news
How could social entrepreneurship make your Big Local Area even better?
How could social entrepreneurship make your Big Local Area even better?
Written by
UnLtd employee
UnLtd position
How could social entrepreneurship make your Big Local Area even better?
Written by
UnLtd employee
UnLtd position
We're opening the next round of recruitment for Star People intensive areas. We're looking to work with a new set of Big Local Partnerships who have ambitions to embed a culture of social entrepreneurship in their area.
Delivered in partnership with Local Trust, our Star People programme supports social entrepreneurs in every Big Local area to try out, create and build ventures that bring social benefit locally.
Star People works with social entrepreneurs like Sue Williamson who founded Tang Hall SMART to fill a void in her community after the local school closed. Using her experience as a teacher and skills as a musician, she gives vulnerable groups the chance to be involved in a community, enjoy themselves and participate in music. As her venture has grown she has begun to offer employment to other local people.
We believe that local people are best placed to create solutions to issues in their communities and make their area even better. We think that social entrepreneurship allows these people to realise their ambitions in a sustainable way.
We are looking to work with Big Local areas who share our belief in the power of social entrepreneurship and want to create the conditions to help social entrepreneurship thrive.
Each year we select up to 15 Big Local areas to work in intensively -Â utilising the energy and enthusiasm of the Big Local partnership to create a culture of social entrepreneurship in the area. We take a different approach in each area, driven by the opportunities locally.
Together we might decide to look at how we can embed social entrepreneurship into schools, build networks for community entrepreneurs or look to influence local grant funders.
In Clubmoor we worked with the local partnership to set up an award process for local people to apply for funding. The funding was modelled on UnLtd's approach to funding - working with and building people's aspirations to make their area even better.
Our work in Dover took time to really get going, some potential opportunities didn't work out. Our Award Manager reassessed their approaches and decided to work with the energy of existing social entrepreneurs in the area. We created a peer support group with the aim of creating a cohesive group of people doing good, before looking to widen the network. The group has since taken over a disused shop together and are considering plans to create a co-operative.
We are looking for Big Local partnerships that have a real ambition to support social entrepreneurs in their area. We're looking for applications from any Big Local area that feels that they have the desire and commitment to create a culture that backs people's ideas to tackle local issues. We will work in the area until March 2017 to identify and respond to opportunities that will help create a culture of social entrepreneurship alongside the local partnership. Apply to be an intensive area