Elvaston Castle and Country Park, in Derbyshire, has been working to establish through consultation, with a wide variety of communities of interest and partners, a clear ‘vision document’ for the Castle.
This has been achieved and now the Castle is looking to appoint a Chair of a new advisory Development Board, to prepare the estate for the next phase of its sustainable future.
Working with The National Trust, Derbyshire County Council have delivered a profile and terms of reference for the new Chair and the Development Board.
This Community Interest Company (CIC) has been established to play its own partnership role in developing and broadcasting news and information to the Elvaston community and its hinterland.
(Roger Moors of SEEM, has through his work with the community and DCC, as well as the Elvaston team, been instrumental in the creation of this new inclusive community presence, designed to inform everyone about the new future for the Elvaston Estate).
You can discover more about ‘The Future of Elvaston’ on the web site www.futureelvaston.co.uk here.
Ethical business with a social dimension…
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Becoming generally available from the Cabinet Office in July 2013, the analysis of the social impact market by Maximilian Martin, Status of the Social Impact Investing Market: A Primer, sets the scene well regarding the subtle shape of the market and how a whole new eco-system of investors and vehicles for their capital have emerged, and are still emerging, into this relatively new field.
The world view – from the UK Cabinet Office
We recently published an article featuring the latest report from New Philanthropy Capital, Best to Invest, which we stressed was a primer for the structure of the UK social investment market. You can read more here.
The Martin position paper in this article looks at the broader, global context of the social impact investing model and examines the origins of the market meta-structure across the globe, with some interesting analysis on the developing gap between public demand for new social investment and the ‘public’ finance shortfall in meeting it.
This huge gap, Dr. Martin argues, is ripe for topping up by private capital, or capital from non-traditional sources, which deployed by the social outcome minded investor can transform community landscapes – in both the developing and developed world.
Based on recent studies by Accenture and Oxford Economics, the projected public services world expenditure gap is of enormous proportions through to the year 2025.
The Canadian shortfall estimated is 90 billion US Dollars (USD). the German gap some 80 billion USD and the UK expected need is for an additional 170 billion USD in investment over the same period.
This pan-global approach is interesting, in that the Martin paper shows, that when seen globally, responding to social investment demands can stimulate traditional and mainstream market provider outputs. Martin quotes the example of the French company, EDF, who in 2002 began a programme of investment in Morocco to bring electricity to the 10% of the country’s population with no access. to power. EDF’s innovative partnerships brought dividends in market development, new market creation ideas based on its approaches to the Moroccan market and proved the power of public/private partnerships for them and their shareholders.
The problem they were trying to solve was, according to Martin, the pent up demand generated in all economies by the ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ (BoP). Martin argues that the efforts of the World Bank, pan global organisations and national governments have failed to eradicate the contentious issue of millions of humans living on less than 2 USD per day.
A tidal wave of human potential – untapped still
Even as early as 2007 we had a clear view of the world from the BoP. This short executive summary from the World Resources Institute gives a insight into the lives of four billion people and the latent economic potential these communities have. (Being lower down the World Bank Pyramid is not, for us, an economic failure, it is a sign of unrealised economic and human potential)
In economies, scale is everything, and whilst veering away from any descriptor of communities as a residuum of society, a deeply negative, high Victorian view of the pryramidal effect of social and economic power and facility, the Martin model also has resonance for local communities in the UK, we would argue.
If innovation and bold thinking about investment, the risk supported and partially mitigated by mainstream government infrastructures, then change and transformation in societies where the median income level is significantly higher than 2 USD per day, where educational and functioning literacy levels in matters economic are that much higher – surely we can use social finance to turn the pyramid upside down?
Read the Cabinet Office primer and let us have your take on the global narrative too!
Sometimes looking over the wall at what your neighbours are doing to the landscape of their garden can give you ideas for your own. In this short article we have looked across the Atlantic Ocean to see how, in the last couple of years, the Canadian Social Finance sector has responded to community and governmental demand for increased active social investment from the private sector.
Encouraging social investment: Canada
Towards the end of 2010 the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance issued a major report – Mobilising Private Capital for Public Good. The Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, defined the work as being to ‘…help social enterprise and social purpose business adopt social innovation business models; and develop recommendations to enhance public and private sector support for social finance to unleash its full potential in Ontario‘.
The report offered seven recommendations to the burgeoning Canadian sector…
1. The public and private foundations should aim to invest at least 10% of their capital in ‘mission-related’ investments by 2020. They should report annually on their progress.
2. The country should establish an Impact Investment Fund, supporting existing activity and encouraging increases in scale and new fund creation for the sector. Regions with no fund should be encouraged to create one.
3. New bonds and legislative change should occur, to foster and incentive flows of private capital tot he social finance sector.
4. Pension funds should deploy their assets into social investment, with government ensuring that the pension funds are mandated to do so, and to offer pension Funds incentives to balance and mitigate any additional risk.
5. Policy and regulation should change to support social revenue generating activities in the charity and not for profit sectors.
6.Tax incentives for social investing should be exploited, encouraging capital to be channeled to social enterprises offering maximum social and environmental impact with their activities.
7. Business development programmes, training and business support initiatives from central government should be tailored to specifically engage with social businesses and not just ‘mainstream’ SME organisations.
Whilst it can be argued, looking at the Canadian shopping list, much work of a similar nature has been started in the UK. However, the push towards incentivising pension funds, delivering mainstream flexed business support directly to the social sector and the adoption of a very broad and generous tax incentive led attitude to social impact investing would add new dimensions of transformation to the UK sector.
The report, Mobilising Private Capital for Public Good, develops the recommendations above and offers examples and capital forecasts for their deployment. Interestingly, the outputs recommended were assessed in a follow-up report one year after publication.
After a year – what happened? Canada
This action and output summary, Measuring Progress During Year One, shows that some 50 million Canadian Dollars (CnD) of new mission investment had been generated by the private sector. New government and private fund partnerships had created 284 million CnD of additional impact related investment, with some 215 billion CnD of assets under management by pension funds who are now signatories to the UN backed Principles for Responsible Investment.
The follow up report highlights some achievements and illustrates how the Canadian debate is starting to have a transformational effect of the country’s social impact investment landscape. In the final analysis there is still huge opportunity in this dynamic economy to take the social investment message forward.
In concluding the report illustrates a late 2011 survey on SME take up of government backed services for the SME sector. Only 5% of the SME survey clearly identified themselves as having social outcome considerations. 93% of the survey cohort expressed ‘ambiguity and confusion’ over social investment issues. With 2% of the government services used by those surveyed explicitly excluding non-profits and the social sector.
Canada has a long and successful history of not for profit and social impact development. These reports show that even with history, public opinion and buckets of radical thinking there is still much to be done.
This is a new venture for us, as part of our changes this year. Our journal is intended to be a collaboration, a place that you can feature your successes, thoughts and latest updates from the world of social business and community enterprise.
Each month we will publish a keynote article from one of our members, exploring a key social business issue in a little more depth. But every day we will always have the latest news and views from our membership across the region.
As a SEEM Patron Member to send us content, we love content, see our how can you contribute page. You can leave a comment on any news item on our main journal page, or send us your updates, press releases or service developments.
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Joining SEEM?
You can become a Patron Member of SEEM. The application form and more details are available on the Join Us page of the Seem main web site. Read more here…
Take part in the debate, have your details and activities featured in our Members Directory and get our regular updates too. Send us an article or KeyNote for our journal and we will add your energy and contribution to the durable record of Social Finance development in the UK that we are creating.
Ethical business with a social dimension…
Share SocEntEastMids with your colleagues today...
You can see the original recruitment documents on the web pages of Everything Elvaston Castle here.
You can discover more about ‘The Future of Elvaston’ on the web site www.futureelvaston.co.uk here.
