This document provides guidance on community enterprise. It outlines types of community enterprises like community centers that provide services to geographical areas. It emphasizes the importance of making an "enterprise leap" from depending on grants to operating as a business through selling goods and services. Key recommendations include carrying out an organizational review, being business minded by understanding markets, securing contracts and income streams, building networks, and working with local authorities. Tools highlighted include online self-assessments, community shares, contracting opportunities, and asset transfers.

1. A good practice guide
COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE

2. Sources
The main source for this presentation is the IPPR
North report
Supporting Community and Social Enterprise in
Deprived Communities
However I have adapted and updated this report to
include other information and tools based on my own
research
Presentation by Gavin Barker
Freelance research and project manager
www.gavin-barker.com

3. Types of Community Enterprise
• Multipurpose organisations such as
a community centre that provide a
range of services to a particular Coffee
geographical area shop with
WiFi
• Smaller organisations operating Creche
and Halls for
such as childcare providers, in women’s hire
deprived communities – also credit workshops Community
unions and small co-operatives centre
Business Credit
centre union

4. Making the enterprise
leap
One of the key success factors
identified by a number of our case
studies in the research undertaken by
IPPR, was the need to make an
‘enterprise leap’ – to change from
being an organisation depending on These don’t
voluntary support and grant aid to an need to be
enterprise that seeks to operate on a done in exact
sequential
business basis: selling its goods and
order
services as its principal means of
generating revenue.
This ‘leap’ may not be for every
community organisation. The chart
opposite highlights some of the key
factors for consideration for those
seeking to make such a leap

5. Carrying out an organisational review
• Many organisations highlight an
organisational review as a key turning
point on their journey to becoming a
successful enterprise and enabling them
to fulfil their ambition. Such a review can
be prompted by a moment of crisis or
when a new opportunity arises which
pushes the organisation out of its normal
pattern of work.
• It can also be initiated by a new
organisation head or a foresighted group
of directors or trustees.
• Having a clear vision and mission that is
widely and confidently communicated is
also critical to success.

6. Useful tools for an organisational review
• Online self –assessment: try out the
online self-assessment tool provided
by Knowhownonprofit, a website which
offers a range of advice and information
resources for the non profit sector.
– The self-assessment tool covers eight key
areas in your organization, among them
Compliance, Governance, Direction,
Finance, People, Operations and
Networks.
– The answers you give will generate a
report summarising the state of your
organisation. You don’t need to have
completed all of the areas of the
assessment to get a report – for example,
you might want to focus on one area at a
time.
– The report then makes suggestions for
each area of your organisation; extra
things you might like to consider once you
have achieved something, or advice for
areas where you need to make
improvements.

7. Being business minded
• Be hard-headed about what your
enterprise does and can afford to do
• Be clear about market niche.
– This is not just about understanding
the community you serve
– It is about identifying and filling a
market niche
– It is about good quality market
research that gathers evidence to
demonstrate community need and
gaps in service
• Be professional in marketing the Try using the Community Star toolkit Click here
resulting good or service This consists of three tools and guidance for their use,
plus a report template for drawing evidence of
outcomes. There are also other Outcome Star toolkits
for Mental Health, Homelessness, Older Persons.

8. Contracts, income streams and assets
securing a significant contract is a key catalyst to making a transition from
being a charitable organisation to an enterprising one
Most local authorities are moving away from
inviting applications for revenue grant aid in favour
of targeted funding which delivers their strategic
Crowd - • Buzzbank
priorities
funding • Crowdfunder
• Connect with other community enterprises to
form consortia that can bid for public sector
contracts
• Be able to back up the need you say exists
with evidence - case studies and quotes but
also figures and statistics – and try and align Community
in with the council’s strategic priorities shares • Communityshares.org.uk
• Explore crowd-funding and community shares
as a way of raising money, as well as business
sponsorship
• There is also increasing interest from local
businesses looking for ways to include social Community • Courses and resources
and community enterprises as part of their sector trading offered by Locality
supply chain

9. Networks, marketing & profile
The network map for Copland
Having strong networks with other
organisations and a positive profile with key Community Centre.
stakeholders is important for most successful
enterprises. Mixed networks with public and What does this tell you about
private bodies can also be vital in hearing about Copland Community centre
contracting opportunities and building consortia compared to other community
to bid for contracts. centres in the area?
For many this means taking a proactive
approach to marketing both services and the
organisation itself.
A quick start can be made by drawing up a
network map – see example opposite – and
exploring connections between different social
and community organisations in your area. Add
to this as times go on.
Digital tools and platforms are now an
indispensable part of a marketing strategy. Use
OpenlyLocal to find out what local websites or
online social networks are in your area which
you can link to. Another possibility is to create
an online profile by joining regional networks
such as the SE2 partnership.

10. Working with local authorities
Local authorities can play an important role in
supporting an organisation’s enterprise leap.
They can do this through a number of ways:
• supporting and encouraging commissioning
with community and voluntary groups
• simplifying contracting and commissioning
processes
• the transfer of local authority-owned assets.
• provision of ‘seedcorn’ grant funding in order
to support organisations become ‘enterprise-
ready’: short-term, low-level grant funding
given specifically to support the transition to
enterprise can help to catalyse change.
Click the image to
download the report
Link up with other community enterprises and
use this document as the basis of a meeting
with your local authority. Discuss with them
how they can nurture social and community
enterprise.

11. Toolkits and applications
• Do you want to take this presentation and amend
or ‘mash’ it with other slides you have
• Do you want to do this with online collaborators?
• Do you want to see how this presentation can be
combined with other toolkits ?
Contact me
Email: gavinbark@gmail.com
www.gavin-barker.com