Digbeth Social Economy Cluster
At the start of the year, iSE was delighted to be named one of the recipients of £50K of funding from the West Midlands Combined Authority, which was targeted at growing the region’s Social Economy.
The goal is to co-develop a plan for investment in the local social economy. To do this, we will:
Map the existing social economy landscape to identify key social enterprises and other organisations already operating in Digbeth.
Identify the needs and opportunities for a cluster. This will involve conducting surveys, interviews, and focus groups with corporate businesses, social enterprises, residents, community groups and other stakeholders.
Develop a vision and strategy for the cluster and define what the cluster should achieve.
Engage with stakeholders. This has already started and will include reaching out to social enterprises, businesses, government agencies, and community groups. This will help build support for the cluster and ensure that it is meeting stakeholders' needs.
Develop a plan for action, setting out specific steps to achieve the vision and strategy for the cluster. The plan will include timelines and budgets.
The most important element of this is stakeholder engagement – this will only be truly successful and sustainable if it is a joint endeavour built and nurtured by all of us.
If your organisation operates in the Social Economy, either as a Social Enterprise, Charity, Coop, Public Service or associated organisation within the Digbeth area then please get in touch.
As part of the programme we will also be organising the Social Economy Drive & Awards a week long campagin of events to celebrate and promote the Social Economy.
Kasim Choudhry at iSE is leading this project and can be contacted at kasim.choudhry@i-se.co.uk
