HEFCE SE Survey

Higher Education (HE) Sector & Social Entrepreneurship

Flourish CIC, supports social entrepreneurs to create the change they see needed in communities and develops networks, assets and resources to enable communities to become socially and economically active and empowered.

They have been commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to carry out a multi stakeholder evaluation to understand the capacity the Higher Education sector has to support social entrepreneurship*. This survey forms part of a wider programme of evaluation and engagement.

This survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete, depending on the level of detail you provide. Thank you in advance for completing this survey.

If you have further queries contact Jo McGrath, Flourish Co-Founder on 07912 758 486.

*In this context social entrepreneurship is seen in it’s broadest terms and can include social entrepreneurs, social innovators, social leaders, or people running campaigns, projects, enterprises that create social value.

This survey is to be completed by social entrepreneurs

To give feedback as a HEI please follow this link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SEHEFCE

To give feedback as a wider stakeholder follow the link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HEFCESTAKEHOLDER

Question Title

* 1. What is your name and the name of your organisation?

Question Title

* 2. What does your organisation do (in no more than 50 words)?

Question Title

* 3. Website (if you have one)?

Question Title

* 4. What stage is your organisation at?

Ideas stage - exploring the concept of social entrepreneurship and testing ideas

Start up - developing an idea which is turning into a sustainable social venture, you’ll have been operating for 1-3 years and may have incorporated

Growth - running a social venture which has been operating for 2-5 years and now has clear income generation and a viable model

Scale Up - running an social venture which is starting to scale in new areas or new applications

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 5. Have you accessed any support for your orgnisation from any of the following? (tick all that apply)

A UK based university

HEFCE/UnLtd Social Enterprise Programmes

General UnLtd programmes

Enactus

Nesta

Santander Universities

School for Social Entrepreneurs

A local social enterprise network or community support agency

The Lottery

Social Enterprise Mark

Other (please comment)

Question Title

* 6. If you have received support from a UK based university, which one was it?

Question Title

* 7. If you have received support from the University sector, which support activities have you accessed? (tick all that apply)

Specific courses for Social Entrepreneurs/Social Enterprises

Support at ideas development and start up stage

Support for scaling up

Financial Support (either direct cash awards or support with access to finance)

Connecting to other social entrepreneurs/peers

Pro bono expert support (e.g. legal or financial advice)

Coaching or Mentoring support

SE specific accelerator programmes

Social Innovation Hacks

Peer Learning events and conferences

Social Value Research

Academic Research

N/A

Other (please comment)

Question Title

* 8. If you have directly engaged in collaborative activities with a university was this via?

A formal partnership

An informal partnership

Both

N/A

Other (please comment)

Question Title

* 9. Who within the university, in relation to developing your social venture, have you engaged with? (tick all that apply)

Senior leadership teams

Faculty heads

Researchers

Course leads/tutors

Student union representatives

N/A

Other (please comment)

Question Title

* 10. If you have engaged with Universities please rate your experience

Very easy to engage

Easy to engage

Difficult to engage

Very Difficult to engage

N/A

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 11. What do you think are the top 3 assets/useful opportunities universities can harness to add value to existing support?

Access to cash awards

Incubator Space

Partnerships with external agencies

Access trusted peer networks

Internal leadership/buy in

Staff with SE knowledge and skills

Other (please comment)

Question Title

* 12. Have you noticed any thematic pattern of faculties supporting social entrepreneurs?

Health & Social Sciences

Creative and Digital

Environment & Sustainability

Performing Arts

Engineering

Humanities

Sports

N/A

Other (please comment)

Question Title

* 13. How would you rate the support you have received from universities at each stage?

	Excellent	Good	Average	Poor	N/A
Ideas Generation	Ideas Generation Excellent	Ideas Generation Good	Ideas Generation Average	Ideas Generation Poor	Ideas Generation N/A
Start Up	Start Up Excellent	Start Up Good	Start Up Average	Start Up Poor	Start Up N/A
Scale Up	Scale Up Excellent	Scale Up Good	Scale Up Average	Scale Up Poor	Scale Up N/A

Other (please comment)

Question Title

* 14. To what extent do you think universities have the capacity to support social entrepreneurs in terms of:

	Excellent	Good	Average	Poor	N/A
Physical and Intellectual Assets	Physical and Intellectual Assets Excellent	Physical and Intellectual Assets Good	Physical and Intellectual Assets Average	Physical and Intellectual Assets Poor	Physical and Intellectual Assets N/A
Investment	Investment Excellent	Investment Good	Investment Average	Investment Poor	Investment N/A
Knowledge and skills	Knowledge and skills Excellent	Knowledge and skills Good	Knowledge and skills Average	Knowledge and skills Poor	Knowledge and skills N/A
Research expertise	Research expertise Excellent	Research expertise Good	Research expertise Average	Research expertise Poor	Research expertise N/A
Influencing Policy	Influencing Policy Excellent	Influencing Policy Good	Influencing Policy Average	Influencing Policy Poor	Influencing Policy N/A
Community engagement	Community engagement Excellent	Community engagement Good	Community engagement Average	Community engagement Poor	Community engagement N/A

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 15. To what extent is support accessible and visible within the university sector?

A little

A lot

Not at all

Don't Know

Any ideas to improve accessibility/visibility?

Question Title

* 16. As a social entrepreneur, what are your support needs? (tick all that apply)

Development support at ideas development and start up stage

Development support to help scale up

Accelerator Programme

Access to research

Social Investment (cash/loans)

Mentoring or coaching

Incubator space

Access to peer networks

Have you identified any other support needs?

Question Title

* 17. Have you ever taken part in university feedback surveys or focus groups to improve support for social entrepreneurs other than this survey?

Yes

N/A

Please comment

Question Title

* 18. In your opinion what defines a socially responsible university? (tick all that apply)

	Not Important	Important	Very Important	N/A
Having a clear strategic vision as a university, that clearly outlines your social mission	Having a clear strategic vision as a university, that clearly outlines your social mission Not Important	Having a clear strategic vision as a university, that clearly outlines your social mission Important	Having a clear strategic vision as a university, that clearly outlines your social mission Very Important	Having a clear strategic vision as a university, that clearly outlines your social mission N/A
Creating a sense of place, combining corporate, educational, and social values	Creating a sense of place, combining corporate, educational, and social values Not Important	Creating a sense of place, combining corporate, educational, and social values Important	Creating a sense of place, combining corporate, educational, and social values Very Important	Creating a sense of place, combining corporate, educational, and social values N/A
Engaging with the wider community for local and societal benefit	Engaging with the wider community for local and societal benefit Not Important	Engaging with the wider community for local and societal benefit Important	Engaging with the wider community for local and societal benefit Very Important	Engaging with the wider community for local and societal benefit N/A
Developing socially responsible students through in-curricular and extra-curricular activities	Developing socially responsible students through in-curricular and extra-curricular activities Not Important	Developing socially responsible students through in-curricular and extra-curricular activities Important	Developing socially responsible students through in-curricular and extra-curricular activities Very Important	Developing socially responsible students through in-curricular and extra-curricular activities N/A
Procuring from social and ethical suppliers wherever possible	Procuring from social and ethical suppliers wherever possible Not Important	Procuring from social and ethical suppliers wherever possible Important	Procuring from social and ethical suppliers wherever possible Very Important	Procuring from social and ethical suppliers wherever possible N/A
Raising awareness of student and graduate opportunities across the public sector and wider voluntary, community and social sectors	Raising awareness of student and graduate opportunities across the public sector and wider voluntary, community and social sectors Not Important	Raising awareness of student and graduate opportunities across the public sector and wider voluntary, community and social sectors Important	Raising awareness of student and graduate opportunities across the public sector and wider voluntary, community and social sectors Very Important	Raising awareness of student and graduate opportunities across the public sector and wider voluntary, community and social sectors N/A
Supporting the development of social innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership	Supporting the development of social innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership Not Important	Supporting the development of social innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership Important	Supporting the development of social innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership Very Important	Supporting the development of social innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership N/A
Applying research and innovation activities in partnership with communities for maximum social impact	Applying research and innovation activities in partnership with communities for maximum social impact Not Important	Applying research and innovation activities in partnership with communities for maximum social impact Important	Applying research and innovation activities in partnership with communities for maximum social impact Very Important	Applying research and innovation activities in partnership with communities for maximum social impact N/A
Having a sustainability strategy to benefit people, the environment and locality	Having a sustainability strategy to benefit people, the environment and locality Not Important	Having a sustainability strategy to benefit people, the environment and locality Important	Having a sustainability strategy to benefit people, the environment and locality Very Important	Having a sustainability strategy to benefit people, the environment and locality N/A

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 19. Would you encourage a social entrepreneur to seek support from a university?

Question Title

* 20. If so, which university (s) would you recommend?

Many thanks for completing the survey!