In 2005, Communities Scotland commissioned research, initiated by the Raising the Profile working group. The research was to provide a baseline of the perception of the social economy sector, carried out by Organisational Development Scotland (ODS).
ODS were commissioned again in 2007 to conduct a follow up survey.
The main findings hlighted from the baseline report in 2005 were:
The profile of the social economy is seen to be low. 96% of respondents felt the activities of social economy organisations were not sufficiently well known.
There are a wide range of activities being carried out to raise the profile at a national, regional and local level but there is no formal co-ordination of this activity or evaluation of its impact.
There is a lack of clarity about terminology.
There was general agreement that the social economy is a ‘spectrum’ of organisations with social objectives.
There is no single definition of the social economy that was clearly favoured by the respondents.
Key findings from the follow up survey in 2007 were:
Overall, respondents have a broadly positive view of the social economy in Scotland. The sector is seen as "community focussed", "creating employment" and "customer focussed". Social Economy services are seen as "local", "good value" and "innovative". These perceptions have increased significantly since 2005.
There is wide agreement that the profile of the sector is not high enough. But most people thought it had increased since 2005.
There is evidence that a range of activities have been delivered in Scotland to raise the profile of the social economy. These include a strategic drive at a national level and network activity, tailored events, promotional materials and relationship building with key decision makers.
The perceived strengths of the sector are the same as in 2005. Social economy organisations are seen to be flexible, innovative and able to make good use of resources.
Both reports are available from the link to the document library above.
