Abstract
In February 2012, at the launch of The Social Enterprise Exchange, the self-styled ‘world’s biggest social enterprise event’, Scotland’s (then) First Minister, Alex Salmond MSP, declared that he wanted to “continue to provide the most supportive environment in the world for social enterprise”, while announcing a new programme designed to support Scottish social enterprises to expand internationally. More recently, Scotland’s (then) Finance Secretary John Swinney MSP, prior to his appearance at a conference on social enterprise in Norway said that “Scotland has been recognised as the best place in the world to start a social enterprise and there is increasing international interest in what some are calling the ‘Scottish Model’… an enterprising third sector is a vital partner in our economy, in civic society and in the creation of a fairer and more inclusive Scotland”.
Whether or not there is a supportive environment for social enterprise (SE) in Scotland requires further examination. If there is a particularly enabling SE ecosystem in Scotland then what can be learned by tracing the evolution of this institutional architecture and support? In particular, what are the critical pathways and significant junctures that have shaped the development of innovative policies aimed at addressing social exclusion in Scotland?
Whether or not there is a supportive environment for social enterprise (SE) in Scotland requires further examination. If there is a particularly enabling SE ecosystem in Scotland then what can be learned by tracing the evolution of this institutional architecture and support? In particular, what are the critical pathways and significant junctures that have shaped the development of innovative policies aimed at addressing social exclusion in Scotland?
Original language | English |
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Publisher | Università degli Studi di Firenze/EFESEIIS |
Commissioning body | EFESEIIS |
Number of pages | 47 |
Publication status | Published - Nov 2014 |
Keywords
- social enterprise
- social entrepreneurship
- social innovation
- Scotland