Northampton Electronic Collection of Theses and Research

Start up and sustainability: marketisation and the Social Enterprise Investment Fund in England

Hall, K., Alcock, P. and Millar, R. (2012) Start up and sustainability: marketisation and the Social Enterprise Investment Fund in England. Journal of Social Policy. 41(4), pp. 733-749. 0047-2794.

Item Type: Article
Abstract: Since the end of the last century governments in many western welfare regimes have been keen to promote the marketisation of public service delivery. This requires changes in the supply of, and demand for, alternative providers in this market, and in particular for many governments this has included third sector providers. This article examines the attempt by the UK Labour government to promote the supply of social enterprises in the market for health and social care services in England, through the Social Enterprise Investment Fund (SEIF), introduced in 2007. The article reports on research evaluating the effectiveness of the SEIF, employing a ‘theories of change’ approach, drawing on a mix of administrative and survey data, qualitative interviews and case studies. The research found that although the SEIF had significant benefits in supporting the start up and growth of organisations, its contribution to their longer-term sustainability was more mixed as most were dependent on grants as a main source of income and were not in a position to compete for public sector contracts. This suggests that there may be limits to the role that public investment can play in such market making
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD3611 Industrial policy. The state and industrial organization, including municipal services
H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV697 Protection, assistance and relief
R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA395 Medical services. National Health Service. Private care
Creators: Hall, Kelly, Alcock, Pete and Millar, Ross
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > School of Social Sciences (to 2016)
University Faculties, Divisions and Research Centres - OLD > Research Group > Social Enterprise Research Group
Research Institutes > Institute for Social Innovation and Impact
Faculties > Faculty of Health & Society > Applied Social Studies & Sociology
Date: 2012
Date Type: Publication
Page Range: pp. 733-749
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Social Policy
Volume: 41
Number: 4
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S004727941200030X
ISSN: 0047-2794
Status: Published / Disseminated
Refereed: Yes
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/4443

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item