A report examined the size and characteristics of the social investment market, and presented detailed evidence on the positive economic impact of the market. In 2011-12, the social investment market had grown by almost one-quarter compared with 2010-11.
Source: ICF GHK (with BMG Research), Growing the Social Investment Market: The landscape and economic impact, City of London
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jul
A report said that public servants who formed mutual organizations to take control of their services needed better access to external finance.
Source: Adrian Brown and Louis Watt, Soft Finance, Hard Choices: A review of the finance market for public service mutuals, Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined resident perceptions of the social value created by National Lottery-funded new-start social enterprise projects in ten rural communities. It considered what could be learnt about the relationship between different approaches to social enterprise activity in rural contexts and the social value created for local people and communities.
Source: Chris Dayson, 'Understanding the place based social value created by new-start social enterprises: evidence from ten rural UK communities', People, Place & Policy, Volume 7 Issue 1
Links: Article
Date: 2013-Jun
A report said that there was an important gap in the social finance market, which meant that the funding needs of early-stage social enterprises and charities looking to develop trading entities were not being met.
Source: Robbie Davison and Helen Heap, Can Social Finance Meet Social Need?, Tomorrow's People
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jun
A briefing paper examined the impact of social entrepreneurship in Europe. It said that working with such enterprises and helping them develop could result in widespread gains for public budgets. But starting and running such a business could pose a number of problems, resulting from both entrepreneurial challenges and those that arose from the 'social dimension'.
Source: Antonella Noya and Emma Clarence (with Michela Meghnagi and Rebecca Orelly Levi), Policy Brief on Social Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurial activities in Europe, European Commission/Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Links: Brief
Date: 2013-May
A report examined the scope and impact of the social economy in the European Union.
Source: Jose Luis Monzon and Rafael Chaves, The Social Economy in the European Union, European Economic and Social Committee (European Union)
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Mar
A study examined charities' experiences of both receiving and making social investments (investment that provided a social as well as a financial return). It said that the major drivers for successful social investment by charities were a shared sense of mission, good governance, skilled management, and strong relationships between investors and investees. The main barriers were concerns about financial risk and reputational damage.
Source: Leila Baker and Niamh Goggin, Charities and Social Investment, Charity Commission
Links: Report | Charity Commission press release | IVAR press release | Charity Times report
Date: 2013-Mar
A report examined the varying requirements for impact measurement in the social enterprise sector, focusing on offender management; youth and education; and health and social care.
Source: Jim Clifford, Kate Markey, and Natasha Malpani, Measuring Social Impact in Social Enterprise: The state of thought and practice in the UK, E3M
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Mar
A report said that up to £480 million of new social investment could be generated from high-net-worth individuals over five years by adapting existing tax reliefs to encompass social investors.
Source: Worthstone (with Wragge & Co LLP), The Role of Tax Incentives in Encouraging Social Investment, City of London Corporation
Links: Report | Annexes | BSC press release | Civil Society report
Date: 2013-Mar
A report said that the United Kingdom was leading the way in developing effective policy on social enterprise and social investment, informing the debate in other countries.
Source: Aunnie Patton, The Social Investment Market: The role of public policy in innovation and execution, Cabinet Office
Links: Report | Cabinet Office press release
Date: 2013-Feb
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on delivering local services via mutual and co-operative approaches.
Source: Government Response to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee's Report: Mutual and Co-Operative Approaches to Delivering Local Services, Cm 8547, Department for Communities and Local Government, TSO
Links: Response
Notes: MPs report (December 2012)
Date: 2013-Feb
A report examined the benefits of a statute for a European mutual society from a social, economic, and legal perspective.
Source: Blanca Ballester, European Added Value Assessment: A Statute for European Mutual Societies, European Parliament
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jan
A report said that without an industry-standard model for impact measurement in the social enterprise sector, the process risked becoming anti-competitive – hampering social enterprises relative to profit-making organizations.
Source: Robbie Davison, Does Social Finance Understand Social Need?, Can Cook
Links: Report | Civil Society report
Date: 2013-Jan