GMCA845 Greater Manchester UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Support for the Social Economy

a lead provider to develop and manage a Greater Manchester ‘Inclusive Ownership Platform’, an online Platform which will be supported by a small core team of staff. The overarching aim of this will be to support community wealth building in the city region by facilitating the growth of locally owned and socially minded organisations with models of enterprise ownership that enable the wealth created by users, workers, and local communities to be retained, rather than flowing out as profits to shareholders.

The online platform will act as a hub for resources and information for inclusively owned organisations, to enable those organisations to connect with each other and to access a triage service provided by team members to signpost them to support across the region. The core team of staff will also ensure that the Platform is connected with the support programmes available to GM social economy organisations, is known about and well used by the social economy and is kept relevant.

There are already elements of a business support ‘ecosystem’ available for organisations in the social economy throughout GM, operating at differing levels geographically, contextually and within specific demographics.

This ecosystem includes:

• Large scale, ‘Mainstream’ business support providers – including the Business Growth Hub and Chamber of Commerce, business support activities funded by local authorities.
• Independent local business centres and hubs
• Social economy organisations offering support to their peers – either paid for or pro bono.
• Funded programmes to support the social economy – e.g., Proper Good
• VCSE infrastructure bodies providing business support.
• Universities and business schools
• Providers of entrepreneurship support to individuals
• Independent / self-employed business advisers
• Informal networks of social economy organisations
• Governance or issue specific support bodies – e.g., Co-operatives UK, Employee Ownership Association, Social Enterprise UK, Social Value UK, Social Audit Network

However, the co-design exercise for a GM ‘Community Wealth Hub’ and evidence drawn together for the GM Social Enterprise Action Group has highlighted that there is a need to draw together a bespoke offer of support which is more easily accessible to and appropriate for social economy organisations, and which plugs gaps in current provision.