Social Economy Growth Programmes

Grow and Accelerate your Charity, Social Enterprise or CIC with a fully funded leadership
and management training programme plus a grant to support you to increase your trading income.

The Aston Centre for Growth introduces the GROW and ACCELERATE programmes, designed to champion the Social Economy Sector. Through a series of expert-led workshops, and with support from peer group coaches, you will develop strategies to increase your trading income while also building beneficiary impact. You will elevate your business skills, gain confidence to create sustainable growth in your organisation and develop a new supportive and collaborative network.

Participants on the GROW Programme will receive a grant incentivised to increase trading income up to a maximum of £10,000.

The Grow Programme includes the following workshops:

• Strategy, Growth & Leading Change  
• Governance, Structures and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Social Economy sector
• Financial and Operational Strategies
• Impact Measurement & Growth
• Developing, Leading and Managing Effective Teams

Participants on the ACCELERATE Programme will receive a grant incentivised to increase trading income up to a maximum of £20,000.

Please note that this programme is now full.

The Accelerate Programme includes the following workshops:

• Strategy, Growth & Leading Change  
• Marketing & Brand Strategy  
• Governance, Structures and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Social Economy sector
• Financial and Operational Strategies
• Impact Measurement & Growth
• Developing, Leading and Managing Effective Teams

Webinars

• Innovation in Action  
• Marketing Strategy in Action
• Impact and Value in Action  

Benefits

The GROW programme offer a range of substantial benefits including;

• Increased Trading Income - businesses will experience a positive impact on trading income, equipping you with the tools and strategies to improve your financial performance.
   
• Enhanced Business Skills and Confidence – targeted leadership training and development opportunities that will help you navigate sector specific challenges and make informed business decisions.
   
• Increased Employment Opportunities & Volunteer Hours - the programme will facilitate business growth, leading to more employment opportunities and volunteer hours to meet the growing demands of your business.
   
• Improved Beneficiary Services & Support - the programme will result in a broader positive impact by extending benefits to a larger number of individuals or groups, whether through employment opportunities, improved services, or community initiatives.

Eligibility

A Social Economy Organisation taking part in one of the programmes:

• Must be operating as a not-for-profit trading organisation (Social Enterprise, Community Business Cooperative, Charity, Community Interest Company etc.)
   
• Must be operating in one of the West Midlands seven Local Authority areas (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Wolverhampton).
   
• Should be an established enterprise and currently have a trading income of,
  - £100k - £500k for the GROW Programme
  - £500k+ for the ACCELERATE Programme
   
• The participant must be the leader of the business and a key decision maker.
   
• Be committed to growing the trading impact of their organisation.
  
  
• Agree to provide data as required for diagnostic, benchmarking, and reporting purposes.

Testimonial

“The application process was easy and the workshops I attended were very practical and useful for not only where our business is currently at, but also the challenges and opportunities coming around the corner. I gained advice and knowledge about business planning, KPI’s and the strategy that goes into it. Learning from and sharing knowledge with other business leaders and having conversations both during and after the programme with them has been way better than expected and very beneficial to our growth.”  

Zubeda Limbada, Founding Director, Connect Futures (talking about the Aston Small Business Growth Programme)

Dates

Next programme dates TBC.

Contact us: 

For more information contact the Aston Centre for Growth team or call us on 0121 204 3225.

The West Midlands Social Economy Business Growth programme is aimed at developing the business skills of social economy organisations across the region, helping you to grow, become more sustainable and increase the impact you have in addressing inequalities.
 

Funded by the UK Government and West Midlands Combined Authority from the Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund

Part of the West Midlands Combined Authority’s commitment to inclusive growth and the government’s commitment to levelling up.

The Social Economy Growth Programmes are delivered in partnership with SEM CIC and Birmingham Newman University.

Data privacy

The information that you supply on this form will be held and processed in line with the Data Protection Act 2018, GDPR and subsequent legislation.

Information will be used by Aston Business School (as Data Controller) to make contact regarding this event only to confirm details of the event, let you know of any changes and to request feedback following the event. We will also share your details with our partner Chartered Association of Business Schools in order to deliver the programme.

Our Privacy statements can be found on the links below.

Aston University Privacy Notice

Data Protection Officer