A new venture which brings together the Scottish Government, businesses and the third sector bodies aims to reward innovation with both funding and support.

Called Social Edge, the programme is designed to create a more enterprising culture within charities based on the expertise developed by childcare charity Aberlour.

It creates an opportunity to ‘pitch’ for significant investment while developing "intrapreneurship" - the enterprising skills people need while working within an organisation.

Aberlour says Social Edge will create a hub for innovation and accelerate the growth of projects and services to help some of the most vulnerable people in society while benefiting communities.

We are working collectively across the public, private and third sectors towards becoming a world-leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation - John Swinney

Steve McCreadie, business development director at Aberlour and project creator, explains: “Social Edge was designed to foster an internal culture of innovation and this approach has been piloted to create three projects within Aberlour in 2014.

“One of these is providing adventure breaks for disabled children.

“Additional projects will help children, in families with parental substance use issues, to take part in creative and music groups in order to form friendships and family bonds.”

The new venture will take this model and roll it out across Scotland to whole voluntary sector thanks to investment by the Scottish Government’s innovation programme, Scotland Can Do, and the Scottish Grant-Making Trusts Group.

Swinney said: “Through Scotland Can Do we are working collectively across the public, private and third sectors towards becoming a world-leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation.

“Social Edge is a first class example of a collaboration that combines the resources of Team Scotland for both the social and economic benefits of Scotland’s communities and is the very epitome of the Can Do approach.”

Kenneth Ferguson, vice convener of the Scottish Grant-Making Trusts group, said: "Third sector organisations need inspiration and support to the grasp the opportunities that exist to bring about social change."

He added: “Social Edge will provide not only inspiration, but the practical skills and on-going support required to calculate and to cope confidently with risk-taking, in the name of service improvement.”

The details of the programme and the investment available will be unveiled in the spring of 2015.