Social Enterprise Strategy for Midlothian

Social Enterprise Alliance Midlothian, which is part of Midlothian's Third Sector Interface, supports new and developing social enterprises that are based and/or working in Midlothian. We provide one-to-one business support, information, advice and training, and also work with partners across many sectors to ensure social enterprises are represented in the design and delivery of services.

We are asking you to help us shape our strategic approach to social enterprise support over the coming three years. This is your chance to tell us what would be most helpful for you so that you can start, grow and sustain your social enterprise. This is not just about what SEAM can provide, but how we can work with other partners at the local and national level to ensure that social enterprise can thrive.

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* 1. What is the name of your organisation?

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* 2. What is your name?

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* 3. Position within your organisation

Social entrepreneur at pre-start up phase

Director (volunteer)

Director (paid)

Senior staff member

Other (please specify)

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* 4. Please tell us whether your organisation is:

Still just an idea

We have been running for less than a year

We have been running for less than five years

We have been running for more than five years

If you have been running for more than five years, please tell us how long:

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* 5. How would you describe your organisation?

A social enterprise

A third-sector organisation that trades goods or services

A third-sector organisation that would like to trade goods or services

I don't know

Would you use a different description? If so, what is it?

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* 6. Please tell us a little bit about your plans over the next three years:

We aim to grow our business

We aim to sustain our business at its current level

We are looking at making significant changes to our business model

We may have to downsize our business

We are considering closing our business

Do you have any other comments to add here:

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* 7. Please tell us about what you feel are the most challenging issues for your organisation. 5 represents the most challenging, 1 is the least.

	1	2	3	4	5
Sustainable income generation	Sustainable income generation 1	Sustainable income generation 2	Sustainable income generation 3	Sustainable income generation 4	Sustainable income generation 5
Having sufficient funds for our core revenue costs	Having sufficient funds for our core revenue costs 1	Having sufficient funds for our core revenue costs 2	Having sufficient funds for our core revenue costs 3	Having sufficient funds for our core revenue costs 4	Having sufficient funds for our core revenue costs 5
Tendering for and managing contracts	Tendering for and managing contracts 1	Tendering for and managing contracts 2	Tendering for and managing contracts 3	Tendering for and managing contracts 4	Tendering for and managing contracts 5
Governance and leadership	Governance and leadership 1	Governance and leadership 2	Governance and leadership 3	Governance and leadership 4	Governance and leadership 5
Attracting and keeping good staff	Attracting and keeping good staff 1	Attracting and keeping good staff 2	Attracting and keeping good staff 3	Attracting and keeping good staff 4	Attracting and keeping good staff 5
Attracting and keeping volunteers	Attracting and keeping volunteers 1	Attracting and keeping volunteers 2	Attracting and keeping volunteers 3	Attracting and keeping volunteers 4	Attracting and keeping volunteers 5
Finding affordable, fit-for-purpose premises	Finding affordable, fit-for-purpose premises 1	Finding affordable, fit-for-purpose premises 2	Finding affordable, fit-for-purpose premises 3	Finding affordable, fit-for-purpose premises 4	Finding affordable, fit-for-purpose premises 5
Marketing and promotion	Marketing and promotion 1	Marketing and promotion 2	Marketing and promotion 3	Marketing and promotion 4	Marketing and promotion 5
Competition from others	Competition from others 1	Competition from others 2	Competition from others 3	Competition from others 4	Competition from others 5

Are there any other significant challenges?

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* 8. Over the next three years, what kind of business support do you feel will be most helpful for your organisation. You may tick more than one:

One to one flexible business support

Developing stronger relationships with public sector partners

Access to information

Gearing up to tender for contracts

Specialist training

Opportunities for networking and collaboration

Help to build our profile and reach

More newsletters and information bulletins

A local social enterprise-led network to increase our collective voice and profile

Other:

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* 9. Would you like to suggest any future training topics?

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* 10. Would you like to tell us anything else about your plans or needs, or make any further suggestions for areas of work that should be included in our strategy?

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* 11. Would you like to attend a future event with partners to help us shape the Social Enterprise Strategy for Midlothian?

Yes

Possibly

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* 12. Thank you for taking the time to complete our survey. Please leave us your contact details so we can keep you posted about the development of the strategy.

Name

Company

Address

Address 2

City/Town

Postcode

Email Address

Phone Number