SVA has been pioneering work in Australia over the past five years to support the development of social enterprises. With an increasing focus on social enterprise from government, the commercial sector and the non-profit sector, SVA’s work is targeted at developing the sector in Australia.
Social enterprises provide a range of solutions to deeply entrenched social or environmental issues, ranging from new approaches to delivering public services, to financial inclusion, to child care, to community recycling, etc.
At SVA, our focus is on developing social enterprises that create employment for people excluded from the labour market. This can include people with disabilities, people experiencing mental illness, Indigenous Australians, ex-offenders, homeless people, refugees or migrants.
We aim to support the development of social enterprises that are based around creating real work for real pay either as a transition to the open labour market or as an alternative labour market for those people who need a supporting working environment.
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What is Social Enterprise?
Social enterprises are businesses that trade for a social purpose. There are numerous definitions of social enterprise throughout the world and is it a much contested term.
We believe social enterprises have the following characteristics:
- explicit social aims
- commercial orientation
- social ownership
- social accountability
- socially entrepreneurial drive
- use of profits for community benefit
- socially inclusive values base
What work does SVA do in social enterprise?
SVA works on a number of different projects to support social enterprise development in Australia.
Current Social Enterprise Projects
Our current work includes the following projects:
- Social Enterprise Hubs – place based support services for social enterprises in Queensland and the ACT.
- Yarnteen – a partnership to support the development of Indigenous social enterprise.
- Youth Enterprises Partnership Project – a project to support social enterprises in Brisbane and Townsville that have a particular focus on employing young people who have recently entered the youth justice system or are homeless.
- Queensland Social Enterprise Partnership – a partnership designed to continue and expand SVA’s work supporting social enterprises in Queensland that are creating employment opportunities for people who are excluded from the labour market.
SVA would like to thank the Westpac Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers Foundation for providing pro bono and mentoring support for the social enterprise projects.
SVA Consulting and Social Return on Investment (SROI)
SVA Consulting provides consultancy services on a ‘fee-for-service’ basis to assist organisations start up social enterprises. This can include market analysis, feasibility studies, developing business cases, business planning and business development, including developing proposals for investment.
SVA Consulting also carries out Social Return on Investment (SROI) for social enterprises. SROI enables social enterprises to communicate their social value in terms which are compelling for investors and provides an ongoing measure of the effectiveness and efficiency of their work. SVA Consulting assists clients to assess whether SROI is an approach which is appropriate for them and to guide them through the analysis.
The SROI tool was first developed ten years ago by the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund (REDF) in the US and is now widely used across the US, UK and Europe. SVA has been working with the tool and key overseas SROI practitioners for over six years, customising it to the Australian context. Our work in this area has been published internationally – a reflection of our commitment to ensuring Australia has access to the best tools available for measuring and demonstrating impact.
Find out more by contacting Olivia Hilton or Duncan Peppercorn.
Find out more
Have a question about SVA’s work in Social Enterprise? Check out the Frequently Asked Questions here.
Want to talk to someone?
Contact Kevin Robbie at krobbie@socialventures.com.au or phone 02 8004 6719.