Community Enterprise Strategic Framework

With a vision to create great places where people want to live, work and raise a family, the Communities and Local Government office (CLG) has published a new strategic framework to promote community-based social enterprises.

The document covers the department’s recognition of the need to support and develop organisations that have the power to transform communities and community-based social enterprises that have the potential to play a key role in delivering benefits to communities across the country.

Community enterprises share the core principles of social enterprises but differ in that they seek to benefit particular geographic areas or communities of interest while being run by people within that community.

These enterprises are seen as a way for communities to raise their own finances, as well as to identify unmet local needs, deliver local services, and provide local employment and training opportunities.

The strategy outlines the CLG’s commitments to improve local government commissioning, and their work in partnership with community enterprises to tackle challenges they may face such as tackling the barriers to access to finance.

The CLG has developed an action plan to support the improvement of business advice and information and funding for the School of Social Entrepreneurs to go towards developing the skills and confidence individuals need to create new social enterprises.

The strategy goes on to explain the support of community finance by establishing a way to coordinate activities relevant to community investment via work with the Office of the Third Sector (OTS), HM Treasury and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.
These activities include community shares, impact bonds and making loans and investment available to anchor organisations throughout the community, it suggests by doing so this will foster a culture of social enterprise.

To read the full Community Enterprise Strategic Framework follow this link. http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/1463299.pdf