Creggan Enterprises, John Hewitt Co-op Bar and Restaurant, Social Economy Solutions, Social Economy Agency, and voluntary director for The Playhouse and Bloody Sunday Trust. See www.rathmor.com

Ngarimu Blair – Heritage and Resource Manager, Ngāti Whātua o Orakei Māori Trust Board, New Zealand

Ngarimu is Ngāti Whatua o Orakei’s Heritage and Resource Manager and a Trustee of Ngāti Whātua o Orakei Māori Trust Board. The Trust Board’s commercial urban land assets total in excess of $400m in Auckland City with property developments ranging from rest-homes, a retirement village, offices to student accommodation. Ngarimu also belongs to and was raised by, Ngati Whatua ki Kaipara, soon to acquire and manage a 14,500 hectare pine forest on the city fringe as part of its treaty settlement. Ngarimu is involved in planning across all areas of tribal life from treaty negotiations, heritage and bio-diversity restoration, cultural events through to village housing development. See www.ngatiwhatuaorakei.com

Chris Ennis, Ceres Environmental Education Centre, Melbourne, Australia

Chris manages a group of interconnected social enterprises and training programs located at CERES, a twelve acre environmental education centre in the heart of Melbourne.

Chris’ Organic Farm team trains and feeds a local population with a growing passion to reconnect with their food. The Farm employs a highly diverse staff in its training programs, farming, retail and distribution enterprises and uses a variety of creative methods to get enterprises off the ground and keep them going. See www.ceres.org.au

John Wade – CEO, IRIS, Auckland, New Zealand

John has been the CEO at IRIS (charitable social enterprise owned by the Cerebral Palsy Society) for nearly four years and believes IRIS is a successful example of the social enterprise business model, where profits are returned to the owner for the benefit of the New Zealand community. John has worked in the mental health, addiction, and disability sector for over 30 years, in a diverse range of hospital, DHB and community organisations, as well as running his own private consultancy for 3 years. Driven and excited by the great things that people are able to achieve in their lives, in spite of having serious and disabling challenges to overcome, John is committed to using his knowledge, skills and experience to make a difference to people and communities throughout New Zealand. See www.iris-health.org.nz

Enter the The HotHouse at the CED Conference and Pitch your Social Enterprise idea to a Panel of “Dragons”

The HotHouse is based on the Dragons Den concept where budding social entrepreneurs will pitch bright ideas to a panel of enterprise and social finance practitioners.There are two Hothouse categories, each with a different emphasis:

1. Sowing the Seeds

If you have the seed of an idea, but lack the cash to germinate it, the HotHouse ‘Sowing your Seeds’ category is for you. Open to individuals and/or organizations.

1st prize $5000.00, 2nd prize $1000.00, 3rd prize $500.00 (cash)

Brought to you by Westpac, with support from JR McKenzie Trust.

2. Watering the Grass Roots

If you are an established NFP/more than profit organisation, or have initiated a social enterprise project and want to scale up/expand, this category is for you. A requirement for entries is a minimum of 12 months financial history. The winner of this category will receive cash plus professional support to develop a first rate application for a social loan.

1st prize $5000.00 (made up of $1000 cash plus $4000 in kind support)

2nd prize $1500.00 (made up of $500 cash plus $1000 in kind support)

3rd prize $1500.00 (made up of $500 cash plus $1000 in kind support)

Brought to you by Prometheus Finance, with support from In-Work and Mindspring

Enter now!

Visit the HotHouse page to download an entry form. The closing date for entries is Friday 8 April 2011. Got questions? Email funding@nzfvwo.org.nz

Conference powhiri

A Conference powhiri will be held on the evening of Monday 18th April that all delegates are welcome to attend.

Local Body Social Enterprise Workshop

For delegates attending the conference from local councils, a Local Body Social Enterprise Workshop for council officers and politicians is planned for Thursday 21st April, the day following the conference, at the Auckland Council. If you are interested in attending, do factor this into your travel schedule and register your interest by emailing kim.conway@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz This workshop will involve relevant conference presenters and include:

Tools for Councils to assess and support the development of social enterprises

Guidance on the steps and processes to incorporate social procurement (towards achieving community and cultural outcomes) into Council procurement policy

Frameworks for Council asset transfer to community organizations

Master Class

The pre-conference Master Class that is being held on Monday 18 April is now fully subscribed. The Master Class will be co-presented by Lindsay Jeffs from the Christchurch Small Business Enterprise Company and the Social Enterprise School – plus Conal McFeely, a leading social enterprise practitioner from Creggan Enterprises in Ireland.

If you would like to be placed on a waiting list, in case of cancellations, please contact Mandy at mandy@communitywaitakere.org.nz

Politics in a Lunchbox – a CED Manifesto?

At lunchtime on Wednesday 20 April, we have invited political representatives from the Green, Labour, Maori and National Parties to participate in a panel discussion about community economic development from a party perspective. Planning for this session has caused us to start thinking about a possible CED Manifesto for New Zealand. Click here for some initial thoughts.

Do you fancy a trip to Canada?

The Coady International Institute is an innovative leader in the study and practice of community-driven development, committed to providing dynamic educational programs. Located on the historic campus of St. Francis Xavier University, in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, the Coady brings more than 100 community development practitioners to its site every year. The Coady’s programs illustrate highly successful development practice that is based on practical responses to local opportunities and problems. They emphasize the need for a responsible social vision, just, equitable and effective institutions to achieve that vision, and the active participation of disadvantaged people in their own development.

The Coady is now accepting applications for the spring offering of its 3-week certificate courses, which will take place in May and June, 2011. Courses are offered back-to-back over a 7-week period, and include Advocacy & Citizen Engagement; Community-Based Microfinance; Community Development Leadership by Women; Community-Driven Health Impact Assessment and Livelihoods & Markets.

International applicants are eligible for Coady Institute scholarships that cover most of the cost of tuition. Please send inquiries to coadyreg@stfx.ca or visit www.coady.stfx.ca for more information.

Relevant events

>> 16 March: David Engwicht Workshop, Auckland: ‘Placemaking in Our Own Backyard’

David will help identify the opportunities to grow community action around local issues and to build on local strengths – aimed at Community House Managers, Community Advisors, Community Coordinators, CAB’s and other community partners.

Cost: Free

RSVP by Thursday 10 March 2011 to charlotte.spencer@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

>> 17-18 March: The National Not-For-Profit Conference 2011, Auckland

This conference will be presenting the latest thinking and experiences from NFP practitioners and managers as they face the challenges of doing more with less, building effective collaborations and taking advantage of new media and technology to improve services to clients. Keynote presentations from Tonya Surman (centre for Social Innovation, Toronto), Gerard Menses (Vision Australia) Claire Szabo (English Language Partners) Chris Clarke (World Vision NZ) and a host of other NPF CEO’s and experts will share their experiences and vision. To find out more about the conference go to www.nfpconference.co.nz or contact Shaun Lines on 06 878 3456.

>> 22-23 March: Community Housing Aotearoa Conference Auckland

The Community Housing Aotearoa (CHA) 2011 Conference will held in West Auckland. To view the provisional programme and/or register online go to www.communityhousing.org.nz

>> 26-27 March: Neighbours Day Aotearoa

Neighbours Day Aotearoa 2011 is something all New Zealanders can get involved in and is aimed at building better relationships on our streets to transform whole neighbourhoods into healthy, fun and vibrant places to live. Neighbours Day is being organised by Lifewise, Inspiring Communities and Methodist Mission Aotearoa. Check out www.neighboursday.org.nz

>> 5-7 April: The Social Enterprise World Forum, South Africa

The Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) is the world’s premier event engaging social enterprises over all the continents and is taking place on the African continent in 2011. This year’s theme is ‘Social enterprise as a catalyst for sustainable development’. The intention is to have a ‘how to’ approach that covers topics such as sustainability, performance and social impact.

Globally social enterprise has grown from sporadic innovation in isolated organisations to a recognised cutting-edge field with its own body of knowledge and best practices. The extent to which the new economy and sector are changing will be show-cased, debated and appreciated on the African continent for the first time. Check out www.sewf2011.com

>> 27-29 April: Victory Village Forum, Nelson

Victory Village Forum is a national event about local development that showcases Victory’s approach to community led, family centred development. Mark Brown and Kindra Douglas from Victory School & Community Centre, along with the Families Commission and Inspiring Communities, invite you to join them in Nelson for an extended national conversation and dialogue, bringing together a group of innovative school and community leaders and practitioners, and representatives from local government, central government, support agencies, service providers, philanthropic organisations and NGOs. For more information go to www.confer.co.nz/VictoryForum

As the date of this event is so close to the CED Conference on 18-20 April 2011, organisers have been in discussions and come up with a discount for those of you who would like to attend both events. If you are interested in taking up this opportunity to book for both and receive a 25% discount for both events, phone 03 546 6022 or email victory@confer.co.nz

And of course, there is the CED Conference in Waitakere Auckland on 19/20 April. Do come and join us – and bring your colleagues and friends.

That’s it for now. Wishing you very best in your various enterprising adventures…

Di Jennings

CEDNZ Network

di@ced.org.nz