Background
The Social Enterprise Boost Fund (the Boost Fund) is an up to £5.1 million package of funding to kickstart and accelerate social enterprise activity in disadvantaged areas of England. This is being delivered by local delivery partners through a combination of capacity building and onward grants of up to £10,000 to support local social entrepreneurs. The capacity-building support includes business support, training, networking, one-to-one support and peer learning.
The Boost Fund is currently being delivered in four local authorities in England:
● County Durham
● South Tyneside
● Sunderland
● Thanet
Fortia Insight (previously ERS and part of RSM UK Consulting LLP) was commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to conduct an independent evaluation of the Boost Fund. The Boost Fund commenced in early 2023; it was originally scheduled to run until March 2025 but was extended until March 2026. The evaluation covered the original period of delivery up to March 2025.
The evaluation drew on interviews and group discussions conducted with social entrepreneurs supported by the Boost Fund, the local delivery partners, DCMS and local and national stakeholders. It incorporates a survey of social entrepreneurs who had been supported by the fund and monitoring data collected by the local delivery partners. The evaluation examines the design, set-up and delivery of the Boost Fund, as well as the fund’s outcomes and impacts on social entrepreneurs and their perceived impact on their local communities. Additionally, it assesses the value for money (VfM) of the Boost Fund, based on the ‘economy’, ‘efficiency’ and ‘effectiveness’ of the fund’s delivery.
Report linkChallenges
Fortia Insight’s evaluation was shaped by several methodological and contextual challenges:
- Evaluation timing: The final report was written before the Boost Fund delivery had finished. Consequently, the data on outcomes and impacts are limited to what can be meaningfully observed within the evaluation time frames. While changes in turnover, profit and employment levels take longer to track, the evaluation focused on qualitative feedback on business skills and their potential influence on revenues and turnovers.
- Scope of data collection: Data collection was not conducted with the wider community, as this was outside the scope of the evaluation. Therefore, any reported outcomes and impacts on the wider community are based on observations from entrepreneurs or local delivery partners, rather than direct reports from community members.
- High-level expenditure data: The VfM analysis used high-level expenditure data from local delivery partners, which did not break down capacity building costs into specific types (e.g., training, networking and one-on-one support). Therefore, detailed analysis at this level was not possible, and DCMS did not request more detailed data from the local delivery partners.
- Early closure of delivery: Until September 2024, the Boost Fund was also delivered in Wolverhampton and Sandwell. Due to operational issues, the funding ended earlier than scheduled in these areas, and the evaluation covered delivery until this early closure.
Impacts
Key findings include the following:
- Improved social entrepreneur skills, knowledge, confidence and resilience: The Boost Fund helped social entrepreneurs develop business skills such as marketing, finance, bid writing and business planning. Social entrepreneurs reported increased confidence to start and grow their social enterprises, improved business resilience, ability to reinvest profits and feeling better equipped to apply for future grants. Through the fund, social entrepreneurs developed sustainable business models with which they hope to be able to maintain their cash reserves.
- Supported the creation of new social enterprises and boosted early stage social enterprises: Many entrepreneurs stated that without the fund, their progress would have been significantly slower or non-existent.
- Strengthened local networks and partnerships that support social enterprises: Local delivery partners facilitated partnership building with other social entrepreneurs through networking events and meetings organised by one-to-one business advisers. Local delivery partners built and strengthened their relationships with local authorities, local voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations and community centres, some of which they had not worked with previously.
- Increased social enterprises’ perceived ability to support communities in their target areas: Social entrepreneurs reported better awareness and ability to meet community needs in areas such as mental health, education and family support, leading to benefits such as reduced NHS workloads.
- Showed what works to support social enterprises: This included (1) effective approaches for reaching or targeting social entrepreneurs, e.g., referrals from local organisations such as district councils and VCSE organisations; (2) tailoring projects to local needs by engaging with the local community, conducting desk research and engaging with stakeholders; and (3) the importance of having a dedicated grants officer and a single point of contact for social entrepreneurs to ensure consistent, bespoke support with grant applications.
- Lowered unit costs of business support provided compared to other government-funded programmes: The fund’s unit costs were lower compared to other government programmes. Two-thirds of the fund was spent on capability building, 34% on grants and 3% on administrative costs. The average cost per entrepreneur was £3267, with costs ranging from £2092 for support to £5086 for grants.
Fortia Insight’s evaluation has concluded; however, DCMS has incorporated recommendations from this evaluation into the continuation of the Boost Fund for another year of delivery.