Understanding the scale of the Social Enterprise sector in the region

Thank you for your interest in our social enterprise research! This page gives some details about the research and what it involves.

Leeds Beckett University is undertaking a study to explore the scale of Social Enterprise activity (SEA) across the Leeds City Region - a combined administrative area covering multiple local authorities, listed below. The study is supported by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and local councils, and aims to:

·        Establish the scale and scope of the activity/sector

·        Examine the challenges that organisations undertaking SEA face

·        Identify gaps in the infrastructure supporting organisations delivering SEA

·        Formulate some practical policy options to support the development of the sector

For the study we would like to receive input from a wide range of organisations, including both those which classify themselves as Social Enterprises, and those that have a wider remit but undertake Social Enterprise Activities as part of their operation (SEA is defined as trading / selling goods or services which also fulfil a social mission).

The first stage of the research, surveying 100+ organisations across the LCR, took place in summer 2019 and is now complete. The second stage will involve discussion groups with representatives from social enterprises organisations invited to consider and respond to the initial findings and to share their insight with the research team, representatives from social enterprise support networks, and local policymakers. The discussion groups will take place in early 2020, most likely late January to early February, with locations to be determined based on the geographical spread of organisations interested.

Participation is voluntary and any information given will remain totally confidential and will only be used by researchers and stakeholders involved in the project. Any quotations used in the final report will be anonymised; neither you nor your organisation will be identifiable from the text.

If you think your organisation could contribute, but feel you are not the most appropriate person to take part, please forward this email to a colleague (we only need one person per organisation).

Click through to the next page to register your interest.

This project is funded by Higher Education Innovation Funding and is a partnership between Leeds Beckett University and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. Advice and oversight is provided by the School for Social Entrepreneurs Yorkshire and the North East and Social Enterprise Yorkshire and Humber (SEYH). The research has been reviewed and approved under LBU’s research ethics process. If you have any questions about the study please contact Penny Wymer on 0113 812 1960 or p.wymer@leedsbeckett.ac.uk . If you have any technical issues, please contact the survey administrator on 0113 812 1931 or email m.p.reynolds@leedsbeckett.ac.uk