Buying from social enterprises

Cultural social enterprises, just like mainstream businesses, provide goods and services that a local authority might want to purchase. There are various ways in which local authorities might buy what they need from social enterprises:

Sometimes a council will offer contracts through competitive tendering and social enterprises will bid alongside other companies for the work.

One area where this has happened for a number of years is leisure, and many local authorities have outsourced the management of their sports facilities. When this happened in Slough the local authority was closely involved in establishing a not-for-profit venture to take on this work. Slough Community Leisure has gone from strength to strength over the years and successfully bid for other work.

There are other, less traditional, areas of competitive tendering where cultural social enterprises could pitch for local authority work.

For example, a number offer outside catering and hospitality as part of their mix of trading activities. They don’t define “culture” narrowly and are inventive in the ways they make money; making the most of their facilities and the people they are working with. So community cafés or food can often be found within a wider cultural social enterprise. These services evolve and social enterprises look beyond their initial market to find other potential customers – and local authorities are seen as desirable clients.

But there is a feeling that the current process of assessing tenders sometimes excludes social enterprises from bidding in the first place, particularly if there are vast amounts of paperwork involved from the outset. There is also a belief that when they do put in bids, the added value they offer isn’t always accounted for in the way they are assessed

Some cultural social enterprises have a contract or service level agreement with one or more local authorities. In the past the organisation might have been awarded a grant, but now there is a contract to deliver an agreed programme of work. The important factor here is to find a “fit” between the local authority’s cultural goals and what can be offered by the social enterprise.

Farnham Maltings, for example, has contracts with a number of local authorities to deliver a range of creative projects. Director, Gavin Stride, says that this is his preferred way of working, where everyone is clear on precisely what is expected and being paid for.

Another way in which local authorities can benefit from cultural social enterprises is through one-off purchases or commissions. This might involve, for example, buying disability awareness training from an organisation like the Freewheelers Theatre who use film-making, performance and integrated theatre. It’s a different approach to disability awareness, and they might not be listed in a training directory, but the experience is hands-on and transforming.

They might choose to hold a conference at a venue like Pines Calyx, which is a living embodiment of sustainability. Again it’s a question of thinking creatively about spending money that would otherwise go to a private sector alternative.

Then there are some cultural social enterprises who offer products that local authorities might buy on a regular basis. Bucks Sports, for instance, is expecting local councils to be a major client of its Coach Agency – buying sports coaches for education, after-school and holiday activities.

Try visiting Nearbuyou to find contact details of social enterprises who may be able to deliver what you need.

Following on from this idea of spending allocated money in creative ways that add value, there’s the option of renting space from a cultural social enterprise. Some PCTs have already seen that housing some of their workforce in cultural settings can have a positive impact. For instance, Slough Community Leisure provides a home for a team of nurses and dieticians who want to improve people’s lifestyle and encourage healthy activities.

Another way in which local authorities can benefit – indirectly – comes when devolved budgets are spent on cultural social enterprises. And one major area is education, with schools being encouraged to pupils’ cultural enrichment. They may pay for visits, special workshops and outreach work.

The Lightbox in Woking, for example, has an award-winning education department that is working with numerous local schools.

Chants Community Enterprise provides music workshops, and helps schools to access the funding to pay for them.

Many cultural social enterprises have some kind of partnership working with local authorities – ranging from formal agreements through to very loose arrangements that rely on particular personalities. These evolve to suit those involved, but can include providing buildings for a peppercorn rent, sitting on boards or advisory panels, or joint projects that both parties commit to. It’s impossible to outline all the possibilities or to be prescriptive about how this should work. It is, however, important to note that there are mutual benefits - many enterprises would be less successful without such support, many councils would find it hard to come up with such effective ways of engaging the community.