Overview
What role can social enterprise play within the third sector? This work stream cuts across all other research programmes, aiming to identify the particular characteristics and contribution of social enterprise.
Our research includes theoretical and policy analysis which problematises the concept of social enterprise, examining the extent to which it can be identified as a distinct sub-sector. Quantitative analysis will map and measure the social enterprise sub-sector, and our qualitative case studies will contain a distinct sub-sample of social enterprises.
Key questions
- What is the role of policies aimed directly at promoting and supporting social enterprise?
- What contribution can social enterprise make to service provision? This includes analysis of initiatives that encourage enterprises to undertake contract-based delivery of public sector services - including different organisational forms and funding models, and the role of regional and local support.
- What is the distinctive role (positive or negative) that enterprise can play in promoting social inclusion and social cohesion?
Current work
The initial phase of work involved scoping out the key issues, identifying gaps and proposing a range of future research activities. This was structured around four broad themes:
- Theoretical and policy Context
- Mapping and measuring
- Service delivery and organisational development
- The impact of social enterprises
A series of working papers and journal articles deriving from this phase of work will be published shortly.
Next steps
Over the next five years we will be conducting research in the following areas:
- Learning and innovating in social enterprises
- Governance of social enterprise support
- The involvement of social enterprises in delivering public services
- Social enterprises in local contexts: finance, networks and clusters’
- Public policy and the role of social enterprises
- Quantitative measuring and mapping of social enterprise
Research contacts
Related publications
- Lyon, F (2009) Measuring the value of social/community impact in Hunter, P. (Ed) Social Enterprise for Public Service – can the Third Sector deliver? Smith Institute, London.
- Lyon, F and Sepulveda, L (2009) Mapping social enterprises: past approaches, challenges and future directions, in Social Enterprise Journal, Vol 5 No 1
- Vickers I. & P. Vaze with L. Corr, E. Kasparova, F. Lyon (2009) SMEs in a Low Carbon Economy, BIS/BERR Enterprise Directorate, London www.berr.gov.uk/files/file49761.doc (has section on social enterprise drawing on TSRC work)