Duncan Thorp on calls to dramatically increase the number of social enterprises, cooperatives and employee-owned businesses across Scotland
The ambitious Developing Scotland's Economy: Increasing The Role Of Inclusive And Democratic Business Models (IDBMs) was produced by an independent steering group, including industry bodies like Social Enterprise Scotland, in partnership with The Scottish Government.
The big, headline target is to see the tripling of the number of social enterprises, cooperatives, employee-owned businesses and similar models in the Scottish economy by 2034, representing a shift from around 7000 to around 21,000.
Across the world the IDBM movement is already a success story, with over 280 million people (around 10% of the world’s working population) employed by these dynamic businesses, with the largest 300 of these reporting a combined turnover of over $2.4 trillion.
According to the introduction to the report by Neil Mcinroy: “Questions as to who owns our businesses are not of peripheral or marginal concern, but central to creating a prosperous, innovative and dynamic economy.
“This review was never about augmenting existing practices or making slight tweaks. The scale of change we are proposing reflects both the magnitude of the opportunity and the huge challenges facing us.”
At Social Enterprise Scotland we very much support the ambitions of the report.
Scotland already leads the world in the eco-system of support and development for social enterprise, with the internationally established Social Enterprise World Forum founded in Scotland.
However, we also understand that economic prosperity and the associated aims of Community Wealth Building and land reform must mean many more social enterprises and other social impact businesses in every local community in Scotland.
This is something that every government must understand, if we are to genuinely achieve a thriving, growing economy.
The Scottish Government, as is usual when a report like this is produced, will consider the findings and the action points and give a written response in due course.
The new report is of course set in the Scottish and UK context of big third sector funding challenges and a new Programme for Government for 2024 to 2025 that doesn’t include some of the key policy changes that were expected by many organisations.
Raising policy ambitions is urgently needed right now and this report can be a key part of the solution.
It’s really about creating that tipping point of social and economic change. Tripling the number of IDBMs in the Scottish economy would be genuinely transformational for Scotland’s economic ambitions.
We look forward to working in ever closer partnerships, with sector allies, as well as with friends in the public and private sectors, to really bring this report to life.
If we succeed in growing our movement then economic prosperity will be the prize - and all of us will win.
The 17 recommendations of the report are:
1. IDBMs should run through Scottish economic thinking and strategy as a central golden thread.
2. Establish an ‘Economic Democracy’ group.
3. Investment in data and evidence on IDBMs is required to support policy and service design.
4. National awareness raising and training programme.
5. Widen scope of existing Social Enterprise awards.
6. Ensure that outreach, awareness raising and pre-technical IDBM development is available.
7. Further and Higher Education Anchor organisations take a key role in promoting IDBMs.
8. The Economic Democracy Group should develop a clear action plan to create an effective and extensive ecosystem, possibly in the form of a Centre for Excellence, providing support for IDBMs.
9. Streamline existing public resources.
10. Map the current provision of support, identifying and assessing gaps in support.
11. Grow the role of the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB) to intentionally and specifically support IDBMs.
12. Consider extending the role of social investment and democratic finance providers (for example Social Investment Scotland, Scottish Communities Finance) to cover all enterprises operating with an IDBM.
13. Promote IDBMs and economic democracy within Economic Development and with grant givers, procurement and commissioning professionals within the public, private, third and community sector.
14. Amend the existing Sustainable Procurement Duty, to facilitate the participation of IDBMs.
15. Consider extending Scottish right to buy legislation to IDBMs.
16. Explicitly weave contribution and value of IDBMs into relevant economic indicators.
17. UK and Scottish Government to explore potential tax relief, work with the financial sector and instigate other legislation to support the creation and sustainability of enterprises operating an IDBM.
Duncan Thorp is policy and public affairs manager at Social Enterprise Scotland
