What social enterprises need from government
Governments at every level understand that social enterprises provide place-based solutions to some of our biggest social, environmental and cultural challenges. Ones that are inclusive, sustainable and good value for money.
SECNA has been working with local councils, the ACT Government, the NSW Government and (in partnership with Social Enterprise Australia) the Australian Government to use business-for-good as a tool for a cleaner, greener, fairer and kinder future. Here are our top tips for government departments wanting to engage with, collaborate with and support social enterprise.
Sylvie Ellsmore, Deputy Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney, at SECNA’s inaugural Social Enterprise Festival in May 2023
Local government and social enterprise
Great ways that councils are already supporting social enterprise in their local government area:
Social procurement, including a weighting for social enterprises in tenders, and breaking tenders down into smaller contracts to make them more accessible to social enterprises
Support programs for social enterprises, including workshops, a dedicated social enterprise person within a council to support and connect them within government and the local business community
Running social enterprise markets
Hosting networking events to introduce social enterprises to buyers within the council and local business community
Strategising with local businesses needing more staff and local support services who can start or grow their social enterprises to meet those needs
Promoting social enterprises within the council and on council websites
Grant programs including seed funding, capacity building, and attracting existing social enterprises to establish a presence in a new council area
Good gift guides to promote buying from social enterprises for Christmas and other celebrations
Join the Local Government Community of Practice to connect and collaborate with other councils to reap the benefits of a strong social enterprise sector in your suburb, town or region.
Mikey Leung, Director of SECNA, at a social enterprise event in 2022
State government and social enterprise
The social enterprise sector has identified four key ways that state and federal governments can help social enterprises to thrive:
Capability: scale successful enterprises by increasing sustainability and impact through a capability fund
Capital: create a capital growth fund to provide grants and loans for enterprises to upscale their impact
Markets: invest in social procurement to increase impact in government spending
Sector: partner with the sector to build a thriving network and make it easy for government agencies to work with social enterprises to achieve common goals
In 2023, we collaborated with Social Traders, Sefa and Social Impact Hub to present a call to action to the NSW Government, available here.
Work already underway to support social enterprise in NSW includes:
The work of the Office of Social Impact Investment (OSII)
Investment NSW funding four social enterprise pre-accelerator programs in 2023
The Office of Social Impact Investment funding two organisations to deliver the Social Enterprise Capability Building Program (CBP) in 2023
The NSW Government funding work integrated social enterprises via the Women’s Economic Wellbeing Social Impact Investment announced in 2022
The NSW Department of Education funding three work integrated social enterprises via the Youth Employment Social Impact Program (YESIP) in 2021
And in the ACT includes:
Support for social enterprises through the ACT Procurement Framework
Kylie Flament, CEO of SECNA (third from right) with social enterprise network leaders Ross Wortham (WASEC), Paul Quilliam (SENTAS), Elise Parups (QSEC), Theresa Brown (SASEC) and Nick Verginis (SENVIC) in 2023
Federal government and social enterprise
The social enterprise sector has identified four key ways that state and federal governments can help social enterprises to thrive:
Capability: scale successful enterprises by increasing sustainability and impact through a capability fund
Capital: create a capital growth fund to provide grants and loans for enterprises to upscale their impact
Markets: invest in social procurement to increase impact in government spending
Sector: partner with the sector to build a thriving network and make it easy for government agencies to work with social enterprises to achieve common goals
Social Enterprise Australia is the peak body that represents the interests of social enterprises at a national level. SECNA meets regularly with Social Enterprise Australia and our peers in other states and territories: SENVIC, QSEC, WASEC, SASEC, SENTAS and Impact North.
Work already underway to support social enterprise at a national level includes:
The Social Enterprise Development Initiative as part of the Entrenched Disadvantage package announced in the May 2023 budget and managed by the Department of Social Services
Why social enterprise?
“Social Enterprise is the best of both worlds.
The head of a business and the heart of a charity.
That combination can tackle some of our biggest social and environmental challenges.”
— Kylie Flament (CEO, SECNA)