Social Enterprises And The Impact They Can Make

Social Enterprises And The Impact They Can Make 

What do social enterprises contribute to society and how do they go about maximizing their resources ? Here are some observations Susan HayesCulleton made during her experience with some social enterprises in Ireland. 

Susan emceed a conference focused on enterprise in Ireland, specifically how three organisations in Limerick, Tipperary and Mayo collaborate, share learnings and redesign a model of training for themselves. 

Some interesting insights Susan gained were that social enterprise is responsible for 25-33,00 people in employment in over 1,400 social enterprises and accounts for 1.4 billion euro in the economy. 

Resources can be scarce so when thinking about how to best utilise them Susan uses the “SCAMPER” technique to give a fresh perspective. This can allow you to maximise your resources by looking at them in a different way. Miro  has a template that can be used to help apply this technique to any enterprise. 

Each speaker at the conference was asked to give 10 examples of social enterprises in their local area, and the responses covered arts, culture, education, tourism, housing, employment and lots more. These responses illustrated what important work individual organisations are doing in order to make a difference in society within areas of the economy that are not serving them. 

The conference then moved onto a panel discussion with The Lismore Heritage Centre, South Meath Social Economy, Rosslare Community and Sports Centre, and White Oak Acorn Project. Each organisation played a different role but it was interesting to see how they all lever the natural resources available to them.

For example, The Lismore Heritage Centre uses futuristic technology to give people a glimpse into the past. South Meath Social Economy is a home and garden maintenance service specifically for elderly and disabled people that aims to enable people to live at home independently for longer.

The Rosslare Community and Sports Centre serves two different markets, the incoming tourism market and their own local community. Finally, The White Oak Acorn Project offers a place that covers nature and has meeting spaces such as a cafe, but also speaks to spiritual needs through activities such as meditation. 

Annmarie McHugh spoke about planning for the future and various initiatives her town has run. They make sure that their initiatives are age friendly and use platforms such as instagram to promote their plans. They also completed a community audit across all demographics about how to best plan for the future. 

Elaine Donohue discussed how social enterprise can help smaller food companies. The BIA Innovator Campus can help unstick the sticking process for these businesses. They also focus on the importance of rural sustainability and Elaine described their “quadruple helix”. The helix demonstrates their want to meet a public, private, community, and education need. 

A summary of the “Co-operating to succeed” conference focusing on #ResilienceRenewal in social enterprises.

1. 1,400 social enterprises in Ireland employ up to 33,000 people generating €1.4 billion.
 

2. Use the SCAMPER technique to get a fresh perspective

3. West Limerick Resources CLG Norita Clesham Sara Bourke spoke about 30 social enterprises covering the arts, education, housing, tourism, employment and lots more.

4. The Lismore Heritage centre uses Augmented Reality to simulate an older world experience. South Meath Social economy enables the elderly and disabled to stay at home for longer. Maria Gore Community & Sports Centre serves both the inbound tourism market and local community. White Oaks levers it’s natural environment to address the spiritual needs of the community.

5. Randy Salzman explained design thinking as “what is? What if? What wows? What works?”

6. Annmarie McHugh spoke about their town voucher scheme, using walls to portray stories of local celebs and age-friendly initiatives.

7. Elaine Donohue explained their “quadruple helix”, how the BIA Innovator Campus can unstick the sticking points for SMEs and the importance of rural sustainability.

Thank you Caroline Egan/CramdenTECH Shay Riordan and Margaret O' Regan VE Studio Cork for the opportunity to work with you today.

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#resiliancerenewal #socialenterprise #sustainability #SusanHayesCulleton