Social Economy Growth Programme: an evaluation

The pilot Social Economy Growth Programme (SEGP) aimed to strengthen the existing social economy and act as a as a transitional ‘year’ of support to help Scottish Enterprise Glasgow (SEG) move closer to mainstreaming support services for the social economy. The evaluation aimed to assess: the inputs which have been delivered; how the pilot has been delivered, including the effectiveness of partnership working; and its potential outcomes.

The methodology consisted of: the collation and analysis of monitoring information; interviews with a small sample of the assisted organisations to generate a series of case studies; and interviews with the partner organisations and the members of the SEGP’s management group.

Finds SEGP delivered a creditable performance against its targets. Shows that in the majority of the case studies, SEGP achieved the anticipated outputs and impacts and had a positive impact on the organisations. Suggests that SEGP supplied additional resources and delivered at a pace suiting the organisation. Considers that the pilot gave Community Enterprise in Strathclyde (CEiS) and the local economic development companies (LEDCs) a good opportunity to work together. Highlights that the monitoring framework could be improved because there are gaps in the information collated and the monitoring information is insufficiently standardised.

Shows there is a need to clarify the programme goals, review the eligibility criteria, and agree future programme inputs. Considers that SEG needs to debate the nature of the delivery infrastructure of business development services, and re-examine the assumption that localised delivery is important. Recommends that CEiS and the LEDCs tender for the SEGP at the next round, but source additional funds in order to build customised supports onto the standard Business Gateway service and deliver support services to social economy organisations below the Business Gateway thresholds.