Final Report on Social Investment Pilots Published

Category: CI Research & Insights, SRI Research & Insights, CSR Research & Insights
Source: Office of the Third Sector, Cabinet Department - UK

The Office of the Third Sector has published a final report on two projects to investigate ways to promote private investment in social enterprises.

The projects, which were commissioned in 2007 and led by Community Innovation UK and Charity Bank, aimed to:

• increase private sector finance in social enterprises;
• deepen our understanding of how to increase the range of finance available for social enterprises;
• successfully broaden the research base of the sector.

The report details lessons that have emerged from the two projects, including:

• social enterprises may not always understand what it means to be ‘investment ready’.
• there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that investors can be willing to pursue socially adjusted financial (or blended) return
• the marketplace for such investments is imperfect and there can be significant transaction costs and co-ordination problems in bringing investors to market.
• appropriate investment products that build in social returns are not yet widely available or understood.

The challenge now is how to act upon the research gathered through the work of these two pilots in order to increase private sector finance in social enterprises, to help ensure that social enterprises are able to access the finance appropriate for them, and to continue to develop an environment that enables the sector to thrive

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