Funding secured for UK social enterprise study

Funding has been secured from the Enterprise Research Centre and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for a study of UK social enterprises.

Dr Jose Linares-Zegarra, Senior Lecturer in Finance at Essex Business School, and Professor John Wilson from the University of St Andrews have secured research funding from the Enterprise Research Centre and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for a study of UK social enterprises.

The project will use the Longitudinal Small Business Survey, which is the main survey of small businesses in the UK, in order to provide new evidence regarding the key characteristics of social enterprises with respect to regional outreach, ability to access finance, and their future strategic plans.

Dr Linares-Zegarra noted that: "The results of the proposed research will contribute to a better understanding of the current situation and potential future of social enterprises in the UK, but also provide practitioners and policymakers with an overview of the importance of social enterprises in tackling societal (environmental, social, economic) challenges at the regional and local level."