Transcript Slide 1

Micro enterprise: harnessing community
capacity to deliver great outcomes and
savings
Sian Lockwood, CEO
Community Catalysts
What is Community Catalysts?
 A social enterprise and a wholly owned subsidiary of
NAAPS UK, the small community services network
 Aims to make sure that people wherever they live have
real choice of great local social care and health services
 Works to harness the talents of people and communities
to provide high quality small scale and local support
services.
Micro providers
 Are local people providing support and services to other
local people
 Work on a very small scale (5 or fewer workers – paid or
unpaid)
 Use a variety of business models (70% sole traders or
partnerships)
 Deliver on a continuum from fully voluntary at one end to
fully commercial at the other
 Are bought by people from their own money or personal
budget
What types of services do they provide?
People buy support and services to help them to live
their lives - many micro enterprises deliver services that
fall outside health and social care such as:
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Supported tenancies
Well being and health
Leisure and arts
Holidays and short breaks
Friendship or good neighbour
Drop in centres and lunch clubs
Advice and representation
Transport
Why are micro providers important?
 Offer choice of personalised services to help people to
live their lives and meet health and support needs
 Cost beneficial– help to develop social capital; services
on a continuum from fully/semi voluntary (30-40%) to
fully commercial.
 Bring tangible assets for community benefit
 Route into work for local people - encourage self
employment and create local jobs
 An option for public sector employees (eg: exercising the
new ‘Right to Provide’)
Why does micro enterprise need support?
• 90% of unsupported micro enterprises fail in the first
year.
Business, Start Ups and Economic Churn: A literature review: NIESR: 2009
• About half of the micro enterprises surveyed operate sub
legally
MacGillivray, A., Conaty, P., and Wadhams, C. (2001) Low flying heroes:
micro-social enterprise below the radar screen, London: New Economics
Foundation.
• For every 100 people with a good idea only one makes it
UnLtd July 2010
State of the typical local social care micro
market
• There will already be some micro enterprises
• Many of them will only be viable because of continuing
grant aided funding - remove that and they will fail
• Good micro enterprises will be closing because of
commissioning, regulatory and legislative barriers
• Barriers to entry will be deterring new enterprise - and
90% of those that set up will fold after a year
• Existing third sector and business infrastructure
organisations will not be able to provide the tailored
support needed for the full range of micro enterprise
The micro enterprise support agency model
Developed and tested with funding from DH
 Scopes, identifies and engages with current micro
providers. Can help them to regenerate or remodel
 Provides a single contact point for local people with good
ideas who want to set up services
 Links customers and potential providers
 Makes best use of existing advice and support agencies
by sign posting and information
 Gives people help to overcome barriers
 Facilitates peer-to-peer mentoring through association
membership
The micro support agency model in practice:
case study from the North West
Over three years:
• 78 would-be micro entrepreneurs were supported.
• 52% (36) successfully established flourishing
enterprises
• 83% were still flourishing at the end of 3 years
• 850 disabled and older people were using micro services
• 140 jobs and 40 volunteering opportunities had been
created.
Value for money: Comparative cost
For enterprises offering day support/activities (using local
authority figures):
Average charge (including support agency costs) is
£32.85pd
Typical traditional day centre charge is £45pd
For more information
Contact : Sian Lockwood
[email protected]