STRATEGIC PARTNERS
In addition to offering the normal ‘run of mill’ business development consultancy, we have drawn upon our values, experience, strategic alliances and entrepreneurial ability to shape an exciting family of EPL Strategic Partners and social franchise enterprises. Therefore the bulk of our effort is focussed on working at the coal face developing and running social enterprises. We not only want to advise but also be part of the positive change we believe social enterprise can bring society. We develop long-term relationships with our partners and can be brought in to do specialist pieces of work at short notice..
In close collaboration with these strategic partners, over the past 5 years or so, the EPL team have been actively involved, in developing the social enterprise sector in the realms of:
- Health and social care, through the development of Care & Share Associates Limited and New Leaf New Life/In Good Shape
- Social firm and micro enterprise development through RED Initiatives CIC
- Foster care and embryonic Social Work Practices, through the Social Work Co-operative
- Environmental Social Enterprises via CORE and Option C car sharing co-op
- Day care and other service externalisation through The Exchange
All these services are provided by our three Directors who lead in the following areas:
- Guy Turnbull – finance, business planning, health and social care
- Mike Berriman – project development; sustainability; social accounting
- Keith Richardson – marketing; market research, network development, sustainability, and involvement
WHO WE WORK WITH
As we hope is clear, we are keen to work in partnerships with social enterprises and other agencies. This is demonstrated by the fact that we are represented on the Boards of some of the most dynamic social enterprises and agencies in the UK and beyond.
We are directors of the following social franchises:
- Care and Share Associates – the company responsible for social franchising the award winning (eg Social Enterprise of the Year 2006) Sunderland Home Care Associates business model
- Option C – a membership car club
- Community Renewable Energy (CoRE) - working with communities to develop renewable energy
- Bio Community Renewable Energy (BioCoRE) – a members of the CoRE family of companies working on biomass based renewable energy systems
- VIVA CIC – working with health professionals to establish employee owned health and care providers
- In Good Shape (formerly New Leaf, New Life) – developing enterprises to enhance community well being
- Spruce Carpets – carpet recycler
We are members and Directors of the following:
- UK Social Franchising Network
- European Social Franchising Network
- RESNET – providing training on recycling and support for recycling social enterprises in the North East
- CapitaliSE – enabling third sector organisations to make use of loan and other forms of risk finance
- Social Enterprise North East – a network of social enterprise support agencies
CURRENT WORK
We are currently working on a range of programmes and contracts. They include:
Community Renewable Energy
Business planning for their BioCoRE company, line managing their Manager carrying out PR work and writing a variety of funding bids for UK and European funders
UK Social Franchising Network and European Social Franchising Network
We act as secretariats for both organisations and are supporting the development of social franchising and promoting the concept. A key element of this is our Business in a Box Social Franchise Workshops through which participants can learn of a number of social franchising opportunities and work with business experts to produce an outline business plan.
Community Renewable Energy North West
We are developing a replica of CoRE in the North West. Its projects will be the Cumbria Energy Farm Cluster which are four on farm anaerobic digesters which convert slurry, silage, food waste and other biomass into energy. The first of these will be one of the biggest anaerobic digesters in the UK and is being developed with a cooperative of farmers.