The Social Economy Scotland (SES) EQUAL partnership facilitated a programme of Meet the Buyer/Trade fair events for Local Social Economy Partnerships (LSEPs) in 2007 supported by the Scottish Executive. The aim of these events was to raise the profile of the sector locally and to build relationships and understanding between public sector purchasers and social economy providers.

Aberdeen City & Shire
Angus Social Economy Partnership
Clackmannan Social Economy Partnership
East Dunbartonshire LSEP
Edinburgh Social Economy Partnership
Fife Social Economy Partnership
Glasgow Social Economy Partnership
Shetland, Western Isles & Moray
Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and East Renfrewshire LSEPs
Midlothian (SEAM),West Lothian, East Lothian and Borders LSEP

Aberdeen City & Shire 

Details of the event

The free full-day More than Profit Conference and Trade Fair for Grampian on 19^th October 2007 at Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen enabled over 200 delegates from the voluntary, public and private sectors to

• visit 38 stands from local social enterprises and community projects and organisations providing services to the sector;
• to attend 6 one-to-one surgeries with 6 national grant-givers;
• to hear 38 speakers from the public, private and voluntary sectors and
• to attend 8 break-out sessions and 3 plenaries. 

Delegates and stand-holders came from Aberdeenshire (approx 25%), Moray (3 organisations; 1 stand-holder representing the Moray Social Enterprise Network) and Aberdeen City.  Subjects covered in the conference included “What is Social Enterprise?”, “The Journey from Grant-Dependency” and “Being Business-like”. 

Evaluation of the event has shown that stand-holders made useful contacts, appreciated the collaborative approach used, received a worthwhile number of enquiries, learnt a useful amount about social enterprise, extended their networks beyond the norm, initiated opportunities for joint work with the Local Authority and sustained and developed their appetite for regular events of this sort.

There was less take up from the private sector than we aimed for and more drop off of delegates, particularly from the public sector, in the afternoon.  This, the organisers felt was contributed to by the restrictions placed by EQUAL funding. Due to restricted availability of venues in that time period the event ended up being held on a Friday during the school holidays and free delegates were not incentivised to stay on.

There was less through traffic to the Trade Fair than anticipated largely due to last minute health & safety restrictions placed by the venue as a result of a greater than anticipated take-up of the event as a whole.

Raising the profile of the social economy locally

The event achieved a high profile for the social economy through pre-event publicity not only through normal third sector channels but, because of the scale of the project, through Northsound Radio, free on-bus posters, Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce and press coverage.  Many smaller, newer organisations were made aware of the journeys to success of other social economy organisations they would not normally connect with and representatives of the other sectors had their awareness of the sector raised.

Identifying and supporting market opportunities for new and existing social economy organisations

The Trade Fair allowed 38 stand-holding organisations to link with each other and the cross-sector delegates who were attracted to the event by the Conference programme.  Networking amongst them was encouraged by the use of a “Social Enterprise Bingo” game with a motivational prize provided by a local 5-star hotel.  This was won by one of the stand-holders.  Support for marketing activity was provided in a number of conference sessions including an input from Aberdeen Business School specifically on marketing.

Expected impact on local policy development

The event was promoted to and attended by a number of local Councillors and Council officers and contributed to by speakers/panel members from the local Council who contributed to debate on contracting/procurement, policy on supporting local social enterprises, the impact of the local social economy and the role of the private sector.  The event included a luncheon with The Big Lottery’s Chief Executive and local MPs/MSPs and an opportunity for them to visit stands/take part in sessions.  The event gave the opportunity for key decision-makers to see social enterprise in action and for voluntary and public sector organisations to engage in debate on contracting/procurement policy, for example.  There are already signs of increased cross-sector engagement and partnership working resulting from the event.

Good practice highlighted in terms of Equal opportunities

ACVO/Aberdeenshire CVS Network (3) and Aberdeen City Council (2) provided 11 staff/helpers who were briefed to be responsive to the needs of delegates, particularly those with access, dietary or mobility issues.  The event was promoted through BME and LGBT networks.

Angus Social Economy Partnership  

Details of the event

The Meet the Buyer took place on November 6^th 2007 and was launched by the Provost of Angus, Ruth Leslie-Melville, MBE. Guest speakers included Susan Wilson, General Manager, Angus Community Health Partnership(ACHP); Alan McKeown, Head of Housing Division, Angus Council; Tim Armstrong, Senior Manager, Social Work & Health, Angus Council and Clive Sheppard, Social Economy Consultant & Associate of the Social Enterprise Academy

In her presentation Mai Hearne, Chief Officer of AAVO/Chair of ASEP was ‘Setting the Scene’ and gave and overview of new Corporate Procurement process in Angus Council. The 39 delegates were also treated to Qwizdom© an interactive corporate game which helped delegates better understand the Social Economy.

The main outcomes of the event are as follows:

• Local authority and ACHP now fully involved
• Understanding of Corporate Procurement now developing across Tayside
• The LSEPs work together to develop engagement events like MTB
• ASEP profile raised in Angus and Tayside
• A cross section of social economy organisations became involved and now understand the concept of Buyer and Seller
• Shared best practice and identifying ‘value added’ opportunities
• Myths about the social economy dispelled

Raising the profile of the social economy locally

Advertising and publicity for the MTB Event started the process of raising the profile locally.   The MTB event itself added considerably to that and ensured that awareness developed within the two main sectors involved.

Identifying and supporting market opportunities for new and existing social economy organisations

The work of the ASEP will include building on the success of the MTB event to ensure support for new/existing social economy organisations

Expected impact on local policy development

The local policy development changes are already underway; the (new) Tayside Corporate Procurement initiative is developing at pace

Clackmannan Social Economy Partnership 

Details of the event

22 delegates attended the event including visitors from Stirling and Falkirk. The event focussed on developing the key aim of the partnership in relation to unlocking new opportunities for new and existing Social Economy Organisations and concentrated on recent events around the Spending Review and its potential impact for Social Enterprise development. Crucially the event attracted both the Procurement Manager from Clackmannan Council and a representative from the Community Health Partnership.

Presentations were provided by the Leader of Council, the Head of the Social Enterprise Team at the Scottish Government, the CEO of RCVS in relation to Public/Social Partnerships and from the Chair of the partnership in relation to the Regeneration Application made by the Clackmannan CPP to the new European Programme.

A further presentation was also made by the Social Audit Network in relation to the opportunity for a social audit cluster being established in Clacks. 2 Workshops discussed “Future Opportunities for Social Economy Development” and what Barriers exist to prevent these being secured.

As always much informal networking also took place between sessions and over lunch. In addition agreement was reached that the Partnership should seek to utilise the resources available from Communities Scotland to take the first steps towards establishing a Clackmannanshire Social Audit Cluster including organising a local road show and work towards having social audits completed for the local social enterprises CMEE and Candies.

The partnership further agreed to seek ways to investigate further with Clackmannan Council how best a Public Social Partnership approach could be developed locally.

Raising the profile of the social economy locally and identifying and supporting market opportunities for new and existing social economy organisations

The event enabled us to raise the profile of the sector locally through the publicity generated in organising the event and in the preparation of the report of the day that will be contained in the next CVS Newsletter. Any chance of bringing together existing social enterprises is also worthwhile on its own as it provides an opportunity for informal networking between the key individuals involved.

The event also generated a lot of enthusiasm in regard to the opportunities offered by Public Social Partnerships and prepared the way for future discussions on this topic.

In terms of local policy development the Leader of the Council highlighted the link between the current work being undertaken between the Council and the voluntary sector around development of a Local Compact.

East Dunbartonshire LSEP 

Details of the event

The East Dunbartonshire Big Get Together (BGT) 2007 focussed on allowing the community and agencies to “Meet the buyers”.

The Chief Executive of East Dunbartonshire Council, Sue Bruce, launched the 3rd annual Big Get Together Event and the Social Economy Audit report at the East Dunbartonshire Campus of Further & Higher Education on Saturday 8th September opening the BGT with the Focus on “Meet The Buyers”. Representatives from the main Council purchasing partners were in attendance, including representatives from other public agencies such as the CHP, Communities Scotland and Dunbartonshire Enterprise.

Thirty local community and voluntary groups were represented on the day and stalls proved to be a huge success with 200 visitors enjoying the activities. The event also had representation from the private and public sectors. A number of workshops were run by Careers Scotland, ED Community Planning Partnership, ED Procurement Section and Community Learning and Development.

The event received a very positive evaluation from participants and has led to closer links between the sector and Cumbernauld College leading to collaborative work on training provision between the CVS, Sector, College and East Dunbartonshire Council (EDC).

The event also showcased the achievements of the Social Economy within the last few years with the audit presentation showing an increase in income from 2003 of £2.6m to £11.5m in 2007.

The event has led to closer links between ED CVS and the EDC Procurement section and a programme aimed at increasing the understanding of public services procurement from the sector is being developed. Training provision for local social economy organisations aimed at increasing procurement skills is also under consideration.

Raising the profile of the social economy locally

The launch of the Social Economy Audit by the Chief Executive of EDC led to the audit being presented at the ED Community Planning Board. New objectives aimed at continuing the growth of the sector as identified within the audit are now being implemented by the Council and Community Planning Board as part of the Single Outcome Agreement as a direct outcome of the raised awareness of the potential of the sector achieved by the event.

 Identifying and supporting market opportunities for new and existing social economy organisations

The networking opportunities provided by the event have led to more innovative joint working between a number of social enterprises, and there has been an increase in groups using the CVS Newsletter to market their services. The event also raised awareness of the ED Social Enterprise Network. Joint work between ED CVS and the EDC procurement section will hopefully lead to training opportunities for social enterprise which may increase the number of groups tendering for work with EDC.

Expected impact on local policy development

The increased awareness of the positive impact of the sector achieved by the event contributes to the continuing joint partnership working between Community Planning Partners and the Social Economy. The growth of the Social Economy will be part of the new Single Outcome Agreement being developed. Additionally the Social Enterprise Network has also been offered a seat on the Community Planning Thematic Group – Learning and Enterprise as a direct outcome of the event.

Edinburgh Social Economy Partnership 

Details of the event

The event was entitled ‘Social Enterprise: Good Buy or Goodbye’, and was held on 20^th February 2008, 9.30am until 1pm, at Out of the Blue Drill Hall in Edinburgh.

The event was designed as an interactive, participation-focused ‘meet the buyer’ event, encouraging relationships and links to be made between the public sector and social enterprises in Edinburgh, with a view to promoting trade.  Key speakers included: Ron Hardwick (Procurement Manager, City of Edinburgh Council), Annie Gunner (Community Care Providers Scotland) and Helen Henry (Procurement Manager, Scottish Parliament), as well as Gerry Baker, Chair of the Edinburgh LSEP, and there was a significant element of the day set aside for group discussion.

47 delegates attended the event (12 others had booked to attend but were unable to attend on the day), and 14 organisations had stands at the trade fair (13 social enterprises and the Central Government Centre of Procurement Expertise).

The event raised the profile of social enterprise for procurement staff from the public sector, and showcased the wide range of services and goods produced by social enterprise in Edinburgh. 

It also provided an excellent opportunity for frank and open discussion on the barriers and challenges which inhibit trade between the sectors, and chance to discuss potential solutions such as working in consortia.

Several guides and information sources were distributed to delegates – ‘Better Value’ guide and case studies, and the revised ‘Tendering for Public Sector Contracts’ guide.  This has ensured a greater understanding of the issues involved and will contribute to the up-skilling of the social enterprise sector.

Raising the profile of the social economy locally

This event was promoted to a database of over 300 local procurement and commissioning staff from the public sector, emphasising the fact that the social economy in Edinburgh is vibrant and is trading in a great range of high quality products and services.  The event itself also showcased some of the most successful and innovative of the social enterprises in the city, giving them the opportunity to raise their profile among both other social enterprises and the public sector.

Identifying and supporting market opportunities for new and existing social economy organisations

This event supported social enterprises to make the most of the public sector as a market – allowed them to begin a dialogue with public sector purchasing staff and to better understand (and begin to overcome) the challenges which face organisations wishing to trade with the public sector.  The report commissioned by Communities Scotland ‘Public Procurement Opportunities for existing or emerging social enterprises and voluntary sector organisations in Edinburgh’ was also circulated to all delegates taking part in the event.  This report looked at the key market areas for social enterprises in relation to the public sector in Edinburgh.

Expected impact on local policy development

As a result of this event, a larger number of local social enterprises better understand the issues surrounding contracting with the public sector, and will be far more likely to become involved in proactively engaging and working with the public sector on procurement issues.  The participation of high level figures such as the Procurement Manager for City of Edinburgh Council may also lead to an increased willingness to work towards overcoming the barriers to increased contracting between the sectors.

Fife Social Economy Partnership 

Details of the event

The event took place at Rothes Halls, Glenrothes on Wednesday 22^nd November 2007, from 3pm-6pm.  Eighteen social enterprises took a stand at the event, with six support organisations also taking a stand.  Registration for the event commenced at 3pm, with the event being formally opened at 3.30pm by Roddy Macdonald, Head of the Social Enterprise Team within the Scottish Government.  Roddy also launched the Fife Social Enterprise Partnership (FSEP) newly written Strategy to Support Social Enterprise in Fife. 

Following the launch of the strategy, two workshops were available to delegates:

• “What is Social Enterprise?” delivered by Terry Macdonald, CEO of St. Vincent De Paul Society in Oregon and John Oates, General Manager of BRAG Enterprises and
• “Procurement and Social Enterprise” delivered by Keith Grieves, Fife Council and Pauline Hinchion, Chief Executive of FEAT Enterprises.

 Both workshops were well attended and feedback was positive. After the workshops, networking was encouraged and a buffet was provided. Approximately 60 people attended the event, including the Leader of Fife Council, a number of Local Councillors and senior management within the Local Enterprise Company.

Originally this was to be solely a Meet the Buyer type event which would showcase Fife’s varied and diverse social enterprise organisations. However several weeks before the event, FSEP decided that this event would be a good opportunity to launch the Strategy to Support Social Enterprise in Fife.  By launching this strategy, organisers feel that they achieved the dual outcomes of raising both the profile of the social enterprise sector and the Fife Social Economy Partnership 

Raising the profile of the social economy locally

In terms of raising the profile of the sector locally, eighteen social enterprises took part in the event by taking a stand, with six support organisations also taking a stand.   All the organisations brought marketing materials, and where appropriate, examples of products they manufacture and sell.  A week prior to the event, a workshop on Presentation Skills/Personal Selling Skills was held and five social enterprises attended this workshop.  A grant of up to £200 was offered to each attendee to develop marketing mater, ials, specifically f, or the event, but which could be used at future events.  The feedback from those attending this workshop was very positive and all felt that this had given them more confidence to effectively market themselves at the actual event.  The offer of grant funding was very welcome and ensured that professional marketing materials were available at the event. 

Identifying and supporting market opportunities for new and existing social economy organisations

At this stage it’s too early to say whether new markets were identified although buyers from different organisations did attend the event.

Expected impact on local policy development

The Leader of the Administration of Fife Council attended this event as did a number of Fife councillors and their view was that this was an excellent event to find out what social enterprise is about and what could be delivered by Fife’s social enterprise sector.  Whether this will have an impact on local policy development remains to be seen.

Glasgow Social Economy Partnership 

Details of the event

The event was entitled “Working Partners: A Showcase of Glasgow’s Social Economy” and It took place at Bute Hall and Kelvin Gallery, Glasgow University, from 9.30am to 4,00pm on 4^th December 2007.

The event featured high-profile speakers and a series of 12 workshops. The main element of the day was a Marketplace, showcasing 55 stallholders from Glasgow’s social economy organisations and relevant procurement agencies.

Some 260 guests attended the event. There were 200 for the speeches at the start of the day, and others, including City Councillors, academics, procurement specialists and GU students, came for part of the day. The two main speakers were David Logan of GSEP and Geoff Pope, Social Enterprise Manager of the Scottish Government’s Social Enterprise Team.

A range of workshops (8) were hosted at 2 sessions during the day. Workshop themes included

·         Helping Hands: Support for Glasgow’s Social Economy

·         Keeping it local: Glasgow City Council Procurement Processes

·         Health Check: doing business with the NHS

·         Equalities: The business of balance

There were 55 stalls in the marketplace, 49 from Glasgow Social Economy organisations and six from city agencies (GSEP, LRAs, GCVS, EQUAL, SCVO, Glasgow City Council Procurement Team). The stallholders took the opportunity to promote their own organisation, both to other social economy organisations, agency staff and procurement specialists.

Anecdotal, on-the-day evidence and feedback forms suggest that the Social Economy itself took on a new meaning for many in the room. Guests were awakened to the size of the sector, and the various forms of help that are available. Procurers and agency staff also left with a heightened sense of the size, scope and unity of the Social Economy in Glasgow.

Raising the profile of the social economy locally

Working Partners, Trade Fair and Meet the Buyer Event was the first and biggest event of its kind so far held in Glasgow. The event attracted 49 exhibitors from the social economy sector and a range of public sector support agencies. The event and its workshops were attended by representatives from social economy organisations and social enterprises who had not previously been involved in any similar networking events.

Identifying and supporting market opportunities for new and existing social economy organisations

The keynote speakers at the event outlined the role of GSEP Partners in promoting procurement opportunities and the Scottish Government’s commitment to the sector’s central role in delivering public services. This was reinforced by the series of workshops on offer mentioned above.

Dialogue also took place with a number of key agencies such as Universities looking for work placement opportunities for students in recognition of the sector’s growing status as a potential employer

Expected impact on local policy development

The event has triggered a number of spin off meetings with procurers wishing to consult directly with potential service providers from the social economy on contracting. Meetings with public sector procurement officers on design for the framework of Glasgow’s Voluntary Sector Compact are also underway.

GSEP see this as the first step in promoting the sector as public sector service deliverers and propose to look at running a series of thematic events promoting particular sectors such as recycling, community care, childcare etc.

Good practice highlighted in terms of Equal opportunities

GSEP has recruited Glasgow Equalities Partnership as a full partner and used the Development Manager’s address to highlight the need to embed equalities practice in the delivery of pubic sector contracts. Additionally The Commission for Equalities and Human Rights reinforced this through a dedicated workshop “Equalities; The Business of Balance”

Shetland, Western Isles & Moray 

Details of the events

In the Highlands and Islands the Communities Scotland local representative suggested that since HISEZ had already delivered Meet the Buyer events across the region, activity should be taken to the next level of engaging with Council members, given the recent local government elections.  The aim was to provide them with training on procurement and Best Value, as a way of trying to ensure social clauses are written into contracting opportunities.  Procurement staff would also be invited along with staff/board members from other public agencies locally.

The three LSEPs – Highland, Western Isles and Shetland were all planning to run a similar event for the local council’s new members, covering Best Value and Procurement and use of social clauses.  The planned event in Highland was cancelled and an event in Moray latterly organised in its place. In the Western Isles and Shetland training events for local social enterprises were “attached” to the training day for elected members.

The ‘Public Tender Partnership’ team delivered the procurement training to Social Enterprises and elected members in the 3 LSEP areas. The Public Tender Partnership team is made up of:

• Highlands & Islands Social Enterprise Zone
• CS Tendering
• Highland Opportunity Ltd – www.publictender.co.uk
• Clive Sheppard – Social Enterprise Consultant
• Scotland Excel (Isle of Lewis only)

Shetland

In Shetland the Public Tender Partnership team delivered training to Social Enterprises and Shetland Island Council staff on behalf of the Shetland Islands LSEP, coordinated by Shetland Council of Social Services.

The summary of the feedback from the Procurement Training for Shetland Islands Council Staff and Elected Members was very positive. 86% of the delegates considered all the objectives of the course met and commented on the quality of the support materials and the competence and professionalism of the trainer.

Delegates found the update on the procurement policy, opportunities and processes particularly useful.

The Public Tender Partnership also delivered procurement training to social enterprises and the Shetland Social Enterprise Network was launched 1^st November. This raised the profile of the social economy in the Shetland Islands and encouraged and inspired individual organisations to think about the strengths and benefits of a local social enterprise network, in relation to identifying and supporting market opportunities for social economy organisations in the Shetland Islands.

Isle of Lewis

The Public Tender Partnership team delivered procurement training to CNE-Siar Elected Members, Council Staff and Social Enterprises.  (Please note that Scotland Excel were not present at the Social Enterprise event).

The summary of the feedback of the procurement training for Western Isles Council Staff and Elected Members was very positive with 79% agreeing that the objectives of the course had been met.

Delegates found the following particularly useful:

• Procedure of procurement
• Information on Scotland Excel
• information on www.publictender.co.uk and social enterprises
• new measure to drive down collective purchasing
• being able to think more about what value for money is
• clarity and confirmation of links between community value and ‘Best Value’

The feedback from the training event for Social Enterprises was also very positive with 91% agreeing that the objectives of the course had been met. In addition delegates valued what they had learned about tendering procedures and the practical details involved in tendering.

The procurement training events raised the profile of the social economy with the Elected Members and staff of Western Isles Council. The Western Isles Sustainability Committee and the council procurement team have invited the Public Tender Partnership back in May 2008 to delivery training, facilitate workshops and support SMEs and Social Enterprises growing crops on the Western Isles to understand how as individuals or collectively they can bid for the council food contract scheduled to be advertised in July 2008.

Moray

In the Elgin area the team delivered procurement training to 15 organisations on the 20^th March 2008. Elected members were not targeted as the event was replacing a cancelled event in Inverness and organised at fairly short notice.

The course was well received – 85% stated that the course had a high degree of relevance to their work and found that the information was delivered in a very clear and easy to understand way.

Delegates also found the following particularly useful:

• Understanding of process of tendering;
• Easier ways of applying;
• The process to tendering and tips for success;
• Comprehensive overview and specific detailed information - great balance;
• Looking at procurement from the commissioners’ perspective;

 The procurement training event raised the profile of the social economy sector with Moray Council and encouraged and inspired individual organisation to participate in the public sector tendering process.

 
Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and East Renfrewshire LSEPs 

Details of the event

A joint Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde social economy conference and trade fair was held on the 2^nd November 2007. This event brought together procurement officers and socia