COMMUNITY SERVICES PROGRAMMESocial Enterprise Business Plan - Short Guidance notesFebruary 2016

Introduction to Business Planning

CSP funded service providers are required to prepare a Business Plan for a 3 year period and this Plan forms the basis for Pobal to make a recommendation to the Department of Social Protection for continued inclusion in the programme.

The Business Plan provides Pobal with a picture of the short to medium term objectives of the social enterprise, and projected forecasts and how they will implement it. An effective business plan is one that the Board of Directors and Management are familiar with and fully support. It is therefore important that as many people as possible who will be involved in implementing the plan contribute to its development. It should be kept under review, so that it can be updated to take account of changing circumstances.

The function of business planning is to define your social enterprise model and provide details on all aspects of your operations, including governance, your service, your market and market research (customers/users/geographical area/data analysis/need), finance (creating a surplus, achieving sustainability) and social impact (contributing to positive and measurable change for people).

It is important that Business Planning is not simply viewed as a ‘Pobal requirement’, but is viewed as a key tool for planning and achieving positive outcomes using a social enterprise/community business model.

This short guidance note offers areas of discussion for the Board and Management to look at to assist them in filling out their business plan.

Rather than going through each section, the guidance note focuses on areas that have caused CSP supported social enterprises difficulties in the past.

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Section 1 – Organisation Details

1.17 Provide an up to date list and skill set of your Board of Directors/ Management Committee i.e. the team behind the Social Enterprise

Discussion points:1. What skills do we need on our team to drive forward the Social Enterprise? i.e. sales,

marketing etc.2. Who are our current Directors and what are their skills and areas of expertise? – Have we

skills gaps?3. Is there someone in our community who could help in our business? Can we ask them to

help on a specific working group?

A social enterprise needs the Board of Directors and Management to be involved, familiar with and fully support the business plan. Have a discussion about the skills that are needed to drive the company forward and match them against the skills available on the board and management.

1.18 Please indicate the sub-committees that you have in place, provide a brief description of their specific remit and how often do they report to the board of directors/management committee.

Discussion points:

1. Are there certain areas in the business that could benefit from having a sub-committee and /or small working groups?” e.g. income generation; market research / needs analysis; human resource,

2. Have we an agreed and written remit for our sub-committees and is the remit still relevant?3. Are there people in our community that have specific skills/expertise and who could help

us by joining a working group for a set period of time?

1.19 Outline any training your Board Members have participated in recently or are planning to undertake

Discussion points:

1. Have we skills on our board that can be shared? i.e. accountant sharing information on finances; business owner sharing information on advertising etc.

2. Are we in contact with organisations that can provide training? i.e. Local Enterprise Boards; Education & Training Boards; The Wheel, www.mooc.org (Massive Open Online Courses)

3. Do we review the training needs of the board on an Annual basis?

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1.20 Outline what procedures and control systems are in place within your Social Enterprise to ensure effective governance and good financial management

Discussion points:

1. What are our current procedures and control systems and do we review them often?2. Have we looked at the Pobal “Managing Better” document available on the website?3. How can you show that your organisation is fit to manage the Community Services

Programme?4. Have we addressed all identified audit issues?

1.21 Volunteers: Apart from board activities and meetings, how many volunteers are directly involved in managing and delivering services and activities within your Social Enterprise?

Discussion points:

1. Volunteers allow our social enterprise to show that we have strong connections with the community.

2. Have we roles in our organisation that can be filled by volunteers?3. Have we a Volunteer policy in place? How are our Volunteers managed?

1.25 Staffing:

REQUESTED CSP SUPPORTED STAFFING: Please remember to submit a current job description for all staff to be supported by a CSP contribution

Discussion points:

1. Are the jobs and tasks eligible under CSP? Are the hours consolidated enough to provide meaningful employment for employees?

2. Are the job descriptions in line with the objectives of the Social Enterprise?3. Do the positions have an enterprise/income generation focus as well as a social focus? 4. Are you paying the market rate? Do you know the market rate? Are you working towards

the living wage of €11:45 per hour?

1.26 Are you intending to make any changes to your current CSP Staffing Arrangements for period 2017-2019 in terms of roles or responsibilities or job descriptions?

Discussion points:

1. Have you taken on board any previous feedback on current contract? (For example increasing income generation, diversifying, changes in staff skills that can benefit the business).

2. Is the reason for any changes well thought out and agreed by board?3. Do you have other supports such as CE, Tus or RSS, and do you need to review the roles

of all workers to avoid any duplication?

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1.27 - Training for CSP supported staff. Outline what training will be provided for CSP supported staff (Future Intentions)Discussion points:

1. Is additional or updating of existing qualifications required for roles?2. Are there any skills gaps in your workers? e.g. Administration staff completing online

returns etc

1.28 Are you planning to make any significant changes or improvements to your Social Enterprise’s facilities and/or services/activities for the next contracting period? Please include the new issues you have identified that the proposed changes will address

Discussion points

1. Link your discussion to section 5.4 (Please highlight any potential growth areas (including details of potential earnings) for your Social Enterprises services or facilities)

2. Is the Social Enterprise thinking of targeting new markets, increasing customers, major capital refurbishment/new build, increasing services, introducing new services and or facilities, forming new partnerships, merger with another company, Increasing or reducing staff CSP Staffing levels, improving practices or methods of delivery?

3. What issues have you identified that you are proposing to address?

1.29 Please outline any other staff that work within your Social Enterprise detailing job title role and source of funding (traded income / other public funding / other). Include within this profile all staff WITHIN your organisation who are participating on employment activation programmes such as CE / TUS / RSS / Job Bridge etc.)

Discussion points:

1. What other staff do we have responsibility for?2. How do we incorporate them into our Social Enterprise to deliver on our aims and

objectives?3. NOTE: this section allows our potential investors (e.g. Pobal and the Department) to

ensure that the CSP Social Enterprise is adequately resourced and that roles are not duplicated

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Section 2 – Business Delivery Plan

2.1 Please provide an update in relation to how your service and activities has met its current business plan objectives, outputs and targets. Outline any significant developments and issues your Social Enterprise has encountered during this period.

Discussion points:

1. Review your last Business Plan - did you achieve what you set out to achieve?2. What impacted positively/negatively on the delivery of your last business plan?3. Link the Past, Present and Future.4. Evidence - Our organisation provided a service to older people through providing X

number of meals between over the 3 year period. We exceeded our target in the business plan by 22%

2.2 Provide a summary of your proposed CSP Social Enterprise for the next 3 years.

Discussion points

1. Please describe the planned activities of your Social Enterprise supported by the Community Services Programme?

2. This needs to be succinct as it will be used for information purposes about your business (a couple of lines will suffice).

3. Refer to your organisation mission statement when writing your summary.

Examples: “To provide a community tourism service to the Sligo region through marketing, festivals

(name other activities). Additional income will include membership fees, public charges to tourists (name other ways)

“To provide services to older people in the Galway region through meals on wheels, social gatherings (name other activities). Additional income generation will include rental space of kitchen to local FETAC training provider, training (name other ways)

2.3 Please outline your key business objectives for the period [2017-2019]

Discussion points:

1. Review your last Business Plan objectives and identify relevant changes2. Link your key objectives to your mission statement and ensure your actions are

linked directly to your objectives3. Are they realistic and achievable with a set timeframe?

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2.4 Describe the key activities for the period [2017-2019] which will be directly supported by the CSP Social Enterprise (remember to ensure these are linked to your key business objectives and that they can be measured.

Discussion Points

1. What problem is the activity(s) trying to alleviate e.g. elder care; social isolation etc.

2. What would happen if the activity was not available?3. Who are the customers paying for the activities? 4. How can the benefits be measured – how do you know they are working?

2.5– Outputs – we require you to complete the first 4 outputs inserted as well as others as appropriate which are specific to your business activities

Discussion points

1. The outputs requested by Pobal may not be the only outputs that are important for your organisation to record – they record information that the Department specifically requested.

2. Have we other outputs that we consider important to capture the value (social or otherwise) of our Social Enterprise? If so we can enter these under “Other”

3. Have we set up a way of recording and monitoring the outputs? (to ensure that the benefits can be measured and verified)

2.6 OUTCOMES - What are the intended outcomes i.e. what do you hope to achieve as a result of providing this business? (Remember to link outcomes to the service, objectives and activities

Discussion Points

1. Outcome = what change you hope to have happened as a result of your activities – What difference does our service make?

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SECTION 3 – NEED FOR THE BUSINESS

3.1 Outline any analysis undertaken to determine continued need and relevance for the services/facilities/activities provided by your Social Enterprise.

Discussion Points

1. What Market Research have we undertaken this year to determine the demand for our business?

2. Market research and needs analysis should be on-going to ensure that the current need is being addressed in the right way. – This can take the format of conversations with customers, surveys, customer feedback and needs analysis.

3. Are we aware of where we can get information? (email from Pobal on 7th December outlines a number of areas)

3.2 Outline what issues in the community is your Social Enterprise addressing which are currently not being met through other public or private resources and who are the customers who will be paying for the proposed services and activities?

Discussion Points

1. Link the issues back to the market research / needs analysis that was completed in 3.1

2. What are the issues that need to be addressed in order to alleviate the problems identified?

3. What opportunities were identified (if any) which your Social Enterprise could satisfy (diversifying)?

4. Have we included evidence? i.e. Pobal maps, CSO Statistics, Demographics.

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From our experience we note that many CSP Social Enterprises can struggle with Marketing, Market research/Needs Analysis so we are including a short note on Marketing for discussion by Board and Management:

You need be proactive in marketing your social enterprise by being conscious of the following:

A. The 4 P’s 1. Your Product/Service – clearly defining what this is, who is this targeted at?2. Price – how do you price your product?3. Promotion – how do you let your customers/potential customers know about your

service offering e.g. local newspaper/newsletter, local radio, FB or other social media, word of mouth, posters?

4. Place – this relates to the distribution of your service/product – via what method of distribution, geographic spread.

B. Market Research – required to grow/sustain your service enterprise:

Think of the following questions: Who are your customers? What are your customer needs?  How big is the market?  Who else is offering the same product/service in your area, and what price do they

charge?In order to find get an accurate picture, you can carry out market research in the following ways:

Primary Research: a. Carry out interviews (surveys) by talking to users/potential users of your service

face to face, by telephone, in groups or by post.  b. Focus Groups – groups of existing or potential customers are brought together

to discuss their opinions about your service.c. Observation – watching how customers/users of your service behave /engage

with your service offering.

Secondary Research: Using secondary sources of information e.g. CSO statistics, Government reports, published Market Research reports, newspapers

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3.3 Justify the need for the number of CSP supported posts requested for the next 3 years and how will these posts directly contribute to meeting the identified need.

Discussion

1. How can we show that our workers are being utilised to their full capacity? – i.e. that we still need all of our workers to deliver on the activities for this contract

2. How are the roles relevant to the delivery of the CSP Social Enterprise?3. Have we any positions that are more suited to an Employment Scheme rather than

CSP?4. Have we reviewed all employment roles to ensure adequate income generation

potential?5. Have we explored other possibilities such as CE, RSS, TUS, Jobsbridge?

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SECTION 4 – ADDED VALUE OF YOUR SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

4.1 Detail the key benefits to the target group/community as a direct result of providing the services provided by your Social Enterprise . Outline any evidence you have to support this (including testimonials, case studies etc.)

Discussion Points

1. Quality of life improvements, for who and how?2. Opportunities for participation and socialisation, for who and how?3. Access to facilities and services4. Preservation and or development of local hall/resource centre for the local

community?5. Please remember to provide as much detail as possible i.e. you need to provide

evidence rather than make aspirational statements

4.2 How does your organisation involve those benefiting from your services in the governance arrangements and delivery of your Social Enterprise services?

Discussion Points1. Have we representation from our target groups on our board2. Are our target groups volunteering with us?3. Have we any systems set up to get feedback from target groups?

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SECTION 5 – SUSTAINIBILITY

5.3 How do the services of your Social Enterprise differ from other local provision, highlighting how you have taken into consideration any displacement or duplication of existing provision locally

Discussion Points-1. State why and how your social enterprise does or does not displace commercial

businesses.2. If you do displace commercial businesses please show how you have used a full

cost business case for this service and that CSP resources are not used to support this displacement.

3. Outline any cost savings and efficiencies.4. Consider the nature and the quality of the service/facilities.5. Consider the issue of accessibility .6. Collaboration and co-ordination with other services and organisation’s. 7. Remember to provide as much detail as possible i.e. you need to provide

evidence rather than make aspirational statements

5.1 Summarise the income generation strategy & plan for the next three years of your Social Enterprise and provide a narrative to explain your financial projections. Please attach your pricing plan to support this.

Discussion Points:

1. Provide your pricing policy and pricing list and how you arrived at the cost2. Explain the rationale behind any tiered pricing list3. Ensure your annual turnover is directly linked to the figures you have already provided on

your customer numbers and actions above4. If you state you are striving to become sustainable then please state what this means to

your social enterprise (what does it look like), when you intend to achieve it and how. Again please base your projections on your customer numbers, service, actions and objectives.

5. Ensure you provide detail on how and to whom you will increase your service to i.e. your customers

6. Please remember to provide as much detail as possible i.e. you need to provide evidence rather than make aspirational statements

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5.2 Reflecting on the past 3 years and looking to the future please list any key strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats/risks in relation to your Social Enterprise.

Discussion points1. Have we evaluated the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

involved our CSP Social Enterprise/Community business. Strengths: characteristics of the business that give it an advantage over

others. Weaknesses: characteristics that place the business at a disadvantage relative

to others. Opportunities: elements that the business could exploit to its advantage. Threats: elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business

2. Specify the objective of the business or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective.

3. What are the critical factors (internal and external) we must consider to ensure the sustainability and success of our services/facilities?

4. Link to our risk management below

5.3 Referring to Pobal’s Guidance on Risk Management please identify and list the potential threats and the corresponding risks to your organisation and business and how you intend to mitigate these.

Discussion points

1. Risk is anything that affects an organisation’s ability to meet its objectives and preserve its reputation.

2. Types of risks to consider include - Compliance risk; External risk; Financial risk; Governance risk; Information technology risk; Operational or Programme risk; Reputation risk; Strategic risk

3. What could happen that would affect our ability to meet our objectives?4. How likely is it to occur?5. How serious might it be?6. What should we do to reduce the risk?7. How can we be prepared to respond to problems?

5.4 Please highlight any potential growth areas (including details of potential earnings) for your Social Enterprises services or facilities over the next 3 years. Please provide as much detail as possible.

Discussion points

1. What are our opportunities?2. Are there any opportunities for potential growth e.g. expanding services, capital build,

expanding market reach, offering new products? 3. Will we have business growth either by boosting the income of the business though

greater product sales or service income, or by increasing the profitability of the operation by minimizing costs?

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5.5 Please provide a statement on why and how your Social Enterprise is and will continue to be feasible over the next 3 years i.e. capable of being done, effected, or accomplished.

Discussion points:

1. Are we capable of accomplishing our aims, objectives and activities with the means at hand and the current circumstances as they are?

2. How practicable, reasonable and achievable are the aims, objectives and activities outlined in the Business Plan?

5.6 Please provide a statement on why and how your Social Enterprise will continue to be viable and sustainable over the next 3 years.

Discussion points:

1. Have we a clear statement as to why we think we have a viable solution that can be sustained over the contract period?

2. Have we the capacity to operate or be sustained over the period from a financial perspective?

3. Have we considered that whilst we may have a feasible service/project, that it may or may not be viable for the social enterprise/community business to continue with the proposed solution to the identified problem?

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Section 6 – Financial Information

The Financial Information required is as follows:

1. Income and Expenditure for 2015 (actual) and 2016 (projected) - financial table included in the business plan

2. Cash Flow for 2016 - separate excel sheet3. Reserves Policy & Plan – own document to be submitted4. 2015 Annual Financial Statements (Audited Accounts)

We need this overview to understand the general financial health and viability of your company as this is the legal entity with which Pobal is contracting.

Company Income

Please insert all actual (2015) and projected (2016) income in your company or co-op.

All income generated by the CSP Social Enterprise should be inserted in the column marked “CSP”.

If your company undertakes other distinct activities and services that are not related to or funded by CSP this income should be inserted into column marker “OTHER”. (This refers to a minority of companies – if you are unsure please contact your Development Co-Ordinator)

This information is helpful to us in giving us a view of the overall size and range of your company’s activities.

Company Expenditure

Please insert the Company Expenditure of your CSP funded Social Enterprise only.

Reminders:-

Staff Salaries : Please insert your gross salary figure including employer PRSI and pension, if applicable, and specify each post working employed to deliver your Community Service in the explanation section.

Administration Overheads : Please insert your administration & other running costs. These are costs associated with the running of a premises i.e. rent, heat light and power, insurance, audit fees etc. If you are in receipt of Operational Funding, you do not need to allocate a proportion of this to each overhead i.e. the spend is at your own discretion.

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Company Cashflow for CSP Social Enterprise only

Separate guidance note attached to cashflow template. Community Services funding contribution are normally issued as follows:

25% in January 25% March (upon receipt of completed December returns) 25% June (dependent on receipt of signed Audited Accounts that are circular 13 compliant)

25% September

Discussion Points

1. The Cashflow allows management to project its expected cash inflow and cash outflow and see clearly whether there will be a cash surplus or deficit in the bank account. As liquidity is one of the key aspects of a successful business, cashflow is one of the most important financial documents a company can prepare.

Reserves in the Community & Voluntary sector

Profit is a term usually associated with the private sector. Not-for-profit organisations do not make a profit but they may make a surplus. Good practice indicates that an organisation in the community and voluntary sector should have sufficient reserves to ensure their stability and to anticipate future financial demands, for example:-

o A maintenance or renewal fund to repair or replace tangible assets (equipment, vehicles, premises, IT)

o A contingency fund o Working capital to ensure cash is available to pay staff and meet bills where income is

irregular or delayed in receipt.

Pobal recommends 13 weeks operating costs as a reasonable objective.

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Key Criteria for Funding

Please be aware that your Business Plan is appraised under these criteria to be considered for funding and to be issued with a contract from Pobal on behalf of the Department of Social Protection.

KEY CRITERIA SUMMARY EXPLANATION OF CRITERIA1 Capacity of the

OrganisationIs this organisation fit for purpose? Corporate Governance: is there robust governance

structure? Appropriate experience and expertise on the Board and

Management Appropriate financial and management control systems Quality of Business Plan presented which should be in a

clear, concise and professional manner

2 Strategic Fit The Business Plan submitted must provide clear evidence of how the services and/or facilities contribute to the overall aim and eligibility criteria of the Community Services Programme

Does the organisation demonstrate that they meet a social, economic or environmental need in the community which is not being met through public or private funding or other resources?

How closely aligned is the organisation to a social enterprise model

Has the Business plan taken into account any displacement or duplication issues? Please comment and provide a rationale

4 Sustainability A score will be awarded on the basis of a robust review of your 2015 Annual Financial Statements to ensure financial viability and that there are realistic level of reserves and retained fundsandA review of your Business Plan to specifically examine the following: Does it include a realistic forecast of income and

expenditure? The levels of Traded Income, CSP and other income will

be reviewed as per traded income guidelines above. Any viability concerns over the next contract period? Are their adequate reserves and are they in line with

reserves policy? Does it demonstrate effective management of income

and expenditure? Has the applicant has sought to develop new income

streams;

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Does it demonstrate adaptability to changing demands and needs?

5 Value for Money The Business Plan and the AFS must demonstrate: Clear justification for the level of requested CSP

supported Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) That the CSP “FTE” level is commensurate with other

comparable services or facilities An appropriate level of outputs, actions and outcomes

(commensurate to the level of CSP investment). Does it outline any generation of social capital through

deployment of volunteers, work placements; The added value /complementary to existing services/facilities

within the target area3 Demonstration of

NeedThe Business Plan must include:- Clear and concise analysis of need supported by up to-

date data and relevant research (not being met by any other public or private resources)

Evidence of engagement with the target groups and local community in determining the need;

Demonstrate how the services/facilities will meet the need outlined

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