The Building Community Assets programme levered almost £20m into the East of England following support from the East of England Development Agency an independent evaluation has found.
Building Community Assets was a two year capital grant programme totalling an investment of £4.9m which helped social enterprises and other third sector organisations to take ownership of land and buildings in the East of England. Eight flagship projects in total were supported with capital grants of up to £750,000 to fund the purchase and development costs of assets in order to facilitate a greater level of economic and social outcomes.
Amongst the successful applicants were organisations seeking to develop accommodation through community land trusts, business incubation premises, furniture recycling operations and community and youth centres. Each organisation focussed on addressing the economic and social exclusion experienced by people in their community. Successful applicants also had to demonstrate proposals which would lead to increased viability of their organisations in terms of business growth and increased employment.
The independent evaluation of Building Community Assets also highlighted the value of the bursary awards which were provided to help organisations to become ‘investment ready’ through business planning, feasibility studies and assistance with professional services including legal, planning and architectural advice. 33 organisations were supported with bursaries of up to £15,000 – most of whom have been successful in securing capital funding from outside of Building Community Assets programme.
Building Community Assets was managed by a consortium of specialists in social enterprise: Co-operative and Community Finance, the Plunkett Foundation and Social Enterprise East of England.
Disability Essex, a social enterprise which supports people living with disabilities through clubs, training, and outreach healthcare, was supported by Building Community Assets through a capital grant of £750,000 following a bursary of £15,000. It was able to build a purpose-built, and accessible multi-use centre from which to locate their headquarters, training centre, and community centre which better supports their operational needs and provides a rental income. The new building has reduced maintenance costs, can accommodate an increased number of users, will safeguard and lead to new jobs, and increases their income generation potential.
The independent evaluation of Building Community Assets concludes that through the programme the East of England Development Agency and the Building Community Assets consortium successfully achieved its objective of investing in a small number of flagship social enterprise and other third sector organisations. It also demonstrated the value of asset ownership and development as having a positive impact on the regional economy.
The Building Community Assets consortium has produced a practical guide for communities considering purchasing land and buildings. The guide is intended to provide an insight into the range of organisation supported through the programme including their core objectives, their proposals and achievements through Building Community Assets and beyond. A separate section at the end of the guide provides signposts for further information and advice on acquiring community assets including potential sources of funding. Copies of the guide are available online via the consortium partner’s websites. Hard copies are available from the Plunkett Foundation and Social Enterprise East of England.
The full programme evaluation and its recommendations is available at
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For media enquiries, please contact Mike Perry at the Plunkett Foundation on mike.perry@plunkett.co.uk or 01993 810730.
Notes to Editors:
Building Community Assets was a fund established by the East of England Development Agency to support the development of sustainable, catalytic community assets that were genuinely transformational in scale. EEDA established the fund at the end of 2006 following extensive consultation with third sector organisations about their needs or funding and support and the best ways of developing capacity for social enterprise and asset based development. The fund comprised a total of £4.915M and ran from June 2007 until March 2009. Building Community Assets was managed by a consortium of specialists in social enterprise: Co-operative and Community Finance, the Plunkett Foundation and Social Enterprise East of England.
East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is one of the nine Regional Development Agencies in England, responsible for the sustainable development of the regions economy. EEDA works across the six counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. EEDA was the sole funder of the Building Community Assets programme.
Building Community Assets Guide is a practical guide which was produced by the Plunkett Foundation on behalf of EEDA and the Consortium Partners intended to for the use of social enterprises and other third sector organisations considering the purchase or development of community owned assets. The Guide is available from the Plunkett Foundation in hard copy and also on the Plunkett Foundation website.
An External Evaluation of the programme was carried out by Marilyn Taylor Associates between March 2008 and May 2009. The aim of the evaluation was to evaluate, both qualitatively and quantitatively, the role of the Building Community Assets programme in improving the performance of social enterprises through community asset ownership and also the performance and effectiveness of the Programme Consortium in managing the programme and reaching the target audiences.
Co-operative and Community Finance (C&CF) - who specialise in providing loan finance and business advice to community controlled and co-operative businesses. C&CF were the lead partner of the consortium, responsible for overall programme management and client reporting, and for grant application assessments. They were the primary contact for capital applicants.
Plunkett Foundation (PF) - a national organisation which promotes and supports rural co-operative and social enterprise and through this approach assists rural communities respond to challenges to jobs, services and community vitality. PF were responsible for the assessment and management of the bursary awards and for setting and managing this evaluation.
Social Enterprise East of England (SEEE) - a membership and networking organisation for social enterprises which aims to support and promote the social enterprise sector as a valuable part of the region's economy and for its significant social impact. SEEE was responsible for publicising and promoting the BCF programme, using their specialist regional knowledge, contacts and membership to reach out to potential applicant organisations.