Good news

Join us for a Walkshop at the Marston Vale Forest Centre Tuesday 15 June 2010, 10am – 12 noon, followed by lunch.

The idea, from Social Enterprise East of England, is simple. Join a group of entrepreneurial thinkers for a problem-solving circular walk from the Marston Vale Forest Centre, near Bedford, while discussing a topic of interest in small groups.
After we will gather over lunch and share the great ideas stimulated by the walkshop.
You’ll leave feeling fitter, with a new network of useful contacts, and some great ‘next steps’ on your entrepreneurial journey.
Walkshop leader, Kayte Judge from Goodthings, will introduce the topic for this walkshop ‘the third sector and private sector working together’ and facilitate the discussion at the end.

Interested?
The Walksop is free but participants are responsible for buying their own lunch.
To book a place and for information email chris.lee@seee.co.uk or call 01234 834710 by Friday 11 June.

24th May 2010

1.You don’t have to be big to be good: small businesses can see huge benefits from a streamlined approach to CSR.

2. Don’t be put off by the terminology: put simply CSR covers the activities your business voluntarily undertakes to improve your community and usually covers your impact on both the environment (resources, waste, carbon offsetting etc), and people (charity support, volunteering, community projects etc).

3. Be proactive, not reactive:  simply responding to requests often results in large donations over time, and few benefits. A proactive stance, ideally a policy and action plan, allows you to manage both time and money spent on CSR activities and reaps benefits for both the cause and the company. This will help you recognise when to say yes, and crucially, when to say no.

4. Get engaged: Talk to your staff. What causes do they want to support? What would create meaning and motivation for them in the workplace? By getting your network of people on board you can harness their efforts. Match-funding and cause related marketing are two ways to do this. Involve your clients and suppliers – they can help you achieve your CSR goals. Joint activity strengthens relationships.

5. Aim for commitment not flirtation: Commitment can reap benefits for the small business. Connect meaningfully with one charity or cause.

6. Shake what your mother gave you: Use your skills and resources – what do you have that you could easily give at little cost to you? Expertise, space, equipment and web-presence can all benefit the community. Work with what you have.

7. Ask the expert: you don’t have to be an expert in all areas of CSR. The environmental side of CSR can feel a little overwhelming but there is help. In Bedfordshire we have the Green Business Network and nationally there is the Mayday Network which gives access to tools and techniques to review and report on your environmental impact.

8. Be an ethical consumer: Commit to an ethical supply chain. Buy fairtrade consumables, book charity venues, use local suppliers.

9. Record your progress: keep an eye on CSR activity and report on it. Tell your stakeholders what you are doing, and keep a track of your progress.

10. Don’t be shy: There’s no need to keep quiet about the good things you are doing. By blowing your own trumpet you champion the causes you support.

10th May 2010

For the past year Kayte has been busy co-leading one of the fifteen Learning Futures projects taking place at Biddenham Upper School in Bedford. Funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and led by the Innovation Unit the project has been developed to incubate radical innovation within schools. Based around the four themes of co-construction, relevance, expanding locations and partners  and mentoring the project has pushed the pedagogical boundaries of the school. Working with 96 students from both year 9 mainstream and home educated students on individual projects of their choosing has been an extraordinary journey.

For the full blog visit http://www.learningfutures.org/

9th April 2010