Social Enterprise Support and Networking

Cumbria County Council is looking to appoint a contractor to deliver a business support and networking programme to support the development of social enterprises in Cumbria. The programme will provide and business assistance to improve performance for businesses that have started their trading.

The successful contractor will be expected to deliver a countywide social enterprise support programme to include the following:

• business start-up advice,
• one-to-one support advice as core aspect to develop business,
• post start assistance to Social enterprises (subject to sectoral eligibility) in order to improve performance, survivability, create additional employment and promote economic growth
• funding, marketing and trading plans workshops, seminars,
• networking meetings to support Social Enterprises through a mix of physical and virtual networking opportunities, including events and the Cumbria Social Enterprise Partnership annual conference
• management of a web portal and electronic communications with the CSEP membership, including regular e-bulletins and news letters

Successful applications will need to have the capacity to put in place systems, processes and teams to deliver the project effectively, with the emphasis on the client journey, financial and performance management systems, and an embedded culture of quality assurance, as well as continued improvement in delivering excellent and responsive service.