EVALUATING ONE OF THE UK’S LARGEST SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PROGRAMMES.

Undertaking a decade-long study

The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) appointed AKOU to deliver an independent impact evaluation of their flagship programme. Over ten years the Social Entrepreneurs Programme (funded by Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland, the Scottish Government and The National Lottery Community Fund) has supported 2,467 social entrepreneurs to startup and scale their social ventures.

Empowering entrepreneurs to understand their wider impact

This study utilised SSE’s existing decade worth of impact data. But we wanted to go further by gaining a deeper understanding of the programme’s impact on social entrepreneurs who experience it and the beneficiaries supported by them. We led a Research Associates programme where 10 programme fellows were trained in impact measurement and social research methods. They collected data about their venture’s impact on its beneficiaries, plus insights into their learnings on the SSE programme. Their role as Research Associates enabled them to set up new processes to collect impact data useful for both SSE and their own enterprise.

Showcasing the impact of social enterprise on UK communities

An official report and accompanying publication outlining the outcomes of the Research Associates programme was published by AKOU in early 2024. And for the first time, there is now a coherent quantitative and qualitative data set evidencing the difference SSE fellows make across the country and how they positively impact the volunteers and beneficiaries they work with.