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Exploring the Community Shares model and shaping a research agenda

27 Nov 2014

Event to discuss impact of community enterprises

Manchester Business School is hosting a workshop on the impact of community enterprises and how to drive the agenda for how universities, practitioners and the development community can work together.

Community shares are becoming an increasingly popular means of raising capital investment, and enabling individual community members to invest in facilities and assets which are difficult to deliver in an accountable or attractive way on a large scale (e.g. community energy schemes) or unprofitable under private sector models (e.g. rural pubs and shops). Recent growth in the use of community shares has been accompanied by initiatives to shape and grow the market, such as accreditation and training for advisers, and the introduction of Social Investment Tax Relief.

Community ownership of assets and community-driven entrepreneurship more broadly are also gaining profile, and knowledge exchange and debate are needed to frame a broad range of local economic and community issues, potential solutions and delivery models, to assist practitioners, policy-makers and community groups.

The workshop – on Monday, 15 December, 11am– 4pm, in Room 10.05, 10th Floor, MBS Harold Hankins Building – will invite academics, practitioners and experts to start this process. It will include refreshments and lunch.

Agenda

Short presentations from researchers, social enterprises and practitioners will foster discussions and exchanges. The workshop creates an opportunity for attendees to drive the agenda for how universities, practitioners and the development community work together to support and understand the impact of community enterprises.

Topics and speakers

  • Community shares in the alternative finance sector (University of Cambridge);
  • The growing community shares market: sectors, locations and share offers (Community Shares Unit);
  • Investor behaviour: preliminary understandings from recent analysis (MBS);
  • Growing social enterprises: financial options and issues of scaling up (MBS);
  • The experience of raising community share capital (FC United)

Registration

To book your free place, please email Siobhan Drugan: