Ignite Northern Ireland: Supporting social entrepreneurs in later life

Transcription

1 Ignite Northern Ireland: Supporting social entrepreneurs in later life Final evaluation report Authored by Hannah McDowall with Data collected by Tommy Stewart September 2013 Page 0

2 1.0 Contents 2.0 Executive summary About this programme The need for older social entrepreneurship in an ageing population Overview of programme activities This evaluation report Who we supported Geographical distribution of Award Winners Award Winners by age and by gender The social and economic impact of ventures The types of social impact created The depth of social impact created Economic impacts of social ventures Added value Longevity of ventures Summary: social and economic impacts of venture The impact of becoming a social entrepreneur on Award Winners Offering older people the opportunity to start a social venture Age Discrimination What opportunities do older people valuable? Building resilience to later life transitions The support needs of older social entrepreneurs Summary of the benefits of social entrepreneurship in later life Sharing the learning Developing the ecosystem of support for older social entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland Success at the UK policy level Conclusions and recommendations Conclusions Recommendations Page 1

3 2.0 Executive summary The Ignite programme ran for three years ( ) in Northern Ireland and supported 121 people of 50+ years to start-up and grow their own social ventures. It has been successful in offering valued support, understanding the role that later life social entrepreneurship can take in society and in the lives of those that undertake it, and, with sharing this learning more widely. Who we supported 115 people of 50+ were supported with an Ignite Award, which gave each of them approximately 2000 and access to advice from a Development Manager to pilot a social venture for approximately one year. In addition, six people of 50+ were supported with a Development Award which provided a 15,000 stipend and advice from a Development Manager to grow their small but established social venture. Awards were made across the country with more in Belfast than elsewhere mirroring the population distribution. The majority of those awarded were between 50 and 60 years of age, a stage of life in which most people are active and well but looking towards retirement. The social and economic impact of ventures run by later life Award Winners Award Winners created ventures with diverse beneficiary groups, and diverse approaches to creating social good. These were distinctive in their tendency to include and target older people as beneficiaries. Despite the freedom of Award Winners to choose any target group they wished, >50% designed their venture to include and/or support older people, this is more than double the rate for ventures designed by UnLtd Award Winners from younger groups. This indicates that supporting older social entrepreneurs will necessarily increase the provision of support for older people in the communities in which their ventures operate. Social and economic impact of Social and Economic Impact of Ventures ventures supported by Ignite Awards supported by Development Awards 38 people receiving significant benefits per 347 people receiving significant benefits per venture venture 659 people experiencing smaller Data unavailable for smaller improvements improvements per venture Mean average annual income of 7,300 Mean Average annual income of 250,265 But many chose not run on volunteered resources 0.11 Full time jobs created per venture 4 Full time Jobs created per venture 0.30 part time jobs created per venture 5.75 part time jobs created per venture 10% of ventures helped people into new jobs 100% of ventures helped people into new jobs 51% of ventures engaged volunteer help. Of 100% of ventures engaged volunteer help, working these, each worked with average of 16.9 with on average 205 volunteers per venture volunteers 19% of ventures provided training of these each trained on average 29 people All ventures provided training, in total 820 were trained with one venture accounting for 600 of these 84% of ventures supported continue to run after UnLtd support has finished of these >60% anticipate their ventures to run for more than 5years into the future. Summary table of social and economic benefits of ventures separated by Award type. Values taken from final year survey data which included 69 responses from Ignite Award Winners and 4 responses from Development Award Winners. Social ventures run by Ignite and Development Award Winners are achieving considerable social impact. The economic impact depends on whether the model used is one which relies Page 2

4 primarily on free resources (volunteer labour, donated materials and venues) or whether it adopts a more commercial model. Both are sustainable if the venture can break even, which in the majority of cases they do. The volunteer-resourced approach is made sustainable because the entrepreneur is not reliant on the venture for their personal income. Ventures run by people of 50+ offer a productive and efficient means of delivering positive change in communities. The Impact of becoming a social entrepreneur on people of 50+ People of 50+ were reticent about applying for an Award to start or grow a social venture. It would appear that age discrimination within our culture at large and within the social economy support sector has some role to play in this. They were primarily motivated by the opportunity to do something they were passionate about which would give new connections and enable them to learn new skills. More than 80% already had experience of volunteering and/or forms of civic contribution. It was felt that social entrepreneurship differed from these because it offered the chance to lead. For Ignite Award Winners, about half spent <10 hours a week and a third from hours a week on their venture, the remaining fifth spent >25 hours. Development Award Winners were supported to work on their venture full time. 50% of Award Winners said that earning from their venture was not important to them, and slight more, 57%, were not earning. Most of those that were earning earned less than 50% in this way, and those that weren t earning but wished to, hope to earn some or most, rather than all their income from their venture. Development Award Winners earned most or all their income from the venture. The concept of personal resilience which describes an individuals ability to cope with major life changes is increasingly being used to understand how to support people to manage the emotional, economic and physical effects of the major changes which occur in later life. We used this concept to broad-brush-measure the benefits of becoming a later life social entrepreneur. We found that Award Winners strongly identified the experience of running their venture with increased capacity to handle adversity, maintain health and well-being, manage changing financial status, remain autonomous and manage major life changes. In addition they strongly identified with increased capacity in social capital indicators including: increased confidence, feeling more able to create social change, improved professional networks and gaining positive new learning. Together these personal benefits point to the role of social entrepreneurship in supporting the development of resilience in later life which may enable people to live active happy and autonomous lives for longer. The support offered by UnLtd was greatly valued by all Award Winners who emphasised its importance in developing their confidence and skills. They especially valued opportunities to network with and support one another and felt that greater access to volunteer mentors would have helped them yet further. Sharing the learning The Ignite programme is the first to produce published learning about later life social entrepreneurship on a significant scale. UnLtd has worked to keep the age and social economy sectors informed of these findings as they emerge and to give plentiful opportunities for Award Winners to showcase their work. We have also produced tools and publications to Page 3

5 support practitioners and policy makers to consider enabling later life people to shape the own opportunities and support structures as they age. Conclusions and recommendations Later life social entrepreneurs supported by the Ignite programme have a great deal to offer society and the economy. The ventures they run are often sustained on an almost cash-less basis delivered by volunteers, but these are creating considerable social value and show every sign of running for more than five years after support ends. Others run their venture on a more commercial basis, taking a partial income from the work and in some instances employing someone full or part time to support. Fewer still wish to expand their venture and grow it commercially, but those were supported to do so have made great strides towards this goal. Supporting more people to start and grow social ventures in later life will realises the potential of an ageing society to create considerable social change whilst enhancing the life experience of those that lead them. By doing so older people will disproportionally benefit as social entrepreneurs of 50+ are sensitive to older peoples needs when designing and delivering their social ventures. Page 4

6 3.0 About this programme 3.1 The need for older social entrepreneurship in an ageing population There has been much public discussion about the ageing nature of the United Kingdom s population. This has been supported by a wide range of government and census data. The 2011 census for England and Wales shows found 34.8% of people to be aged with 18.2% of these being aged In Northern Ireland, where the Ignite programme was delivered, 31.8% are aged 50+ with 15.2% being aged The ageing pattern is set to accelerate. By 2020 the Office for National Statistics (ONS) predicts that people over 50 will make up almost one-third (32%) of the workforce and almost half (47%) the adult population. 2 The pressure that these changes put on the public purse is at the forefront of discussions about how to meet the needs of the UK population with fears that growing care and pension costs cannot be met by a shrinking proportion of people in the economically productive (preretirement) stage of life. There is a strong need then for innovations which increase our nation s capacity to support older people and extend the time during which they can live active and happy lives at home. We also need innovations which enable older people to earn beyond retirement if they need to. Later Life social entrepreneurship appears to offer just such an innovation. It recognises the potential and not just the threat of population ageing, making the most of the experience and skills of people who are older and active. Prior to the launch of the Ignite programme UnLtd observed that later life social entrepreneurs were underrepresented amongst its Award Winners. As well as wishing to challenge assumptions about the potential of the older people to find solutions to social problems, we also wished to challenge ourselves to learn how to attract and support later life people better. Later life people are major contributors to volunteering 3 so are clearly motivated to contribute to positive social change; their absence from the social entrepreneurship scene was puzzling and so as well as understanding the impact that social ventures lead by older people create, this report has also sought to consider the value of older persons engaging in social ventures as a distinct form of social contribution amongst other forms. In light of the looming challenges and opportunity of an ageing population UnLtd has received great interest from the age sector in the role and potential of older social entrepreneurship, potential to achieve social good for communities impacted by social ventures, as well as the good experienced by the Award Winners themselves as they actively contribute to society and the economy on their own terms. The learning from the programme evaluation has been designed to capture the following three characteristics of later life social entrepremruship: 1. Understanding the impact both economic and social, that social ventures run by people of 50+ create. At a time when the public discourse has focused on the spiralling costs of an ageing population (pensions, care and health) theses measures offer the counter-side; the social and economic contribution of older people. 2. Understanding the model/s of social entrepreneurship later life people value and why: This includes analysis of the motivations to and rewards of becoming a social 1 Derived from For e.g. WRVS (2012) The Impact of Volunteering on Well-being in Later Life, Volanteurope (2012) Active ageing and solidarity between the generations: the contribution of volunteering and civic engagement in Europe, RVS (2013) Involving older age: the route to 21st century well-being, Volunteering in the Third age (2009) The indispensable backbone of voluntary action: measuring and valuing the contribution of older volunteers Page 5

7 entrepreneur in later life and the different roles it can play in the lives of later life people. It also includes understand how becoming a social entrepreneur at 50+ affects later life risk factors, especially those associated with earlier later life when people are still active. Those which are of most relevance to a social entrepreneurship opportunity include: loneliness and isolation arising from major life transitions such as bereavement or becoming a carer, a sense of loss of purpose which can result from retirement or unemployment and can result in depression, financial insecurity from unemployment or retirement. 3. Understanding the support needs of later life people and if these differ to people who are younger. Later life people are underrepresented amongst those that apply for UnLtd support under our open programme suggesting that either the model of support we offer is not attractive, that our outreach is not effective or that older people do not wish to be social entrepreneurs. The latter seems unlikely given the high rates of volunteering activity in this age group Page 6

8 3.2 Overview of programme activities The Ignite programme ran from April 2010 to March 2013, and was funded primarily by the Atlantic Philanthropies. It supported 121 people over the age of 50 in Northern Ireland to start up or scale a social venture. This was achieved through giving Awards which provide financial and dedicated development support as well as networking opportunities to Award Winners over the course of approximately one year. In total, the programme granted 337,037 across the cohort of Award Winners. The nature of the support received is described in Table 1 below. In addition to Award Winner support, UnLtd has captured, published and discussed learning from the programme with policy makers and practitioners from the age and social economy sectors in Northern Ireland, the UK and internationally. To Unltd s knowledge, Ignite is the largest programme to support older social entrepreneurs globally. The programme activities delivered over the course of the three years are summarised in the table below. This details both the support activities and the knowledge sharing activities undertaken. Page 7

9 Activity/output Purpose When achieved 115 Ignite Awards made Over the course of the three year programme 115 people of 50+received an Award to start a social venture. This included one to one support from a Development Manager to advise them and up to 5000 cash for expenses for the duration of about 1 year. All Awarded by Feb Development Awards made Networking and training events Knowledge sharing Workshops with the age sector Advisory group formation and regular meetings Award Winner residential weekend Social Entrepreneur toolkit Award Winner case study brochure Award Winner learning journey Six Development Awards gave existing social entrepreneurs of 50+ the opportunity to scale their venture. Each received a 15,000 stipend enabling them to focus exclusively on venture development and one to one advice from a business development consultant with expertise in this area. Peer to peer networking enables Award Winners to collaborate, encourage one another and share skills. Training events address gaps in knowledge for project delivery and sustainability. Workshops with Award Winners, policy makers and practitioners from the age and social economy sectors to share programme learning and generate recommendations to grow and enable older social entrepreneurship. This group brought experts together from the social economy and age sectors to discuss the progress of the programme and to problem solve challenges An extended time of focused workshops and networking attended by 25 Award Winners designed to meet their training needs and priorities. Rooted was co-created with Nesta and provides a map of knowledge and support for actual and potential older social entrepreneurs to help them start and run successful ventures. The hard copy gives foundational information with additional in-depth guidance provided online. This publication Includes an overview of programme outputs and 10 Award Winner case studies. It illustrates the impact and range of older social entrepreneurship amongst the 50+ in Northern Ireland. In March 2012 twelve Award Winners traveled to London to visit social ventures and learn from their journey. Awarded in 2010, 2011 and 2012 Award Winners invited to regular UnLtd wide events and 3 additional bespoke events Six held in total three in Northern Ireland, one in the Republic of Ireland and two in London. Quarterly meetings throughout the programme October 2011 Launched November 2012 Launched March 2013 with the programme conference March 2012 Ignite conference Public conference which profiled Award Winners ventures, discussed overall programme learning and held workshops to discuss issues of high priority to Award Winners and practitioners. March 2013 Table 1 Programme activities Page 8

10 3.3 This evaluation report This report is the last of three, the first two interim reports being completed in 2011 and It provides a completed picture of programme learning drawing on findings from these two earlier reports as well as reporting new findings from data collected over summer Overall it draws on the following data sources: Data Captured in years One and Two of the programme Annual Survey 2012: In January 2012 we completed an UnLtd-wide survey collecting data about venture impact, the quality of our support offer, and the benefits of social entrepreneurship to those that receive one of our awards. 38 Award Winners from the programme completed the survey. Award Winner case studies: These were completed throughout the programme and explore the impact of ventures on the community and of the opportunity on the social entrepreneur. In total 17 case studies have been recorded. Feedback surveys from events: Following the knowledge sharing, residential and conference events Award Winners provided feedback on what they valued and suggestions for improvement. Monitoring data: UnLtd collects demographic information about Award Winners (e.g. gender, location, age etc) at the beginning of their Award. Interviews with Award Winners: Six Award Winners were interviewed in 2011 to discuss the social and economic impacts of their venture and the personal benefits they had experienced as a result of running their venture. Group interview with Award Winners: Five Award Winners were interviewed together in 2011 to talk primarily about the pre-application and application stages. Interviews with UnLtd staff: two in-depth interviews with the Lead Development Manager who plans and delivers much of the outreach and support to Award Winners were conducted in 2011 and Other development managers working on the programme and the Head of Programme were also interviewed. Data collection and analysis in the final year of the programme The Ignite programme recruited the majority of Award Winners in years two and three of the programme. This meant that the minority of Award Winners had completed their Award when the second year evaluation was undertaken. To ensure the most meaningful data was collected for this the final evaluation, it was done as close as possible to the reporting deadline between July and September The summer is not the best time to reach people in Northern Ireland as many go away to avoid the marching season, nevertheless good response rates were achieved. Final year survey: 73 of the total 121 Award Winners answered the survey (60%), these included 69 of the Ignite Award Winners and 4 Development Award Winners. This captured quantitative data about the impact of their social ventures, the motivations for and rewards of becoming a social entrepreneur, some of the barriers such as age discrimination, the wider skills and strengths gained from running a social venture which indicate increased resilience, and the value and limitations of the support received from UnLtd. Final year interviews: 10 Award Winners were interviewed individually, and two group interviews were conducted, one in Belfast and one in Ballymoney. These interviews Page 9

11 complimented the survey and dug deeper into some of the more nuanced aspects of the different roles that running a social venture can play in the lives of Award Winners, what motivates them and if and how the experience builds resilience. Data analysis: Because Ignite Award Winners were supported to pilot a social venture with a small grant of approximately 2000 each, whereas Development Award Winners were supported to grow their existing venture with a stipend of 15,000, analysis of these two groups was done separately wherever economic or social impact of the ventures is described. Where the personal impact of social entrepreneurship on the Award Winner is described, the data is not separated, as there is no reason to think that factors such as personal confidence or development of new skills should differ between Ignite and Development Award Winners. There are instances in this report where data from years one and two is referred to. Yet the vast majority of what is presented comes from the final year data and where this is not explicitly stated it can be assumed to be the source. The structure of this report The Introductory section above positions the relevance of the learning from this programme to the wider ageing society debates. It also highlights the current underrepresentation of later life people amongst those applying for Awards at UnLtd. The idea for this programme partially arose out of that observed under-representation with the intension of understanding how best to support people in later life to become social entrepreneurs. This is reflected in the overall aim of the programme: To reach out and unleash the entrepreneurial talent of older people in Northern Ireland in creating sustainable solutions to social issues, including those arising from a society that is living longer. This report is written to address this overall aim but also to speak directly to ageing society debates concerning how later life social entrepreneurship interacts with threats and opportunities of an ageing society. It also addresses the social economy support sector regarding how to include later life social entrepreneurs and release their potential to make meaningful social and economic contributions to both their own lives and the lives of others in their communities. To these ends the remainder of the report is divided into the following sections: 4.0 Who we supported: describes the geographical, age and gender distribution of Awarding 5.0 The social and economic impact of ventures: gives findings about the breadth and depth of social and economic benefits created by Ignite and Development Award Winners supported by the programme. 6.0 The impact of becoming a social entrepreneur on Award Winners: This describes barriers to later life social entrepreneurship, motivations for and rewards from becoming a social entrepreneur and the roles that social entrepreneurship plays in contributing to earnings and in developing the resilience of later life people. This section also looks at the support needs and priorities of Award Winners. 7.0 Sharing the learning: describes UnLtds work to influence both practice and policy to increase support of later life social entrepreneurs. 8.0 Conclusions and recommendations: draws together the findings and offers recommendations about how this work can be carried into practice and policy work in the future. Page 10

12 4.0 Who we supported The programme was designed to make Awards on a rolling basis, taking new Award Winners on over the course of the three years rather than allocating awards at set times on a cohort basis. The majority of the awards were made in the second and third years of the programme (explained in more depth in section 6.1 below). 4.1 Geographical distribution of Award Winners The following map shows the distribution of Award Winners. Overall a good geographical spread of awarding was achieved. As expected, due to the high population density, the majority of awards were made in the Belfast area. Some clustering can also been seen in other places; Port Stewart, Colerain, Newry and Armagh, which does not seem to relate to population density so strongly. As section 8 outlines, outreach proved to be challenging and many of the later Award Winners were referrals from earlier ones which partly explains the clustering, together with some of our strongest promoting partners being located in these areas. Page 11

13 4.2 Award Winners by age and by gender Age Range of Award Winners at application Gender Over 80 Under 4 50 Total Female (51%) Male (49%) Total (% of total) 41 (33.9%) 34 (28.1%) 21 (17.4%) 10 (8.3%) 8 (6.6%) 1 (0.8%) 1 (0.8%) 5 (4.1%) 121 (100%) Table 2 Award Winners by age and gender Table 2 above shows that men and women responded to the opportunity to start a social venture in about equal measure. This is encouraging as men are often thought to be isolated from social opportunities once they stop working. This distribution shows that both men and women of 50+ years have a desire to bring about positive change in their communities. The gendered analysis also suggests a different pattern of awarding by age. There is a clear decrease in female Award Winners with increasing age, with those in their 50s about 2.5 times more likely to become social entrepreneurs than those of 60 and over. For men the spread is more even, those in their 50s are only about 1.6 times more likely to become social entrepreneurs than those of 60 and over. We have no explanation for this but it is worth flagging as an area for future research. It is possible that a larger number of women have increased caring responsibilities over the age of 60 which prevents them from taking on the responsibility of a social venture. 4 There were a handful of Award Winners who were just a few months short of 50 years when applying that were awarded because they would be 50 once the Award had been allocated. Page 12

14 5.0 The social and economic impact of ventures 5.1 The types of social impact created Winners were free to choose the social issue their venture addressed and how. Each social venture was different reflecting the passions of the social entrepreneur. The table below categorises each of the ventures by the main theme of the venture activities. Social aim / beneficiary / theme Number of ventures No. Addressing issues of an ageing society Health and social care 26 9 Community cohesion/peace building 11 4 Unemployment 4 1 Isolation of older people Education 19 6 Social history 9 5 Sports 6 2 Environment 3 0 Community arts Other 3 1 Total: Table 3 Analysis of venture topic and explicit intension to include older beneficiaries based on analysis of written descriptions of all ventures Ventures that target older people as beneficiaries Award Winners were not required to target older people as beneficiaries but many chose to, as the column to the right of the table shows. Overall, 47% of Ignite ventures targeted older beneficiaries, approximately twice as much as the proportion targeting older people observed amongst younger Award Winners supported by UnLtd 5. This analysis is based on written descriptions of each venture made at the beginning of their project, but in our end of programme survey we also asked whether the venture was designed to include and support people of /56 respondents (80%) answered positively suggesting that our analysis of venture descriptions has underestimated the number explicitly designed to include and support older people. Together this evidence strongly demonstrates that supporting people of 50+ to start up and scale up social ventures brings an increased capacity to meet the needs of older people in the community more generally. Award Winners proved additional details to that given in table 3 above concerning the different ways in which social ventures have benefitted those aged 50+ aged these include: Signposting and information sharing; Providing volunteering opportunities; 5 This comparison is taken from annual survey data 2012 from those responding who were between the ages of 16 and 49. Page 13

15 Offering personal care services; Health promotion activities; Empowering through educational courses; Empowering people to become role models; Developing intergenerational work; Releasing emotions through creative writing, storytelling and reminiscence; Increasing confidence; Addressing loneliness and depression; Engaging prisoners, ex-prisoners, youth at risk, older people, carers, families of children living with disabilities and the wider community; Engaging unemployed men who have been isolated within society; Raising mental health awareness and providing easy to access counselling services; Easing social exclusion; Helping to reduce crime and fear of crime. 5.2 The depth of social impact created The depth of impact achieved by each social venture was also variable. Some targeted a small number of people, providing them with a high level of support over an extended period, others targeted many more but with a lighter touch offer for a shorter duration. These differences are best illustrated through case studies, 10 of which were published in the Ignite Case Study Brochure and a further seven of which were produced for research purposes. For illustration, two are presented here. They demonstrate how a product such as Pat s book might impact a good number of people, whereas Teresa s intensive work provides an alternative educational approach to a small number of school children who might otherwise fail. Impact case study 1: Pat McKeever Game 4 a Game, Belfast Pat received his Ignite Award in February He has worked in the community and voluntary sector with young, old and disabled people for 40 years. During that time he s seen the many benefits that playing group games bring to people of all backgrounds and abilities. These include improved physical fitness, new friendships and a sense of fun and achievement. But it was the increasing time spent by people sedentary in front of computer and TV screens especially since the growth of social media - that prompted Pat to produce a book of games which he has called Game 4 A Game. Over the course of a year Pat has build on his existing knowledge of outdoor games by researching more and making adaptations so they are accessible to all, especially those with disabilities. He has trialled the games with different community groups and consulted customers such as schools, youth groups and older people s groups to check the resource is attractive and useful. Pat has worked with a cartoonist and designer on the presentation of the final product. Page 14

16 Impact case study 2: Teresa McNamee Teresa is Head Teacher of a girls secondary school and has established an alternative learning space for a group of 14 low achieving students. The teaching approach is very different as the young people are encouraged to lead on the content of their work and seek assistance and guidance from the teacher who plays a facilitation role. The project has a strong emphasis on encouraging the students to learn through involvement in social action projects. At the end of the two years they will gain a GCSE equivalency grade. Teresa reports that the quality of the work produced in this context has improved greatly (verified by external monitoring), that the students are more responsible and mature than before, learning to be sensitive to the needs of others both within the group and outside of school. They have higher attendance on days where they are in this space and have improved their fitness through organising sponsored activities to raise money. The following quote describes just one of the outcomes of the project: One example of a change I have seen in them is that they are sensitive to one another and take group responsibility for each other s levels of participation, if one of the student is sitting back and not participating the others will prompt her to pitch in Teresa McNamee Award Winner interview May 2011 Direct and indirect beneficiaries Of ventures supported by Ignite Awards Of the 69 survey Ignite Award Winner respondents 53 entered data about the total number of people their venture had directly benefitted. These figured ranged from 0 to 10,000. The average number of direct beneficiaries for the 53 respondents was 667, but when the highest three figures are removed (which accounted for 26,000 beneficiaries) a more representative average of 187 beneficiaries per venture is observed (including those who have benefitted greatly and those who have benefitted a little). In order to un-pick the nature of these benefits a little further we asked Award Winners to identify the number who experiences significant change in their lives as a result of the venture and those that experienced small improvements: Significant benefits: 38 per venture (mean average based on 43 Ignite Award Winners that entered figures, one datum, an extreme outlier of 2000, was omitted from the calculation) Smaller improvements: 659 per venture (mean average based on 48 responses from Ignite Award Winners) Of ventures supported by Development Awards The average number of beneficiaries for the four Development Award Winner respondents was per venture, of which 347 people per venture gained significant benefits. Only partial data was entered concerning those with smaller improvements and so this figure has been left out of the analysis. Page 15

17 5.3 Economic impacts of social ventures Annual Income and profitability over the last 12 months The end of programme survey asked the total venture income for the last 12 months (including their Award). Because of the difference between both the financial award and developmental stage of ventures supported by Ignite and Development Awards their impacts have been analysed separately here. Ventures support by Ignite Awards: annual income and profitability The following table shows the distribution of income across the 69 respondents. Annual Income for ventures supported by Ignite Awards (counts) 0-1,000 1,001-5,000 5,001-10,000 > 10,000 No response Table 4 distribution of income across Ignite Award-supported ventures The mean income for Ignite Award Winners who entered either a 0 or a value into the survey (total of 45) was 7,300. Of these ventures 11 reported having made a profit, 4 made a loss and 10 broke even. The remaining 44 who answered the survey either said they did not know, it was not applicable, or left the field blank. These findings are encouraging, indicating that many are generating an income to undertake and continue their venture activity and that they are breaking even and making surplices. And yet, this data must be qualified, many also chose not to enter data about the economic activity of their venture, if we assume that they earned nothing then the mean figure drops to 4761 over the last 12 months. Ventures supported by Development Awards: annual income and profitability Four of the six development Award Winners provided information concerning their annual income. The mean annual income (including their award) was 250,265. Two of the four reported a profit, one a loss and the third broke even. Number of employees We measured the amount of employment created by social ventures through questions on the end of programme survey. Ventures supported by Ignite Awards: full and part time employment Mean values for employment rates were calculated and revealed that 0.11 Full time jobs and 0.30 part time jobs were created per ignite venture. Ventures supported by Development Award: full and part time employment Mean values were calculated and revealed that each development award supported venture created 4 full time and 5.75 part time jobs Numbers helped into employment Some ventures achieve social impact by helping others into employment. 7/69 Ignite Award Winner survey respondents had helped someone to find a job, for these 7 an average of 3.3 people were helped per venture. All 4 of the development Award Winner survey respondents reported helping others into jobs, on average they helped 6 people each. Page 16

18 Number of volunteers 37/69 Ignite Award Winner survey respondents had engaged volunteers to help them with their venture. Of these 37 each venture worked with an average of 16.9 volunteers. About half of these worked with 10 or less, a good number worked with between 11 and 30 and a few worked with a couple of hundred. All four of the Development Award Winner survey respondents worked with volunteers, these ranged from 6 to 600, the average being 205 per venture. Numbers receiving training 13/69 Ignite Award Winners responding to the survey had trained someone as part of their venture activities. Of these 13 ventures each had on average trained 29.2 people over the last 12 months. All four of the Development award winner respondents to the survey had provided training to people over the last 12 months. In total they had trained 820 people with one venture being responsible for 600 of these and the other three training considerably fewer. 5.4 Added value Significant numbers of social ventures supported by the Ignite programme have created added benefit through: Encouraging someone to apply for an award (70.2%) Supporting someone to set up a social venture (50.4%) Raising funds or other resources to support other social entrepreneurs (28.1%) Taking part in other activities to encourage social entrepreneurship (56.1%) From this we can derive that the benefits of supporting a social entrepreneur go beyond the actual social venture they create; they encourage social entrepreneurship to flourish within their communities more widely. 5.5 Longevity of ventures Both Ignite and Development Award Winners response to the end of programme survey suggest that both anticipated success of the venture and commitment of the entrepreneur to sustain the work is high with 62% anticipating their venture to run for more than 5 years, and most of them anticipating it to last more than 10 years. Expected longevity of venture into the future Response Percentage 1-2 years 16.0% 2-5 years 22.0% 5-10 years 16.0% 10+ years 46.0% Table 5 Expected longevity of ventures This tends to suggest that investment in supporting the social ventures being developed by those aged 50+ is likely to have continued direct and indirect returns for many years after the initial investment has been made, although some will have focused short to medium term outcomes. The majority of Award Winners surveyed also believed that their venture would be quite profitable in the future (20/29). Page 17

19 Reasons that social ventures come to an end 84% of survey respondents (N=73) were still running their social venture following the end of their UnLtd support. But 12/73 had finished their venture. The most common reason given for this was that the venture had achieved its aims. This high continuation rate looked at in combination with the commitment and expected profitability described in section above suggests that investment in social venture support for 1 year will continue to give social and economic benefits far beyond the lifetime of the support. 5.6 Summary: social and economic impacts of venture Section five has described the types and the extent of the social and economic impacts achieved through both Ignite and Development Awards made on the programme. From this we know that: Award Winners ran ventures which address a great range of social and economic impacts and that they are more likely than those of younger ages to plan ventures which directly include or support older people. Ventures created positive change in a great number of people s lives with each Ignite venture achieved significant changes in the lives of 38 beneficiaries on average over the last 12 months, and smaller improvements in the lives of 659. Whilst Development ventures, created significant benefits to 347 people on average per venture over the last 12 months. Economic outputs of the supported ventures over the last 12 months was also considerable. Each Ignite venture earning on average 7,300 created 0.11 full time jobs and 0.3 part time jobs, about half the ventures leverages additional volunteer help, and some found jobs for others and offered training, most also encouraged and supported social entrepreneurship in others. Development ventures earned on average 250,265 each, created 4 full and 5.75 part time jobs, helped a further 6 people into jobs and recruited 205 volunteers. Sustainability of the ventures was also high with 84% of survey respondents still running their venture following the end of their support from UnLtd and the majority expecting their venture to last for more than 5 years from now. These findings indicate that the approx 2000 investment per Ignite and investment per development Award returns economic and social benefits far beyond the initial investment, with the promise of sustained impact over the coming years. Through supporting older people themselves to become social entrepreneurs the probability of supporting social innovation which is designed to be inclusive of older people also increases. Page 18

20 6.0 The impact of becoming a social entrepreneur on Award Winners 6.1 Offering older people the opportunity to start a social venture In the first reporting year of the programme (April 2010 June 2011) only 26 Awards were made, significantly below our target. People in the 50+ age group proved more hesitant of applying for an award than our experience of younger age groups, despite numerous outreach activities to promote the awards scheme (more details below). In the second reporting year (June 2011 June 2012) considerable additional outreach was conducted and 70 Awards were made, bringing the programme back on target. Analysis of 11 methods of outreach used, and the perspectives of Award Winners and UnLtd staff suggest a number of barriers to uptake. Previous experience of UnLtd awards programmes aimed at new target groups suggests that uptake is often slow initially, but picks up as knowledge of the opportunity circulates. However, experienced Development Managers also working on programmes with different target groups felt that older people need additional reassurance and encouragement at the pre-application stage, observing that until a trusting relationship is established where they can ask all their questions they are unlikely to submit an application. This observation is supported by the different outcomes of two awards competitions promoted by the Southern Health Trust. One was aimed at young people and one at people aged 50+, they used similar approaches and were aimed at appropriate demographic groups. The competition for young people generated 15 applications, while the one for older people just six. Using established networks of age sector organisations to promote the awards also proved disappointing. The lead Development manager found the age sector to be fragmented and therefore did not offer an efficient means of promotion as different groups had to be approached separately. She also reflected that many potential social entrepreneurs were familiar with group-led community projects rather than an individual-led; this new approach sometimes provoked a fear of appearing to have ideas above their station. when you talk at a group it is more often the organiser of the group who is interested in an award rather than the members, they generally say they just want to stay in a group rather than lead something on their own (Lead Development Manager June 2011) In group interviews some Award Winners described feeling that age discrimination had nocked their confidence and that society looked to young people for social innovation and leadership. This was followed up in the end of programme survey to see if it was a prevalent view. 6.2 Age Discrimination Early discussions with Award Winners about why people of 50+ might be reticent about coming forward for an award suggested that age discrimination might play a role. To test this, questions were asked in the end of programme survey, including both set answers and a free text answer. The results were somewhat mixed. Table 6 below shows responses to the set questions which suggests some degree of age discrimination was thought to occur. However, Page 19

21 responses to the free text answer were more varied with a good number feeling that there was either no discrimination or, in some instances, that their age was an advantage. Age discrimination statements People do not encourage those of my age to be entrepreneurial People do not expect innovation to come from those aged 50+ Opportunities to get funding or support to start a social venture are often targeted at people who are younger Agreed Entirely Agree Partially Do not agree Don't Know 18.9% 29.6% 46.4% 7.2% 20.6% 31.0% 45.5% 4.1% 29.3% 44.4% 13.4% 14.9% Table 6 Perceptions of age discrimination against later life social entrepreneurs It is difficult to know the significance of these responses without comparative data for younger age groups. For example, it is possible that those under 50 would consistently say they experience no discrimination because of their age or they may return similar responses to the over 50s. Where people did perceive age discrimination they expressed it in similar ways describing experiences of being overlooked. The following two quotes illustrate responses about acces to funding: Funding of social ventures run by those aged more than 50 seems to be frowned upon, yet over 50 s have so much to offer in terms of experience and skills which might otherwise become redundant (Ignite Award Winner August 2013) I think that had I been younger there would have been more support and opportunity for funding. (Ignite Award Winner August 2013) Evidence of age discrimination is not conclusive, there appears to be some degree of this being observed and experienced but not by all. 6.3 What opportunities do older people valuable? To try and understand how to get the social entrepreneurship offer right for people of over 50 we asked a range of questions which would build a picture of the different models of social entrepreneurship people chose to pursue. We asked about the time they spent on their venture, whether they did and/or intended to earn an income from it, how the venture activity fitted into other activities in their lives, what they valued most about running their venture, the other ways in which they make social contributions, such as volunteering, and how social entrepreneurship compared. All together, answers to these questions build a picture of the way in which Award Winners are using this opportunity, what motivates them and how it fits into the rest of their lives. Page 20

22 Motivations and rewards Motivations and rewards for running a social venture Very Important Quite Important Not Important Enabling you to do something you are passionate 85.0% 15.0% 0.0% about Enabling you to earn 25.6% 23.1% 51.3% Enabling you to learn new skills or use skills in a 59.0% 30.8% 10.2% new way Enabling you to make new connections 71.1% 26.3% 2.6% Table 7 Motivations and rewards for running a social venture Table 7 above summarises survey responses. The most important motivator and reward was the opportunity to do something they felt passionate about. This indicates the role of social entrepreneurship in enabling personal fulfilment. At a time of life when working careers are coming to an end, and children are less dependant, a fresh opportunity to engage meaningfully and productively in the world is clearly of great importance. Main benefit for me was that the award allowed me to do something, for the first time, that I was really passionate about. (Ignite Award Winner July 2013) The opportunity to make new connections and to learn new skills was also important. Some Award Winners knew few or no-one leading social change when they commenced their venture. The activity of delivering the venture, as well as UnLtd support which connected Award Winners, enabled new relationships with people in their community and the programme. Of less importance was the possibility of earning from the venture, approx 50% of respondents were motivated by this. Personal earning is an aspect which will be discussed in greater detail below. Time people spend on their ventures The end of programme survey asked both what the Award Winners main activity was, and also how much time they spent on their venture per week. Of Ignite Award Winner respondents 35% identified the venture as their main activity, with the remaining identifying a range of other activities. About half of the Ignite Award Winners did their venture for <10 hrs a week, a third spent 10-25hrs a week on it and about a fifth spent >25hrs a week. Development Award Winners were explicitly supported to develop their venture full time and this was reflected in their responses. Answers to both these questions suggests that for most, running a social venture is something that they do alongside other commitments and interests. The remainder identify this as their main activity and spend considerable time in delivery their venture. Given that many (about half) do not seek an income from these activities, the value delivered to society through the unpaid leadership of these ventures is considerable. Comparing social entrepreneurship to other forms of contribution Later life people are identified as key contributors to volunteering capacity within the United Kingdom 3. An initial discussion of the difference in rates of older volunteering and older social entrepreneurship appeared in UnLtd s publication Golden Opportunities published using data gathered nearer the beginning of this programme. In our end of programme survey we looked Page 21

23 at whether Award Winners had engaged in other forms of social contribution prior to stating their venture, partly to see whether social entrepreneurship was an opportunity of interest to those already active in this space, and also, to ask how it compared with these other forms. Forms of social contribution Response count Response Percentage Board Membership % Public appointments % Mentoring % Volunteering % other % Table 8 Award Winners social contribution through forms other than social entrepreneurship Of the 44 people who answered this question 39 had engaged in volunteering prior to running their social venture. This is much higher than would be expected from the general population in Northern Ireland. However it might be an over-estimate as 29 survey respondents skipped the question, and their data was not included in the analysis. Whilst it is likely that many skipped because they tired of completing the survey (skip rates for other questions would suggest as much), some may have skipped because they have never contributed in this way, ideally we would be able to include these in the analysis. Nevertheless, the very high rates of former participation in volunteering suggests that it is those already motivated to contribute to social change that respond to opportunities to become a social entrepreneur, and supports the observation that personal fulfilment is a strong motivator. Whilst this data does not prove as much, it is possible that social entrepreneurship is one option along a trajectory of social participation and volunteering. Half of survey respondents felt that running a social venture was more rewarding than other forms of social contribution, responses mostly expressing how they valued the freedom to lead and the sense of achievement this gave them, for example: Running a social venture allows me more freedom and autonomy and draws on unfulfilled creativity (Ignite Award Winner August 2013) The other 50% felt that it was as rewarding but in different ways, many explained how social entrepreneurship and other forms of contribution complement and support each other for example: Other forms of social contribution helped me to be more able and confident when it came to starting a social venture. (Ignite Award Winner July 2013) Impact on Award Winners personal income Both the qualitative interviews and the end of programme survey responses indicate that whilst some Award Winners desire to earn an income from their social venture about as many do not. Table 9 below shows the proportion of income currently gained from the venture. We also asked Award Winners what level of personal earnings they hoped for from their venture in the future. Page 22

24 Venture contribution to income Now None 57% Some (1 50%) 25% Most (51 99%) 7% All (100%) 11% Table 9: distribution of Award Winners by rate of personal earning from venture 12/20 (60%) of those who said they didn t currently earn, aspired to earn some or most of their income from their venture in the future. This aligns with the data presented in table 7 above about motivations and rewards, in which 50% of respondents said earning was not important; a slightly lower number than the actual number not earning presented in table 9. All together this data indicates there is a small gap between the number of Ignite Award Winners that are able to earn from their venture and the number that would like to earn. Whilst not the most significant motivator, earning is clearly an important aspect for many and support should ensure that adequate attention is given to venture design and delivery that is capable of generating an income for the social entrepreneur in contexts where that is needed. 6.4 Building resilience to later life transitions When reflecting on the value of becoming a social entrepreneur in later life in the round; physical, social and economic, the concept of resilience offers a useful framework. Over the past 10 years this concept has been used for all age groups (and particularly young people) as a measure of an individual s ability to recover from a significant change in their life. The underlying assumption is that everyone experiences difficult changes during the course of their life which cause physical, emotional and economic stresses. Being well and happy isn t about eliminating such changes, that is impossible, but rather, having sufficient resilience to cope with them better when they come. Many of the most widely discussed negative effects of ageing are triggered by a large life change (often referred to as a life transition) for example, loneliness may be triggered by bereavement, retirement, divorce or children moving away. In our final survey we included questions concerning some of the top level indicators of resilience. The analysis provided here is not deep, many factors contribute to resilience which were not measured, but the data confirms that Award Winners strongly identified the venture as contributing to their own resilience: 81.6% believe running a social venture helps them to handle adversity; 70.1% believe running a social venture helps them to maintain health and well-being; 61.7% believe running a social venture helps them to manage their changing financial status; 68.8% believe running a social venture helps them to remain autonomous; 64.6 % believe running a social venture helps them to manage major later life transitions (e.g. becoming a carer, retirement, bereavement). Additionally, award winners identified that developing a social venture enabled them to build resilience as it: Helped them to re-energise; Educated them in the importance of people skills; Taught them how to deal with knock backs; Created opportunity for them to be out talking and working with people; Page 23

25 Brought perspective to their own situation as they saw the greater need of others; Showed them how to be more determined than ever; Brought alive creativity that had not been released for a long time; Released them from depression and low self-worth; Gave them a sense of achieving something that was important to them; Made them feel 'useful' and able to contribute to a wider society; Gave them confidence to speak in public and approach people; Made them more decisive. The following quotes are illustrative of what Award Winners said: Developing a social venture makes you feel 'useful' and able to contribute to a wider society. In this way it builds selfesteem and a sense of self-worth. The development of these qualities allows you to be more resilient when facing other difficulties.(ignite Award Winner Aug 2013) Being a social entrepreneur requires self-motivation, determination and patience. This builds resilience for changes that can happen as you get older. (Ignite Award Winner July 2013) Developing a social venture helped me approach the idea of retirement in a much more positive way and allowed me to develop confidence and be a free agent and do something that makes me feel good. (Ignite ward Winner August 2013) Alongside direct questions about these five resilience indicators we also asked about personal benefits which indicate increasing social capital, which also contributes to resilience. Over 80% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that as a result of their award: Their confidence had increased They felt more able to create social change Their professional contacts and networks had improved The Award was a positive learning experience Providing opportunities for people in later life to find purpose, connection and financial stability, may help to provide the foundation for improved later life happiness and reduce the risk of some of the negative affects of ageing experienced by individuals with low resilience to the shock of later life transitions. 6.5 The support needs of older social entrepreneurs The evaluations reports produced in years one and two of the programme explored in some depth the nature of the support given to Award Winners and the degree to which they valued Page 24

26 it. That detail will not be reproduced here, but an overview will be given with new evidence from the final evaluation research. One to one support from an UnLtd Development Manager Research from all three years of evaluation consistently reports that one to one support was highly valued. It was valued for general encouragement to start and to continue venture activities, for specific advice in terms of venture development and for connections to others that might offer support. The following quotes are from the final year research: We make very little money for the group as we are pensioners. We would never have got our product off the ground without the help of Unltd. Thanks to [The Lead DM] and her team who gave us encouragement and came to our shows. (Award Winner July 2013) I attended some workshops [at the Belfast UnLtd Office] that were very helpful and inspiring (Award Winner Aug 2013) The role of the Award in enabling the venture to happen and thrive Over 80% of final survey respondents said that their UnLtd Award was either important or very important in enabling their venture to progress. Reasons given ranged from the importance of the encouragement at the pre-application stage and also the money to cover expenses. The following quotes exemplify this: Support for the project which was a major factor in building my confidence and self belief (Award Winner July 2013) UnLtd has given me the opportunity and freedom to carry forward a project I have longed to do for a long time. It is wonderful to have had someone believe in my project and support me financially. (Award Winner July 2013) Thank you for the opportunity of sharing a section of my life story usefully with others, thus empowering me and many others to continue to engage usefully with others across all of society. Gradual confidence building from grass roots level rippling out to others. (Award Winner Aug 2013) I felt no one cared about what I was doing [venture activity]. UnLtd gave me a booster and made me see the importance of my work and the need to communicate this work to others (Award Winner Aug 2013) I have had nothing but positive support from UnLtd in all I have tried to do. Discussions settled some of my concerns and enabled me to keep going, when I felt that my social venture wasn't going anywhere fast. Support that enabled Page 25

27 me to buy a laptop enabled me to steam ahead, especially by not being tied to a static place. I have also made great contacts with other people as a result of being involved with UnLtd (Award Winner Sept 2013) Previous Ignite evaluation research suggested the importance of the Award in recognising and giving permission to Award Winners as individuals with potential. This was confirmed by the final programme research in which the importance of encouragement to apply and confidence building was raised in one third of free text responses about what people valued from support. Grant administration Close to 40% of survey respondents highlighted in free text responses their appreciation of the low bureaucracy and ease of Award administration. Peer to peer networking and mentoring During the course of the programme Award Winners were invited to workshops and events which had strong peer to peer learning opportunities (including the weekend residential event, the knowledge sharing workshops, training held at the UnLtd Belfast office, the rooted guide launch event, Engage conference, London learning journey and the Ignite conference). Throughout, the feedback from these events has been very positive with Award Winners rating the encouragement and support they got from other each other as the most useful and encouraging aspects of these events. In recognition of this, UnLtd facilitated a workshop at the final conference to discuss how they might sustain a network going forward. A team of three volunteered to lead the initial meetings, a group Facebook page is being set up and UnLtd has offered the group support under its new peer to peer support programmes. The most common request for support not offered through the Ignite programme concerned access to mentors; local volunteers either with general enterprise skills or very specific expertise. Unfortunately, UnLtd s capacity to meet all the requests for this type of support is limited, we can only offer volunteers where we have availability. In Northern Ireland we do not have any matching service offering this, although Award Winners do have access to UnLtd webinars on specific social enterprise-related topics. Nonetheless feedback that demonstrates the need is helpful for understanding the how best to support older social entrepreneurs in the future. Section 7 below explains that UnLtd has negotiated membership for Ignite Award Winners at a special discount rate of the newly formed Social Enterprise Northern Ireland network. It is hoped that this might offer a route into connecting with new social entrepreneurs and those willing to mentor them locally. 6.6 Summary of the benefits of social entrepreneurship in later life Together, this evidence suggests a degree of confidence and cultural barriers to encouraging older people to lead social ventures. It is not surprising that our most successful outreach approaches included those that nurtured trust and demonstrated the reality of social entrepreneurship; Award Winners themselves encouraging their friends to apply. Also successful were events which were designed for people already looking for a funding opportunity such as the Find The Funder fairs occasionally held in Belfast. Award Winners valued most the opportunity to do something they were passionate about, with less of an emphasis on earning. Earning this was important to around 50% however, and Page 26

28 whist most of these were earning to some extent, some weren t and others hoped to increase their earnings. In addition to improving financial stability the experience of running a social venture contributed to the development of skills and resources which build resilience to later life shocks. These included the confidence to be proactive and overcome barriers, increased social networks and a renewed sense of purpose. Four recommendations concerning later life social entrepreneur support practice arise from these findings: Outreach activities need to include opportunities of later life people to discuss their questions about social entrepreneurship prior to application. Support approaches should encourage those with a strong commercial motive and those with a strong personal development motive as both are important in delivering social change through ventures and building resilience of the entrepreneur. Support approaches should include peer networking and access to mentors. UnLtd should seek partners for deliver any future programmes targeted at the 50+ age group, those who already have established trusting relationships with this demographic group. Page 27

29 7.0 Sharing the learning Section 3.1 of this report outlined how demographic change brings both threats and opportunities to a society and economy. The threats have received increasing attention from policy makers as the costs of pensions, social and health care are set to spiral in the coming years 6. From the programme outset we intended to feed our learning about the opportunities of later life social entrepreneurship to address ageing issues into both practice and policy discussions within the ageing and the social economy spaces. We did not know at that time the best ways in which to do this, neither did we have relationships with those working in the age sector either on the practice side; with those practically working to deliver support to older people; or on the policy side; with those shaping ideas and resources for supporting older people in Northern Ireland. This section of the report presents the outcomes of our work trying to influence Northern Ireland and the UK more generally to see and support older social entrepreneurs. It is organised into two parts. The first discusses our work to increase support for later life social entrepreneurs through policy and practice in Northern Ireland, and the second discusses our work to influence policy at the UK level. Before either of these sections commences, the flow diagram on the following page provides an overview of how the knowledge sharing activities have built on one another over the course of the three year programme. It demonstrates how activities and publications have supported Award Winners in the practical delivery of their ventures as well as develop a voice and narrative about the importance of valuing and supporting older people s contributions in the UK as a whole. 6 House of Lords (2013) Ready For Ageing?, London: the Stationary Office Limited Page 28

30 July 2012 UnLtd in partnership with CVS sets up Age Action Alliance group on valuing the contribution of older people. This group includes UK age sector organisation eager to expand opportunities for older people to contribute. It has linked to the DWP and a source of advice for policy and practice. UnLtd joins planning group for design of national citizenship service for the retirement transition. social entrepreneurship to be promoted as opportunity at national pilots UnLtd presents at OECD conference on Anticipating the Special Needs of the 21st Century Ageing Economy. Resulting OECD remarks recognise that social enterprise is an important source of innovation and older people should shape solutions. Engage Conference (London, March 2012: Our first major showcase of social entrepreneurship for and by older people. This established our impact and voice in the age sector and attracting requests for collaboration on future work. We learned that older social entrepreneurship can build capacity for delivery of people-intensive services and provide a source of market innovation but that society and programme design still sees older people as receivers rather than leaders and providers of social good. 12 Award Winners from NI participated and were noted for their exceptional social ventures. UnLtd undergoes restructure in early 2012 as a result NI capacity is substantially reduced for business reasons and participation in policy work is curtailed. Golden Opportunities paper launch (Jan 2012) 1 st publication about older social entrepreneurship. Positive response from age sector new relationships established. Ignite final conference (Belfast Mar 2013) : our second conference to showcase Award Winner achievements. Those attending from age and social economy sectors offer venue space and other support to Award Winners. The new representative body for social enterprises in NI offers reduced membership rates to Ignite AWs. Membership offers them policy influence in long term Co-production of the Rooted guide (launched in Belfast, Glasgow and London late 2012) toolkit to support novice social entrepreneurs based on Ignite programme learning about older social entrepreneurs support needs. This is being used across the UK and internationally to support older social entrepreneurs. START HERE The Ignite knowledge sharing work evolved to communicate how older social entrepreneurship fits into the social economy and age sectors Learning from Ignite has created opportunities for development and influence which are firmly rooted in current age sector debates. In Northern Ireland the work has resulted in greater visibility of older social entrepreneurs and their inclusion in the key representative body to inform policy. In the UK more generally it has established UnLtd as a leading voice in social entrepreneurship for and by older people. Ignite Awards programme launch event (Nov 2010) Unltd has few connections in NI age sector, but 100 guests attend launch at Stormont enthusiastic to see programme outcomes Award Winner recruitment is slow delaying knowledge sharing plans Year 1 Knowledge Sharing Workshops (Jan 2011 & May 2011) Award Winners meet age sector and social economy workers to showcase ventures and collaborate to overcome barriers. Sector eager to encourage and offer 1:1 help but unsure how to integrate older social entrepreneurs into the social economy. Peer-to-peer support highly valued by Award Winners. UnLtd staff prioritise Award Winner recruitment autumn/winter 2011/2012 Presentations at CARDI conference and social economy steering group (Autumn 2011). Considerable interest and enthusiasm for Ignite in both contexts. Desire in RoI and EU to include case studies in publications but still no clear direction for prompting policy and practice change in absence of SEN Social Economy Network (SEN) closes in Aug 2011 terminating our main policy avenue Year 1 research and workshops told us social venture model preferred by older people tends to be small and local little support provision for this by social economy policy Meeting with Dept Trade and Investment and the Social Economy Network (June 2011) Discuss how to make older people s informal social ventures visible and valued within the NI social economy. DETI identify social economy network as best forum, but only formal social enterprises could be members. UnLtd negotiates membership for Ignite Award Winners even if informal

31 7.1 Developing the ecosystem of support for older social entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland In years one and two of the programme, six knowledge sharing workshops were undertaken, these can be read about in the first and second interim reports. To summarise, Award Winners valued greatly the opportunities to connect with those working within the age sector both for business opportunities and for advice. But they valued equally the opportunity to meet with one another finding each other s stories to be inspiring and encouraging and in some instances they found opportunities to collaborate with one another. Feedback from these events shows that these were universally experienced benefits. As a direct result of participation in our knowledge sharing events and final conference, policy makers and practitioners have been eager to offer support to the Award Winners they met in the form of: Free meeting space Financial services New opportunities to promote their venture at events Connections with new contacts in age sector networks that might assist More generally, policy makers and practitioners claimed to take away a fresh perspective on social entrepreneurship and the role that older people can play in leading community change, and an increased openness to offering support to active citizens of 50+. In November 2012 we launched Rooted a toolkit for older social entrepreneurs which we coproduced with Nesta and launched in partnership with Invest NI at their Belfast offices. Fig 1 Cover of the Rooted Guide More than 30 people engaged in social economy and ageing policy and practice attended the launch. Amongst others these included those working to increase participation of older people in civic life, representatives from the Department of Trade and Investment, which overseas Page 30