Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and the Rural Social Economy
The social economy is increasingly visible in LEP Local Industrial Strategies (LIS). A recent survey of the 31 rural ‘Shire’ LEPs suggests that 70% feel they embrace the social economy explicitly: a proportion corroborated by a desk study of their LISs.
Sustainable principles are ubiquitous. Heart of the South West, Cumbria, the Black Country, South East Midlands, West of England, Swindon and Wiltshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and New Anglia all also have explicit inclusive growth commitments (wealth redistribution, reducing educational disparities; reducing workless households, developing social cohesion, nurturing a sense of place and addressing youth unemployment).
New Anglia (2017) includes the post-carbon economy, sustainable food production and renewable energy generation within its consideration of inclusiveness, and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly and Cumbria (2019) also will make use of underused assets such as in the retired population and people engaged in social and community activity:
Cumbria’s excellence in the voluntary and community sector and the strong nature of many of our communities provides a real launching pad
For the strategy, p.9
Cumbria LEP justifies its focus on the social economy because it is a rural area where there are strong networks of support (page 21) and a strong sense of social capital and belonging (page 28).
Of other social economy precepts, York and North Yorkshire is leading in developing the Circular Economy:
By creating a Circular Yorkshire, we aim to move our region from a linear economy (take, make, dispose) to a circular economy (where all waste and resources have a value). Through this process, we can not only address the challenge of climate change, but we can also add value to the local economy, communities and people’s lives. As the majority of existing circular initiatives are based in cities, the rural nature of our region provides an opportunity to become the UK’s first circular region
York and North Yorkshire LEP, 2020
To back this up, York and North Yorkshire has a circular economy strategy; demonstrator projects; circular guides; business case studies; assessments of natural capital, and a range of funding opportunities. They will build the circular economy on systems collaboration, requiring businesses, local authorities, charities and community groups to work together.
Swindon and Wiltshire (2020) also seeks to develop a multidisciplinary research centre to deliver sustainable technologies for a circular economy (page 13) in the context of a zero-carbon economy (page 10).
The Black Country (2020) notes that “social economy organisations are a major part of ensuring balanced and more sustainable growth” and Dorset LEP (2018) sees social enterprise as central:
Encourage business start-ups and social enterprise in difficult to reach and economically inactive communities by working collaboratively with business leaders, social entrepreneurs, universities and civil society organisations
p.19
The South East LEP (2014) has a specific social economy rural working group with an emphasis on community-led local housing as part of social enterprise. The Marches LEP (2021), too, sees social enterprises (and cooperatives in particular) as a key to rural economic growth and has a LEP Board Member with specific responsibilities in this area. The West of England LEP (2019) offers business advice explicitly for social enterprises (page 68) and forums for social innovators (page 67).
Practical action includes an inclusive growth toolkit (New Anglia) a third sector inclusion group (Derby and Nottinghamshire), a social enterprise working group (South East) and a suite of locally delivered social enterprise support schemes (Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire). Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly has Social Enterprise Zones that include specific environmental responsibilities. It also has a School for Social Entrepreneurs with an emphasis on community businesses to improve social inclusion.
Cumbria (2019) sums up the GVA/social economy tension well for the LEPs:
Traditional metrics of economic performance, such as GDP or at a regional level GVA, are a poor guide to social and economic welfare. They also do not tell us anything about how the opportunities and benefits of growth are distributed across different spatial areas and social or income groups
p.12
This work on social economy policies in the LEPs is an integral part of the research ‘Economic Performance in Rural Systems: Social Collision Theory and Its Application to Rural Food Hubs’, funded from the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise’s call for research and innovation.