An Enterprising Community

A presentation to the ENABLE Conference 04 July 2008

By Rachel Elliott

Ibstock Community Enterprises Ltd

With thanks to

New Economics Foundation,

Plugging the Leaks

Elements of an enterprising community

1. An enterprising culture

2. A diverse enterprise ecology – i.e enterprise mix

3. Good levels of business support infrastructure

4. To be a place where people desire to be

1. An enterprising culture

Local people: • Get involved in decisions that concern their community to

ensure that its development meets their needs and priorities. • Feel things can happen and take action towards making things

happen; • Have an understanding of the local economy and of existing

markets and opportunities and an ability to spot and exploit gaps in supply and demand;

• Generally view self-employment as a positive phenomenon; • Have the ability to diversify and innovate to accommodate

change and take advantage of new opportunities;

• Feel comfortable with uncertainty and taking managed risks.

2. Enterprise ecologyThis means that the community includes: • Small, medium sized and large businesses: some supplying local

needs to provide a stable market that is less vulnerable to outside influences. Also need to be businesses which have links through the supply chain to other markets or to businesses outside the area;

• Social enterprises creating a range of products and services not met by the commercial market;

• Excellent inter-business networking: • Strong partnership building and alliances between public, private,

local community and voluntary sectors; • Attractors into the area; • Skill/personnel mix: The right mixture between entrepreneurs and

manager/leaders; • A variety of sources of inward investment linked to local business

so that they are embedded in the local economy.

Attractors and Detractors

Some businesses do more for the local economy than meets the eye. Shops with or without ‘pulling power’ play a big role in bringing people to the area – or keeping them away - regardless of the size

of their own turnover. Classic attractors are:

•Post offices •Banks •Tea shops •Stores with high reputation •Initiatives that give the town a good name

3. Enterprise/business support infrastructure

This includes: • The willingness of business support agencies, the local authority

and other agencies to be creative in how they support small businesses in their development;

• Access to a variety of appropriate financing schemes; • Information resources which provide what is necessary to

different members of a community with different needs; • An agency to help train and support new businesses and social

enterprises; • Premises of different sizes to meet business needs; • Reasonable accommodation for workers and/or adequate

transport/parking infrastructure; • Appropriate skills training programmes.

4. Desirable place to be

Finally, enterprising communities need to be considered by their inhabitants as a desirable place to live! Otherwise, any entrepreneurial energy is likely to be spent trying to improve the very basic facilities in the area…or in creating a strategy for leaving the area! You know you are in a desirable place when there is: •A sense of pride in the area; •A low level of crime; •A good education system; •A good transport network; •Clean streets; •A certain level of social capital or trust within the community: markets cannot function without this.

Tools for Local Economic Renewal

Bizz Fizz – an economic coach at the heart of the local communityhttp://www.neweconomics.org/gen/tools_bizfizz.aspx

Local Alchemy – Regenerating a community from within, recognising and utilising the resources a community already has

http://localalchemy.org/Plugging the leaks and Local Multiplier 3

http://www.pluggingtheleaks.org/Local Works – campaigning for the implementation of the

sustainable communities billhttp://www.localworks.org/

Every Action Counts – support for voluntary and community groupshttp://www.everyactioncounts.org.uk/