Many social economy organisations have similar objectives and undertake similar activities. The following listing is based on an analysis of some fifty sets of Social Accounts prepared over the past five years by social economy organisations in the UK.

The listing is not designed to be a ‘pick’n’mix’ exercise but to show a sample of the way objectives are expressed and the sort of activities which may relate to one or more of the objectives above them. We have bunched the same type of objectives together and then listed the same types of activities together. To obtain a fuller picture it would be better to refer to the Social Accounts of all organisations listed in the directory but that can be a time-consuming exercise. This is therefore a short-cut.

It is important to emphasise that each organisation eventually has to define clearly the objectives and activities which link back to its own particular mission. However, it always helps to see how others have done it. Also, where a group of organisations are doing the same things for the same reasons and wish to make comparisons between themselves, it will be essential to adopt identical objectives and activities (and to use identical data collection methods for both quantitative and qualitative information).

From the analysis we have been able to identify a number of generic objectives which are common to many social economy organisations, although usually expressed slightly differently. We have given examples of:

• Generic Objectives that affect other stakeholders
• Generic Objectives about how an organisation functions

For the generic objectives we give some alternative ways in which the objective has been expressed and then list all the activities which appeared in the Social Accounts examined under that objective. Similar activities may of course appear under more than one objective.

In addition to the generic objectives, we have listed some more specific objectives which we feel may be of interest to others as the basis for tailoring to suit their own purposes.

This listing is by no means definitive. But we hope it has some usefulness for those wondering how best to express just what it is they do.

Generic objectives which affect other stakeholders

Economic development

To…

• Provide a local economic development service

• Provide a range of quality, client sensitive, enterprise and employment services for women/local people

• Encourage the creation and expansion of democratically controlled enterprises

By...

• Establishing and managing social enterprises
• Supporting existing social enterprises
• Helping individuals and groups access finance for enterprise development/loans and grants
• Providing and co-ordinating enterprise training
• Giving information and advice to individuals and groups about starting a business
• Offering business counselling
• Providing premises for start-up businesses
• Facilitating “enterprise circles”
• Strengthening enterprise networks (for women) through working effectively with other enterprise support organisation, banks and business networks

Create jobs

To…

• Create jobs for local (unemployed) people

By…

• Providing premises for small businesses
• Offering administrative services for local businesses
• Giving information and advice on business start-ups
• Establishing new social and community enterprises

Access to training and employment

To…

• Guide local people into employment, training and learning opportunities
• Help the unemployed and other disadvantaged people become active in the local economy
• Provide access to learning and training which increases people’s qualification levels and responsibility

By…

• Providing information about jobs and working with local employers to link people into work/running a job-link project
• Running Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) schemes
• Providing job search training
• Offering one-to-one advice and guidance
• Managing and delivering New Deal programmes
• Providing full-time and part-time (tailored) learning programmes
• Sign-posting new entrepreneurs to appropriate services for starting a business

Community support services

To…

• Provide services to local community groups and associations
• Support and benefit the local community
• Provide resources to strengthen/develop the capacity of groups and individuals
• Assist and empower community and voluntary groups in (location)
• Strengthen the capacity of local people and their organisations to initiate and develop projects and engage more forcefully in community affairs

By…

• Providing information, advice and support to community groups
• Offering conference, meeting and training facilities
• Providing office and other administrative services (such as copying, internet access, payroll service etc)
• Providing an accessible local venue for community use
• Providing community transport for local groups
• Giving financial assistance/ managing a grants programme for local organisations
• Making and receiving visits and exchanges with other communities
• Enabling local people to attend conferences and events outwith the local community
• Providing open-access learning programmes for local people
• Providing tailored training for local groups at venues, dates and times which suit participants
• Maintaining a library/store of community development resources for hire/community use (e.g. books and equipment)

Local economy

To…

• Support/stimulate/strengthen the local economy

By…

• Establishing and running a managed workspace
• Employing local people
• Buying goods and services locally (whenever possible/practicable/economic)
• Attracting investment into the area

Community regeneration

To…

• Play and active part in community regeneration

By…

• Working in partnership with other agencies
• Playing an active part in local, area partnerships
• Attracting financial and other resources into the area

Partnership

To…

• Work in partnership with other organisations and agencies (to maximise impact and prevent duplication)
• Work in collaboration with partners and other service providers

By…

• Working together to develop an overall strategy for (location)
• Facilitating joint funding applications when appropriate
• Setting up joint ventures

Environment

To…

• Adopt environmentally friendly practices
• Operate good environmental practices in running our business
• Work in ways that respect the environment/are environmentally sensitive
• Minimise our (negative) impact on the environment

By…

• Considering all opportunities and options for transport arrangements which minimise energy use
• Purchasing/using vehicles than run on LPG
• Minimising vehicle/air miles
• Complying with relevant environmental legislation
• Minimising waste
• Seeking to recover, re-use and recycle as much as is practical and…ensuring that all residue is disposed of responsibly
• Influencing our suppliers of goods and services to reduce their impact on the environment
• Re-using and recycling as much as possible
• Reducing energy consumption
• Planting trees to offset our carbon emissions

Fair trade

To…

• Adopt fair trade practices
• Treat customers and suppliers fairly

By…

• Sourcing goods and services from “fair trade” suppliers when possible
• Paying invoices promptly
• Seeking and responding to customer and supplier feedback

Research and influence

To…

• Influence local, regional, national and international policy and practices in (field of work/location)
• Influence and inform decision-makers about issues and policies that affect (field of work/location)
• Undertake research to identify best practice and disseminate it within the target areas and beyond

By…

• Contributing to and taking part in networks and wider forums
• Initiating and undertaking research
• Organising events which spread best practice
• Developing materials which aid the spread of best practice/encourage policy debate
• Networking formally and informally with appropriate organisations and government bodies
• Representing (our) views on (field of work) issues through producing policy papers and responding to policy consultations
• Taking part in and contributing to policy think-tanks, conferences, seminars and exhibitions

Inclusion

To…

• Promote the inclusion of all disadvantaged groups

By…

• Understanding cultural, language and other differences
• Providing, bespoke relevant information for different groups
• Being a trusted intermediary

Volunteering

To…

• Provide a wide range of high quality volunteering and student placement opportunities
• Promote/encourage volunteering

By…

• Having a clear application process and interview, induction and ongoing support procedures for volunteers
• Providing a clean, welcoming and safe environment
• Offering volunteers a wide range of enjoyable tasks and opportunities
• Providing students with structured, enjoyable opportunities for learning
• Offering training opportunities for volunteers
• Monitoring the experience of volunteers/volunteering through an annual review process

Image

To…

• Promote a more positive image of [location]…

By…

• Emphasizing local achievements
• Generating positive media coverage
• Recruiting volunteers to participate in community activities
• Networking and partnering other agencies
• Generic objectives about how an organisation functions

Human resources

To…

• Be a good employer and manage human resources efficiently
• Be a valued employer
• Provide a good working environment
• Be a responsible and considerate employer
• Be a good and caring manager of the organisation’s human resources
• Be a fair, progressive and good employer, encouraging learning and understanding to increase potential within the working environment
• Promote satisfying employment and good working conditions for members of the enterprise/co-operative
• Create a culture based on a fair and empowering working environment for employees

By…

• Putting co-operative working principles into practice
• Ensuring that all employees have satisfactory terms and conditions
• Providing a comprehensive induction programme
• Holding regular reviews and meetings with employees to discuss workload, progression and future aspirations
• Funding and providing opportunities for both personal and career development
• Offering training and personal development opportunities to all employees
• Encouraging staff to develop their work related skills and interests by attending conferences and training courses
• Supporting and encouraging personal development
• Holding bi-annual company fun days
• Rewarding good individual and collective achievement
• Operating to Investors in People standards and processes
• Developing an open, transparent, supportive, self-reliant, confident culture
• Balancing job quality and financial incentive
• Encouraging/helping staff to achieve a good work-life balance
• Involving staff, volunteers and trustees in planning reviews and decision-making
• Adopting and implementing an effective equal opportunities policy
• Adopting and implementing an effective health and safety policy
• Being understanding of family circumstances/adopting family-friendly practices
• Having staff representation on the Board of Directors
• Providing child-care

Democratic organisation

To…

• Operate on democratic principles and practices
• Empower the local community through the membership owning and managing assets and facilities
• Be an open, democratic community-owned organisation

By…

• Having a structure that reflects community ownership
• Ensuring that the democratic structure operates effectively
• Encouraging the growth of (community) membership
• Communicating regularly with members
• Arranging events at which members, staff, directors and the community can meet
• Using Social Accounts to report to stakeholders

Sustainability of the organisation

To…

• Maintain and develop [name] as a sustainable organisation
• Make (name of organisation) a long-term sustainable organisation
• Achieve financial security and independence
• Ensure that the company develops in a way which is fit-for-purpose, high quality, dynamic and financially sound
• Run an economically viable social enterprise

By…

• Achieving an annual surplus for investment and innovation
• Maintaining a diversity of income streams, clients, products and services
• Delivering consultancy services
• Identifying and generating new income streams
• Increasing the profitability of existing commercial activities
• Making successful bids for funding
• Marketing the organisation and its activities
• Marketing all activities with appropriate quality systems

Involving young people in governance

To…

• Operate in a way that empowers and encourages young people to become actively involved in the management of the project

By…

• Ensuring that the Executive Committee includes young people
• Informing young members of the ways they can become involved in the management and development of the project
• Seeking to include young people both as members of project staff and as volunteers with the project
• Encouraging young people to participate in training in areas such as running an effective meeting, dealing with people in power and authority, decision-making, presentation skills and assertiveness
• Specific objectives of more specialist organisations

Community transport

To…

• Maximise transport services for local people to facilitate access to social and economic activity and opportunities
• Remove transport barriers facing local people and groups
• Offer transport services to the local community

By…

• Providing a door-to-door dial-a-ride service for members
• Providing safe transport for women in the evenings
• Providing transport for disabled customers, including access to work and education
• Providing fully accessible transportation to groups with clients with mobility problems
• Providing transport at costs affordable by community groups
• Providing trained volunteer drivers (when groups have no registered driver of their own)

Credit unions

To…

• Provide accessible financial services to our members/in an area of high unemployment and social deprivation
• Enable members to save and borrow easily

By…

• Encouraging savings
• Providing loans at affordable rates of interest
• Arranging debt consolidation
• Arranging debt redemption
• Operating payroll deduction, bills payment, standing order payments and other services
• Providing access to a death benefit trust fund
• Responding to members’ financial crises

Also…

To…

• Educate and inform the membership and the prospective membership of the concept and benefits of a credit union

By…

• Managing a web-site
• Distributing promotional and information materials
• Giving talks to community and other groups
• Developing links with local schools
• Building up a junior membership
• Developing links with local employers
• Distributing a (quarterly) newsletter to members

Community health

To…

• Identify and respond to health needs in the community

By…

• Carrying out health needs assessments within the community
• Answering enquiries from local people
• Organising and promoting health awareness days/events
• Recruiting, training and supporting community health volunteers

Locally focussed social enterprise

To…

• Run a locally valued social enterprise

By…

• Providing accessible amenity facilities for local people and organisations
• Developing leisure and tourism infrastructure
• Operating a safe, accessible, supportive and informative web-site
• Providing education, training and employment preparation advice to excluded school children, young offenders and unemployed or otherwise disadvantaged young people
• Developing structures and policies which facilitate community control
• Using local goods, materials and services

Child-care

To…

• Enable parents/guardians to return to work and study…
• Provide a range of quality, affordable community child-care services…

By…

• Providing pre-school facilities
• Providing full day nursery care for children under 5 years
• Providing out of school hours child-care
• Meeting national day-care standards
• Providing a service that is as accessible and affordable to as many people as possible
• Employing suitably qualified staff

Community building

To…

• Maintain a sustainable community building…

By…

• Running a community café
• Providing managed workspaces
• Providing sports facilities

Community café

To…

• Provide a community café which acts as a focal point for local people and has an emphasis on affordable healthy food

By…

• Providing the café facility x days a week for a minimum of y hours
• Offering a community membership scheme to people living in the (location), which entitles discounts on healthy menu options
• Using healthier cooking methods
• Utilising fruit and vegetables grown in the community garden
• Providing an outside catering service for individuals and groups using the centre
• Providing a clean, welcoming and safe environment
• Ensuring the menu includes a range of nutritional options

Young people

To…

• Help young people tackle the problems they face and become more active in community affairs
• Empower a wide range of young people to participate in and contribute to their community (as volunteers) in a positive and meaningful way

By…

• Offering an approach to volunteering which young people can dip into according to their circumstances (thus making volunteering more accessible)
• Offering appropriate support and training to young people
• Helping young people develop the projects and initiatives they believe are important

Focus for local development

To…

• Act as a focus for local development and improvement of services…

By…

• Compiling a community survey and developing a community action plan
• Developing child-care initiatives
• Promoting educational programmes
• Exploring community transport initiatives
• Promoting other tourist initiatives