How are we doing?
The Growth & Resilience Programme—a cornerstone of Business for Good West Yorkshire—has helped co-operatives, social enterprises, and community businesses build confidence, strengthen resilience, and connect with others.
Running from May to October 2024, this six-month programme was co-designed and delivered by Co-operatives UK (CUK) and the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) as part of the wider Business for Good West Yorkshire (BfGWY) programme, led by TSL Kirklees.
Our latest evaluation and learning summary, conducted independently by Nifty Sustainability, highlights the key findings and discusses how and why it matters to the way we support alternative businesses in the future.
The Growth & Resilience learning programme aims:
The G&R programme was designed to support people from different types of existing alternative businesses to grow their impact and build resilience in ways that lead to positive outcomes for participants, their organisations and wider communities. The specific aims of the Growth & Resilience programme were to:
• Prioritise, encourage, support and promote alternative businesses in marginalised and disadvantaged communities through local VCSE networks and community knowledge.
• Support existing alternative businesses to develop new services or markets, bolstering economic resilience and sustainability.
• Promote and support entrepreneurship focused on creating better quality jobs.
• Provide specialist support that understands and addresses alternative businesses’ needs including business strategy, organisational development, raising capital, managing working capital needs, and cashflow.
The headline is that the innovative Growth & Resilience learning programme clearly delivered on these aims.
We know this because
• 19 alternative businesses completed the programme
• ~2 new FTE jobs were created and 6 were safeguarded
• 11 alternative businesses reported engaging in new markets
• 6 already adopted new technologies or processes
• 100% of G&R programme participants reported being satisfied with the support they were offered
• 100% of G&R programme participants increased their skills
• The G&R programme reached marginalised and disadvantaged communities: 59% of alternative businesses were based in 30% most deprived areas (IMD)
• 88% of participants have lived experience of the issues their alternative businesses are seeking to address
Five interesting things we’ve learned about the G&R programme success
1. The unique partnership approach works and adds value in the context of alternative business.
2. Short timescales and limits to resources were challenging.
3. Different types of alternative businesses, across a range of sectors have been involved and their diverse support needs are being met.
4. In person events helped establish and nurture relationships.
5. The experience for participants has been positive with some important, sometimes transformational outcomes for individuals involved.
To find out more about how the programme was delivered, its content and what we’ve learnt, read the full report.
What's next?
The 2025/6 Growth & Resilience Programme will open for recruitment in May 2025! If you’re interested in taking part, register your interest here.