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Supporting the growth and impact of social enterprises that trade in public service markets.

E3M supports innovation in the way social enterprises and commissioners can work in partnership to transform services, focussing on the creation of social value in public service markets. E3M's work is challenging the commonly perceived barriers to change.

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Money

Money is the motor that drives all business growth and social enterprises are no different in their need for investment. The legal form and social focus sometimes calls for “social investment”. E3M is connecting large social enterprises with a need for investment, with new social investment models, financial tools and funds.

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Models

Social enterprises use a variety of legal forms and business models, and have different governance arrangements. These all affect the scale at which social enterprises can operate in different markets, their ability to grow and the kinds of investment they can take on. E3M organises peer-based learning and shares knowledge about successful ways of running social enterprises.

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Exchange

The E in E3M stands for Exchange. Based on our ethos of “learning together”, we are committed to an exchange of ideas, knowledge and practice about social enterprise innovation, and progressive approaches to running public service and local economic development.

Working with the E3M core partners, we promote this across the membership of the E3M Social Enterprise Leaders’ Business Club and the Bold Commissioners’ Club, and more widely through seminars, Alchemy Innovation events and other larger gatherings.

Our interest in learning together extends internationally. Over the past eight years, we have engaged with colleagues working in social enterprises and public institutions in other countries, and with bodies such as the European Commission and the OECD.

Where appropriate, we actively promote collaboration between E3M members and their counterparts in other countries.

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Measurement

Impact measurement is a thread that runs through all of the Ms. Social enterprises need to make business decisions based on meeting their social objectives. Investors require evidence of the social impact of their investments. Commissioners are starting to look at measuring social value when they award contracts.

E3M is promoting a common set of principles for impact measurement based on the EU GECES impact report.

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Leaders Club

Here is a selection of the E3M Leaders.
Click on the images to read about them and their businesses. Navigate to the Leaders' page to see our full directory of Leaders.