Public Resources

QSEC Online Learning Centre

For paid QSEC members we have The QSEC Online Learning Centre coming soon full of free courses designed by experts in the social enterprise field to help start ups, stand ups and stay ups achieve their business goals.  Access is limited to paid members and associates.  To access the LMS you can join QSEC HERE.

Learn more about:

Outstanding Free Resources

  • QLD Government Small Business: Information and events supporting Queensland's small businesses.
  • Mentor For Growth QLD: Mentoring for Growth (M4G) offers eligible businesses free access to volunteer business experts who provide insights, options and suggestions relating to challenges and opportunities you are experiencing in your business.
  • Davidson Institute Business learning site: "Whatever stage of business you’re at, we’ve got tips and tools to help you move ahead with confidence."
  • Social Investment Playbook - The playbook looks at the basics of impact investing, how to navigate the Queensland impact investing sector as a social entrepreneur, how to raise impact capital from a variety of streams, and reflections from impact organisations throughout the state
  • Startup Studio - Social Enterprise Fundamentals.  The Social Enterprise Fundamentals are a set of resources that provide the ‘nuts and bolts’ of social enterprise. They have been designed to provide the information needed before starting a social enterprise – and they are free to access!
  • ATO - The Australian Taxation Office has a wide range of free online webinars available to small businesses during November. Some are also offered in Chinese, Arabic and Vietnamese.  Topics include running a small business from home, digital options for small business, considering your small business viability, and tax support or cash flow for small business.  CHECK IT OUT.
  • Find out more about upcoming Tenders at Brisbane City Council HERE and register for email alerts HERE.
  • Learn more about Social Return on Investment (SROI) by downloading this useful guide HERE.
  • The Office of the Queensland Small Business Commissioner (QSBC) was initially established under the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act 2020. It is now in the process of transitioning into a permanent service. The role of the QSBC is to advocate, enable and empower small businesses to improve productivity and help drive economic growth in Queensland.

  • The Climate Council has released a report the Alpha Beta Jobs Plan to assist the planning for the the future on Green Jobs. This is a MUST SEE document to align with the urgent Climate change issues that we are all facing.


    Manifesto

    Social Enterprise: Doing business differently for a more inclusive society  A Manifesto outlining a vision and pathway to enable the growth of the social enterprise sector in Australia from the Social Innovation Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Alliance

    Research

    • Does business structure influence social impact?: This Briefing Note explores why form, governance and ownership matter, and reviews the evidence that they can influence outcomes for the poor. It is intended to support donors in enhancing the impact of future programming choices, when engaging with business. It is based on research and practical examples from both developed and developing countries, and is a joint initiative of Oxfam and DCED.
    • Evaluating the labour productivity of social enterprises in comparison to SMEs in Australia: The purpose of this paper is to compare the profitability and labour productivity of social enterprises in the State of Victoria in Australia with that of small- and medium-sized business enterprises (SMEs) in the same state. This paper found that, although social enterprises generally generated smaller profits and, therefore, could be less profitable, their relative level of labour productivity (value added and income to labour employed) was comparable or higher than that of SMEs. This paper responds to the need for comparative insights about social enterprise performance and considers the implications of these findings for new public governance. 
    • Mapping Queensland’s Impact Innovation Support Ecosystem: As part of the 2019 ‘Social Enterprise Sector Stand-up Project’ (SESP), led by QSEC and Griffith University, a number of discovery, action research, and engagement activities were undertaken.This included crowdsourcing a map of the impact innovation ecosystem in Queensland, and creating a directory of supports available to people and organisations engaged in social impact, innovation, and enterprise activities.  The map also includes national and international supports / service providers, where the offer is available and accessible to actors in Queensland.

    Funding & Financing

    Two of Australia’s best known funders support social enterprise, to find out more and to see if you are eligible visit the Ian Potter Foundation and the Westpac Foundation.

    Looking for Investment?  This article is great - https://impactinvestingaustralia.com/looking-for-investors/

    The Social Enterprise Development and Investment Funds (SEDIF) offer finance and support to eligible social enterprises to help them grow their business and increase the impact of their work in their communities. For more information on the three SEDIF fund managers who offer social enterprises finance, such as loans, and support visit their pages

    Community Enterprise

    • If you are interested in Community Enterprise you download member Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperatives free publication “Participation and Production a Resource for Community Enterprise“.
    • The Get Mutual Resource Centre, launched by the Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals (BCCM)
      All the resources you need for cooperative social enterprise development and community investment, including ‘how tos’ and excellent case studies on a number of new community owned, social care cooperatives in health services, home care, housing and disability employment (including Nundah Community Services Cooperatives which is owned and operated by people with a disability).

    Social Procurement

    • Social Enterprise and Social Tendering: A Guide for Government Departments, Large Social Welfare Organizations and Corporations (2005) – Written by Ingrid Burkett and David Langdon of the New Mutualism Group, this book challenges and assists those who make the decisions in government departments, local government, social welfare organizations and corporations to re-think their starting and end points. It makes a compelling case and gives practical suggestions for them to include in their choices, the concept of social tendering, whereby social/community enterprises can tender with them for formalized service contracts.
    • If you are interested in Social Procurement, we also encourage you to read the excellent Corporate Social Procurement in Australia (2013) report  by Social Traders and The Faculty”.

    Social Change Central

    Social Change Central is for any changemaker, entrepreneur, start-up, charity, community group or grass-roots organisation who is using business to create positive social change. Their mission is to create a strong ecosystem in Australia where social enterprises can thrive.

    To keep abreast of news in social enterprise, such as grants and awards, you can sign up to their free newsletter at https://www.socialchangecentral.com/pricing/

    A Business planning guide for Social Enterprises

    The guide is primarily aimed at people and/ or organisations interested in starting a social enterprise and who don’t have experience of doing this before. It is a step-by-step guide to thinking about, researching, planning for, starting and then growing a social enterprise, which will help you to:

    – create a rigorous business plan for a sustainable social enterprise

    – obtain support for your social enterprise e.g. from partners

    – secure investment for your social enterprise

    – monitor and evolve your social enterprise in future years.

    It is also designed to be a useful resource for more experienced practitioners, acting as a reference point and refresher.  DOWNLOAD NOW

    Free Social Impact Toolbox

    We all know impact measurement is crucial for communicating our success but it is really hard!  The University of Technology Sydney have released the Social Impact Toolbox to make the process easier.  And it’s free!

    Free Social Media Webinars with Connecting Up

    Connecting Up, Inc. is a not-for-profit organisation that works to unleash the power of other not-for-profit organisations through technology and by providing a variety of information, products, resources and programs, to connect the not-for-profit sector to the right tools and capabilities they need to fulfill their mission. 

    To sign up for their newsletter – which includes info on some great FREE webinars – head to www.connectingup.org

    Free LinkedIn Learning with State Library of Queensland

    Become a member of the State Library of Queensland to access a HEAP of freebies including free access to the LinkedIn Learning Database – there are some wonderful courses on there about Social Enterprise.



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    Brisbane Business Hub, Level 3, 155 Queen Street, Brisbane QLD 4000

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