Back to business...

After a week of flu and I don’t mind telling you it was real flu, not man flu, it’s back to business and this week promises to be an important watershed for the Cornwall Voluntary Sector.  With the new VSF Council Commissioning Board set to meet for the first time, finally we have a strategic level input in to the future of Cornwall and hopefully some real influence over what happens for the people of Cornwall.

The Commissioning Board is to my knowledge fairly unique across the country and brings together public and voluntary sector leaders to discuss key services that help people and community.  The Board is arranged across 10 themes that range from social care to social enterprise and each theme has both a senior commissioning representative from the council and a senior theme lead from the Voluntary Sector with the Cornwall VSF providing vital oversight and scrutiny.

The aim of the group is to bring consistency to commissioned services, ensure clear communication routes and to provide a forum for innovative services to be developed.  It is the last objective that is so exciting…whilst there are clearly immediate concerns about ensuring vital services are maintained to those in most need, and this will be the immediate priority of the Board, there is also a huge opportunity to discuss and develop innovative ideas around future direction for Cornwall which could and should involve social enterprise at the heart of this delivery.

So I can’t wait for the inaugural board meeting with the council so we can really get stuck in…

As if one momentous meeting in a week wasn’t enough, on Friday we see the first major Work Programme get together….

This jamboree will undoubtedly take the form of informal speed dating, trying to match up Prime Providers (national organisations who will win the right to manage the Government’s Workless agenda) with delivery organisations (the one’s on the ground doing the work to get people back in to employment).  This type of speed dating is pretty basic and doesn’t exactly engender partnership working, as it tends to be a survival of the fittest and who can get to the front of the queue first…so I’m hoping that Cornish partners will work together and use their experience of partnership working on projects like Cornwall Works, to really sell what Cornwall can do.  

In fact we’ve got to do that, or the people who need us most could risk losing the services and programmes that they have benefitted from.  Although some question the level of EU funding we have had, this is where it has made a real difference, because Cornwall has been able to try things out that otherwise would not be fundable, in doing that it means we’ve created some really interesting and innovative delivery that often get’s better results than mainstream provision can on its own, and this is all down to added value….being able to link up with other programmes and partners to deliver multiple outcomes…if we’re lucky, mainstream Prime Providers will see the benefit of working with partners delivering on EU programmes in Cornwall because of the added value it can bring to their work…we’ll see!

So by the end of this week, we’ll have some sense of direction on Public Sector Commissioning and on how the Work Programme will go forward…big week!

 

 

Jon Rolls

Chief Executive

W: http://www.rezolve.org.uk

 

 

 

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Fantastic Feedback

We received an encouraging letter from Adam Sharples, the Director General of the Department of Work and Pensions following a visit to see our training programmes in action. Adam said:

"The programme gave me a really good opportunity to see at first hand the employment projects around Bodmin and to hear directly the perspectives of both officials and customers. I was really impressed by Cornwall Works as a concept which is strong enough to bind together a range of programmes while being flexible enough to cope with the changing shape of national programmes and funding streams.

It was also great to see how the social enterprise model is firmly taking root through businesses such as Fifteen and ReZolve. I learned a lot from the thoughtful discussions with key partners involved in these projects."

An average day in the life of....

A social enterprise CEO...

Woke up with man flu....decided to work from home to avoid infecting others...

But that doesn’t mean a day off....in actual fact I’ve got more done this way than had a been in the office.

With the Work Programme bidders announced, today has been a frenzy of preparing to approach the Prime’s to ensure Social Enterprise is not forgotten and is core to their offering.

With programmes like Cornwall Works for Social Enterprise having been so successful I really hope the prime’s recognise that and look to work with us all, to ensure that the innovative approach we have all brought to training is maintained.

Then there’s the Cornwall Waste Contract. Due for tender next year the contract will finally unify all the districts under one collection regime, which has got to be sensible, as long as reuse is prioritised.

Weather seems to occupy much of our time at the moment, and following conversations with Cornwall Community Foundation yesterday we have been helping them to push their http://www.justgiving.com/CornwallFloodFund nationally, to try and swell the donation fund which has so far been poorly supported. We’re hoping that a national press release we sent out on their behalf might get picked up by the tabloids and get a bit of press....fingers crossed.

With weather warnings out for serious snow disruption, we have to think seriously about our emergency procedures, so keeping in constant contact and dusting off the old voicemail announcements from last year is a must. With 30 + staff to think of, this is a serious issue, we also have to keep a busy retail centre open to ensure the income comes in. As a social enterprise that trades for much of its income, weather has a massive impact on us...if it’s sunny everyone goes to the beach rather than shops for a washing machine and if there’s snow on the ground that too stops the masses! That’s why a true Social Enterprise is different and has to manage itself more like a commercial business....profit margins, turnover, cashflow are all things we talk about on a daily basis....if we get that bit right then we’re here to stay which means the environment and people continue to benefit...get it wrong and nobody benefits. (as I write this the weather in Bodmin has worsened and our emergency plan kicks in!)

As a social enterprise we never stand still and this week’s ideas have been around forests for reuse!, food waste in Clay Country, Green Apprenticeships and bike recycling for staff to travel between sites!

Next week we’re going to start a Cornish space race with a shuttle made out of old fridge doors....

Jon Rolls

Chief Executive

ReZolve Skills - Helping People Back Into Work...

We are delighted to be able to show you this great video of how Cynthia Thomas from ReZolve Skills has helped Ron Martin back into work by supporting him in setting up his own business in vehicle restoration and valeting. Our work with Ron is part of the successful Cornwall Works for Social Enterprise Programme which you can read more about here



To watch more videos from the Cornwall Works for Social Enterprise programme click here

The Dawn of a New Era...

Social Enterprise Day is now behind us and with the Social Enterprise Bill (Public Services Bill) getting through its second reading in Parliament on Friday, SE really does look set to play a part in delivering solutions for communities in the future.

However, in Cornwall last week, Social Enterprise Day by in large passed many people by, apart from a short radio interview on BBC Cornwall that had been pre-booked and a few column inches from the press releases sent out by many of us, highlighting what our sector does.

Why was that? If SE has such a big future, and is set to deliver David Cameron’s vision, why aren’t the papers more interested?

Well I guess largely in Cornwall because there was a major flooding story to tell, which quite rightly dwarfed all other news. But even if you delve into that story you’ll find SE at the heart of the cleanup operation, particularly in the reuse sector as furniture projects like RE:SOURCE, and Charities like Home Comforts offered support to homes hit by the floods.

But that’s not it.....yes flooding took the headlines last week, but if you listen to the radio interview I did, it’s obvious that SE is misunderstood and that we still have a huge exercise to make the public understand what SE is and how it can help shape a better society.

Part of the problem is that we just don’t have the capacity to constantly ‘sell’ the concept. If you take ReZolve as an example, although we have always placed great emphasis on marketing what we do, we have only just got to the position where we can afford permanent resource to spread the word. But this is the beauty of the sector and of contracting with SE, we run a tight ship and we spend a huge amount of time attracting added value, i.e. linking up with other programmes and projects, in partnership, so the funder or commissioner gets more bang for their buck.

So we’re misunderstood and need to do more to promote what we do, whilst not losing our USP that we deliver on the ground effectively and add value.

Ever heard of Social Return on Investment? What about Social Impact Bonds? Or even Social Investment 'Asset Classes'....no? well I’m not surprised, but keep an eye on these phrases because they are growing in prominence and it’s how the SE sector is going to demonstrate its value, and if it can do that, it’s also about how it can unlock serious investment from the capital markets. It’s already happening in the UK and if you read the interview in this month’s Social Enterprise magazine with Sir Ronald Cohen, the man who brought venture capital to Europe, you’ll see that SE is unlocking enormous potential from the financial markets and if this takes off, this will represent a seismic shift in the way we do things.

Social investment is just as relevant in Cornwall as it is in the big smoke....you’ve only got to look at the Social Impact Bond example from Peterborough to see where the links could be: http://www.socialfinance.org.uk/services/index.php?page_ID=15

If you’re interested in this area then get in touch because we’re developing ideas around Social Impact Bonds and would be interested in talking to partners about how they could play a role, both private, public and community sector. Let’s lead the way from Cornwall....

However, to reign in my usual optimism, the article says, “This is no modest challenge: it would require a cultural change from capitalist consumerism to sustainability.” Surely a price worth paying.....

Listen to BBC Radio Cornwall Interview!

You can listen again to ReZolve CEO Jon Rolls as he was interviewed by Martin Bailie on BBC Radio Cornwall yesterday.

The interview covers Social Enterprise Day, the great work that ReZolve and other Social Enterprises are doing in the South West and the upcoming Social Enterprise fair at Cornwall College Cambourne.


Click below to listen:

BBC Radio Cornwall....

ReZolve will be talking Social Enterprise this afternoon on BBC Radio Cornwall at about 4.15pm. Listen here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_cornwall

Social Enterprise Day beckons....

Welcome to ReZolve's new blog and the launch of our new social media channels...which sounds a bit pretentious really so welcome to our modern day newsletter!

In fact we've been blogging and twittering for a while now on one of our national pojects and the results and feedback has been so positive that we decided we should look at using it in Cornwall to improve the way we communicate with our partners and customers.

So who are we, what do we do and what makes us different.

ReZolve is a Social Enterprise, set up in the late 90's to look at sustainable waste management. We've come a long way in that time and now we are company that employs over 30 staff, diverts 1'000's of tonnes from landfill every year through reuse and recycling both locally and nationally, has helped over 100 long term unemployed in to jobs over the last 2 years, trades for well over 50% of our income and competes for the majority of the rest and supports over 180 environmental businesses in Cornwall to grow and develop.

We're Carbon Negative - that means our operations divert more carbon than we produce as an organisation. We are Matrix accredited - that means the quality of advice and guidance we give is up to standard. We are FRNe Accredited - that means our furniture reuse operations are audited annually and pass tests that are similar to ISO 9000.

Finally, we have the Social Enterprise Mark, logo above, one of only a handful of organisations in Cornwall to have achieved this, alongside Eden, Fifteen, Real Baby Milk, Pentreath, CoaST, CEP, Zoo Training, Bosence Farm, Blisland Community Association and the National Lobster Hatchery.

So what is a Social Enterprise...there's so much talk of it in the press, in the public sector and everyone wants a piece of it! Here's a quick animation that explains it...nice and simple....the way I work!

To obtain the SE Mark you need to demonstrate the following:
• Your company has social and/or environmental aims?
• Your company has its own constitution and governing body?
• At least 50% of the company profits are spent on socially beneficial purposes?
• The company earns at least 50% of its income from trading?
• Your company can demonstrate that social/environmental aims are being achieved?
• If your company ceased trading, remaining assets would be distributed for social/environmental purposes?

The Social Enterprise Coalition uses the following definition:

"Social enterprises are businesses trading for social and environmental purposes. Many commercial businesses would consider themselves to have social objectives, but social enterprises are distinctive because their social and/or environmental purpose is absolutely central to what they do - their profits are reinvested to sustain and further their mission for positive change." See http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/pages/frequently-asked-questions.html for more useful explanations.

That just about sums it up for me...and that is what ReZolve is all about. We develop projects with social and environmental purposes and reinvest any profits in to furthering our overall objectives, which are about improving our environment and helping those who are disadvantaged. I guess the biggest myth in all of this is about trading and profit. Many commentators think that Social Enterprises shouldn't make a profit...or shouldn't pay staff....and that couldn't be further from he truth.

Gone are the days of public subsidies, large grants for core funding and plain brown envelops to keep you going! The future is going to be about competing with the private sector, gearing up to deliver contracts for the public sector and finding innovative ways to trade to supplement income streams. Certain activities will always need an element of grant funding and rightly so, but a Social Enterprise has commercial spirit at its core, and to survive, that needs to be the case. Not at the expense of social or environmental objectives, but aligned in a 'triple bottom line approach'. So in terms of profit...I say the more the merrier...but nobody is going to get fat on it....it just means we can reinvest for the benefit of Cornwall and to ensure that we can still be here in 2013 when the EU tap is turned off, delivering services that make a difference. Those that do not embrace a more business like culture will not survive.

This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, and Social Enterprise Day is tomorrow, 18th November. So please join us in celebrating everything that is good about Social Enterprise and the part it can play in Big Society, Big Cornwall, Big Everything....so join us by following our blog, tweets and everything else trendy!