Funding & Commissioning for Health: The Social Enterprise Investment Fund

The Social Enterprise Investment Fund

From April 2007, the Department is holding a Social Enterprise Investment Fund (SEIF) of £73 million over a four year period. Of this £73 million, there will be £1.2 million revenue and £8.9 million capital money in the financial year 2007 to 2008. Both social enterprise pathfinders and other social enterprises*, delivering health and social care services, will be able to apply to the SEIF in the financial year 2007 to 2008.

The SEIF 2007 to 2008 will be managed by an in-house, specialist team led by the DH-owned company Partnerships for Health. Together, we will review the need to develop the Fund further, responding to social enterprises’ needs and the experience gained from social enterprise pathfinders in 2006/07.

About SEIF

What are the objectives of the Social Enterprise Investment Fund (SEIF)?

• To stimulate and encourage the development of a vibrant social enterprise sector in the delivery of health and social care services.
  
• To provide start-up funding and longer term investment to emerging and existing social enterprises* in the health and social care sector with a view to their sustainability.

Which organisations will SEIF support?

• SEIF will support organisations which are, or are aiming to become, social enterprises delivering one or more health and/or social care services.
  

How might SEIF invest in your organisation?

• SEIF can offer loans, grants and equity capital or a mixture of these, depending on your organisational needs and structure.
• All potential investments will be subject to a thorough appraisal process which will help us to understand your needs and provide the form of finance best suited to them.
• As SEIF develops, it will aim to enable support for organisational capacity building.

When can our organisation apply for finance from SEIF?

• The fund is now open for your proposals for financial investment.
• The closing date for the current round of proposals is 31st October 2007.
• The next call for proposals will be announced later this year.
  

Who can apply

• Multi-agency partnerships, particularly voluntary and community groups wishing to use their expertise to provide services across health and social care.
• Existing social enterprises looking to expand into health and social care.
• Groups of professionals (eg nurses, therapists), seeking to form a social enterprise to deliver their services.

All the social enterprises we support would be expected to have “not-for-profit” status, in that surpluses will be reinvested in the pursuit of their social aims.

See http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Organisationpolicy/Commissioning/Socialenterprise/DH_073426 for details of how to apply.