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Welcome to Social Enterprise In Motion, a collection of five short films showcasing social enterprises in Birmingham and Solihull. Made during the summer and autumn of 2008, the films are produced for a wide audience and anyone wanting to know more about life at the sharp end of social enterprise will find them interesting.
They are especially relevant for public sector purchasers, however. Because social enterprises are businesses that trade in order to deliver social objectives rather than just profits for shareholders, public purchasers can reap additional benefits by buying services from them. If you are a public purchaser, then we hope these short films will make you want to find out more about working with the social enterprise sector.
The films
Many people ask what it is that makes social enterprises different to conventional voluntary sector organisations. The key difference is trading: social enterprises have strong, quality services or products that can be traded in the open market. Many social enterprises do in fact begin life in the voluntary sector, but move towards a social enterprise business model as part of a planned strategy of increasing income and becoming financially sustainable.
While there is no single ‘correct’ development route for a social enterprise, you will find that all of the businesses featured in these films emphasise the importance of increasing their levels of earned income as a proportion of their overall funding ‘mix’.
To view the films, and find out more about each of the enterprises featured, use the links on the right. |
