You are here: Home » News, views and events » Press releases » NESTA toolkit to help social entrepreneurs achieve growth

NESTA toolkit to help social entrepreneurs achieve growth

12/09/2007

"The spread of social innovation requires very specific conditions."

The report investigates why many promising social innovations – ideas which meet social needs - fail to reach their full potential. It contains a strong message for policy-makers and funders of social innovation, in addition to advice for social innovators.

Using case studies of eleven social enterprises with mixed track records – from the Big Issue to the government's Sure Start initiative - the report identifies barriers to growth and strategies for overcoming them.

The report identifies common management challenges that tend to occur in social enterprises. For instance, the report concludes that the founding figures and governance structures that help launch a new social innovation might not be appropriate when tough decisions are needed to move forward or as scale increases and funding relationships become less direct and personal.

The report draws on the example of John Bird at the Big Issue, who's idiosyncratic style was key to the magazine's early success but later created difficulties in the day-to-day running of the business. Similarly it mentions Aspire, which aimed to give homeless people full-time employment and a source of income through door-to-door catalogue sales but folded in 2004 in part due to the lack of a more experienced CEO than the original founder and more centralised governance structure.

The guide is designed to help those involved in social innovation think about the best form for effectively spreading their ideas and stresses that simply growing an organisation may not be the best way to achieve social impact. Alcoholics Anonymous is an example of a social innovation which has spread its basic idea not its organisation.

The report also identifies broader issues with the environment in which social innovators have to operate. These include a shortage of networks to share ideas and a lack of funding or incentives for public and third sector managers to try new approaches; both of which NESTA is addressing. As well as the recommendations for government laid out in the report, NESTA will start to address the funding gap for social innovation in health with a new joint project with the Young Foundation.

The Health Innovation Accelerator will provide the funding and support to help accelerate the growth of ideas that have the potential to transform public services that address those with long-term conditions. It will open for applications from aspiring social entrepreneurs from the end of September around specific themes.

Jonathan Kestenbaum, CEO of NESTA, commented:

"The spread of social innovation requires very specific conditions. Our report draws out clear recommendations for those involved in supporting social innovation but there are also steps individuals can take to help grow their ideas. Like all entrepreneurs, those developing ideas geared at social improvement must constantly adapt to market conditions and be aware of the strengths and weaknesses they themselves bring to the table".

Geoff Mulgan, director of the Young Foundation, added:

"The best social innovations change how we live, and how we think. But while most societies have learned how to cultivate and spread technological innovations our systems for supporting social innovation remain underdeveloped. This report shows how to put this right – and how to grow and replicate creative ideas that meet social needs".

View a copy of the report.

NESTA and Young Foundation spokespeople are available for comment and interview. Please contact our press office on 020 7438 9608.

NESTA
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. With endowed funds of over £300 million, our mission is to transform the UK's capacity for innovation. We do this in three main ways: by working to build a more pervasive culture of innovation in this country; by providing innovators with access to early stage capital; and by driving forward research into innovation, with a view to influencing policy.

The Young Foundation
The Young Foundation is a centre for social innovation that undertakes research to identify and understand social needs and then develops practical initiatives and institutions to address them.