Future fantastic - a message from the editor

A bank that can offer millions of pounds in loan finance to social enterprises. A Prime Minister predicting that head teachers, hospital doctors and police superintendents will be ‘Britain’s new social entrepreneurs’.

These could easily be the lead stories of this magazine in March/April 2011. Big Society Bank and David Cameron’s hopes for transforming public services are two key areas of opportunity for social entrepreneurs across the UK that are very much at the top of our minds at the moment.

In fact, these were actually the two front page stories in the first ever edition of Social Enterprise magazine, back in February 2002. The first was about plans for a new ‘Charity Bank’, now of course well established with more than £100m loaned to charities and social enterprises. The second was a speech not by David Cameron but Tony Blair, predicting ‘a decade when we will look to public service professionals as the new byword for can-do innovation and dynamism’.

It would be easy to conclude that not much progress has been made over the last nine years since Social Enterprise magazine began. In some ways, that conclusion is true. Having spent the best part of a decade promoting the social enterprise business model as a solution for public sector services, and berating the lack of accessible finance and investment, one would have hoped that we’d be onto a different agenda by now.

SEA CHANGE

But that’s a rather unfair assessment. When we first wrote about these issues, social enterprise was seen as a niche idea that was useful for political rhetoric but largely irrelevant to public sector commissioners and mildly irritating for some of those leading the traditional charity and voluntary sector. For the corporate sector it was interesting in the same way as we might find it interesting to look at colourful new species of tropical fish in a wildlife programme – pretty, and maybe inspiring enough to spend a few quid on some fish of our own, but nothing that’s going to make waves, challenge the sharks or change the direction in which the big fish are swimming.

The last nine years, however, have witnessed a massive sea change in attitude and significant developments in the infrastructure that has built up around social enterprise. This includes a whole range of networks and umbrella bodies, government plans and policies, new legal structures, annual conferences, world forums, specialist funds, dedicated banks, business management courses and financial instruments. Corporate financiers and venture capitalists are not only swimming in a new direction but are increasingly part of this buoyant ecosystem, spawning a whole range of new developments, from a social investment ‘asset class’ to cutting edge financial instruments such as the Social Impact Bond. Swimming alongside them are other creatures that defy description or definition but who succeed in blending a resolute commitment to social justice with determination to do business and make money in a meaningful way. Those such as Nigel Kershaw, to whom our illustrators have given his own currency (page 24), as well as the embattled Muhammad Yunus (page 5) and of course our columnist Liam Black (page 10) – writing for us since we began.

Through perseverance, passion and, to some extent, necessity, what was a bright idea in 2002 has developed into a marketplace, where goods, services and ideas are being traded to create profit that aims to transform lives and communities for the better. It feels good to have been a part of this and to have been here to help to tell the story to a growing number of people who are fired up by this exciting way of making a difference and who want to be part of its future.

As we consider this future, we have been looking at what our own role should be in the new ecosystem, and this has resulted in some fundamental decisions about what we do and how we are doing it.

ENTREPRENEURS 2.0

First, we have taken a big step and decided to give the majority of the shares of the company that owns Social Enterprise to a new community interest company. This will mean we can share and build the future value of the company with our growing network. Most importantly, it opens up membership of our new venture to a community of social entrepreneurs all over the world.

Second, we want to include inspiring stories from social entrepreneurs creating change in all sectors and across the world. For us, this is not about particular kinds of organisation or legal structure. This is about people using business, innovation and entrepreneurship to create positive impact, whether they are working in social enterprises, in big corporations, in charities, small businesses, government bodies or local authorities. And it’s not just the UK. In these times of major conflict and natural disaster, we need to unearth, understand and broadcast the stories of social entrepreneurs and innovators in Libya, Japan, Palestine and Bangladesh.

Third, we will be launching a brand new website that will be a powerful platform fit for the growing global network of social innovators. As we work towards this, we are introducing some immediate innovations, including a dedicated social investment channel, where you will find a host of big name interviews, analysis and comment pieces, including filmed case studies and video interviews. This will be the last printed edition of Social Enterprise. While we will shed a tear for paper and ink, not only does the web offer a greener publishing route but, increasingly, social entrepreneurs are creatures of the web and of social media. Alongside our website, we will be producing a range of specialist printed publications on key issues – the first of which will be Making it Count, the Social Enterprise Guide to Accounting for Value, in April/May, produced in partnership with The SROI Network and Buzzacott accountants.

We will be announcing more exciting plans in due course. But, as we move to the next phase in the development of Social Enterprise, I would like to thank personally all the fantastic journalists, designers, supporters and readers who have been with us during the first nine years of our adventure – and to welcome you onto the next stage of our journey.