Market and mission: building the commercial capacity of social enterprises and community business

Does an incentive to earn dilute the mission of social enterprises and community businesses? How do social enterprises balance traditional grants with earned income activity?

The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) and the Marshall Institute at the London School of Economics (LSE) will publicly launch findings from LSE’s study of SSE’s incentive-based grant model, Match Trading.

The LSE research emerged from questions on how hybrid organisations balance their purpose with commercial activities. Curious about the effective of enterprise-led grants, the research team examined their influence on organisational sustainability, leadership behaviour, mission alignment and perceived agency over time. The study provides insight on how organisations effectively use enterprise-activities to support their social mission, strengthening management systems and professionalising processes.

The event will present the research findings and situate them within wider conversations about social and community enterprises and hybridity, market limitations and the role of funders and policymakers in supporting enterprise-led solutions. It is designed to inform future funding practice and policy thinking, and to build shared understanding across funders, policymakers, practitioners and researchers.

Match Trading matches growth in earned income pound-for-pound with grant funding, supporting social enterprises to build trading capability while reducing long-term reliance on grants. Since 2016, the model has supported over 1,200 organisations and distributed more than £8m into communities across the UK.

Meet our speakers and chair

Kieron Boyle is Chief Executive of 100x, a world-leading initiative creating the next generation of ‘social unicorns’ — ventures positively impacting a billion lives. He is also Professor in Practice and Director at the LSE’s Marshall Institute, leading a global platform to shape the future of the impact economy. As Chair of the UK’s Impact Investing Institute, he helps set national strategy on impact capital, aiming to unlock £1 trillion for investments that improve people’s lives.

Alastair Wilson OBE has been the Chief Executive of the School for Social Entrepreneurs since 2004, where he pioneered “Match Trading” grants. He is also the Chair of the Foyer Federation and Deputy Co-Chair of Crisis; co-founder and board member of Tonic Housing and board member of Good Place Lettings.

Jonathan Roberts is Teaching Director and Professor at the Marshall Institute. He leads the development of teaching activities at the Institute, where he has designed and developed the ground-breaking executive MSc programme in Social Business and Entrepreneurship (from 2018) and a Marshall Institute specialism within LSE’s Master of Public Administration programme, the MPA in Social Impact.

Kerryn Krige is a Senior Lecturer in Practice at the Marshall Institute, specialising in social entrepreneurship and the social and solidarity economy. She teaches on the Executive MSc Social Business and Entrepreneurship and the MSc Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at LSE, and is course convenor for the online certificate and one-week executive courses, in social enterprise.

Tim Davies-Pugh is Chief Executive of Power to Change, the independent trust strengthening communities through community business across England. In this role, he provides strategic leadership for the organisation’s efforts to back local enterprise that drives economic renewal, resilience, and social impact. He also chairs the Enterprise Grants Taskforce, working to shape innovative grant-making approaches that help charities, social enterprises and community businesses build sustainable income and resilience. Tim is a member of the Impact Economy Collective, bringing voice and insight to cross-sector efforts to grow impact-oriented economic approaches.