WSSEN – West Sussex Social Enterprise Network

WELCOME

If you are running a social enterprise, would like to set up a social enterprise, or would just like to know more about social enterprise, then this site is for you.

We endeavour to make this resource as accessible and useful as possible. You can use this site to find out about what support is available, the latest news in the world of social enterprise and to identify useful contacts.

What is social enterprise? Social enterprises are business with social objectives that do not distribute profit in a conventional way. Any profit generated is kept within the enterprise to fulfil their social objectives or to improve the business. Social enterprises create local jobs, help to generate social capital and community cohesion and are environmentally minded. They are increasingly becoming a new way to deliver local services and to ensure community needs are met.

Social enterprise is now an integral part of the government agenda for public service delivery and the development of social enterprise is being actively encouraged.

ABOUT WSSEN

WSSEN is seeking to identify all social enterprises across West Sussex and to identify their support needs. We would also like to raise the profile of social enterprise in West Sussex among funders, statutory bodies and potential customers. To help us with this please fill in our Social Enterprise survey. If you do not wish to fill in the survey but wish to register for free on the Social Enterprise Directory, please email your contact details, and a brief summary of the products and services you offer to info@wssen.org.uk

What is WSSEN and what can it do for you?       We are a group of organisations that provide countywide infrastructure support for social enterprise in West Sussex. We promote and raise the profile of social enterprise and provide access to support, advice and information. We are part of SE² (Social Enterprise South East) www.se2partnership.co.uk, the regional network, and work closely with them for the promotion of social enterprise in the South East. Read more about SE² work [PDF 45kb] (which is under development) here. For further information on WSSEN members, and local information and advice providers, click here.