Social enterprise - Driving a Wellbeing Economy for Scotland: action plan 2024-2026

Priority 3: Realising Market Opportunities

The importance of realising market opportunities for social enterprises cannot be overstated. It’s about more than economic growth; it’s about nurturing a more inclusive economy where success is measured not just by financial gain, but by the wellbeing of the community and the health of the environment. Social enterprises have demonstrated how taking a social enterprise mindset can deliver better business decisions and outcomes. By supporting social enterprises, we are not only investing in our economy but also in our social fabric, contributing to a more equitable and sustainable future for everybody living in Scotland.

Over recent years, significant strides have been made in harnessing the public sector’s purchasing power and the broader business community’s engagement to carve out new opportunities for social enterprises. This concerted effort has not only expanded the market presence of these businesses but emboldened them to venture more assertively into consumer markets. We have fantastic examples of Scottish social enterprises who are selling not only nationally but internationally; a testament to a changing consumer ethos, one that values transparency, ethics and sustainability alongside quality and price. The actions in this plan look to embed social enterprise within the fabric of the Scottish economy, making social purchasing easier and the norm rather than an exception.

We recognise the importance of having a dedicated resource to promote Scottish social enterprises internationally. This has been demonstrated across the last three years – Scottish social enterprises have been supported to trade globally and international social ventures have been connected to the Scottish ecosystem by the provision of a single point of contact and advice. This support is complementary to traditional business support services, such as the Enterprise Agencies and Scottish Development International, with cross-referrals between organisations to ensure that all social enterprises looking to trade internationally have access to the support they need when they need it.

This Action Plan acknowledges the need to not only continue to stimulate demand but to increase the capacity and capability of the sector to deliver both individually and collectively through the following actions:

Launch a national Buy Social marketing campaign and promote Buy Social Scotland internationally.

There is a clear increase in demand from consumers for social products and services. To capitalise on this trend we will continue our funding in 2024/25 for Buy Social Scotland, supporting the development of marketing campaigns to promote the diverse range of products and services that are available from local

Scottish social enterprises businesses direct to the public or as part of supply chains to both private companies and public sector organisations.

The funding for Buy Social Scotland will also support the promotion of the brand globally, working with the International Social Enterprise Observatory to promote awareness of Scottish social enterprises. This will encourage both inward and outward investment and grow the economic impact the social enterprise sector has within the Scottish economy.

Develop a thematic directory of social enterprises in Scotland.

We know that there is demand from both the private and public sector to buy from social enterprises, but it can be difficult for them to locate social enterprises in the thematic areas they need. To support the growth of trading with the social enterprise sector Social Enterprise Scotland will look to establish a digital catalogue of social enterprises which supply in thematic sectors (i.e. construction), leveraging data from the forthcoming census, through membership organisations and accreditation schemes. Once established, the directory will enhance visibility, increase opportunities for networking and grow business opportunities for social enterprises.

Consortia Development and Procurement Support Programme.

We know that many social enterprises are bidding for and winning contracts with both the public and private sectors, however, the social enterprise census tell us that among smaller social enterprises, the rates of those bidding for contracts reduces significantly.

To support more of our social enterprises to be able to bid for contracts, Co- operative Development Scotland (CDS) will support work across the sector to understand and create co-operative consortia responses to procurement opportunities. This will complement and draw on the support already provided through services like Just Enterprise and Buy Social Scotland to foster collaboration and increase co-operative structures across social enterprises and existing impact businesses, exploring public and private sector procurement opportunities. This programme will emphasise the development of co-operative consortium guidelines and resources, share best practices through case studies and advocate for procurement reforms. These reforms will drive meaningful change in procurement practices to promote fairness, collaboration, and social and environmental impact in Scotland.

Explore the potential to launch a national Social Enterprise Dynamic Purchasing System.

Informed by feedback from sector stakeholders we are exploring the potential to launch a dynamic purchasing system which would be designed to streamline public sector access to social enterprise offerings, simplifying procurement and fostering sector engagement.