SACES has published a new report on the Value of Social Enterprise, commissioned by the Stretton Centre, in conjunction with Housing SA, now operating as the South Australian Housing Authority (SAHA).

The report provides estimates of the social value of social enterprise using two case studies of projects operating in South Australia. The study found that every $ invested by these social enterprises in programs that helped young people and people with disability to gain employment and work experience generated up to $5 in social value through improved wellbeing, social integration, and future employment. This was in addition to any earnings impacts.

Part of a broader initiative that explores opportunities for the public sector to target procurement of goods and service for greater social benefit, the study also identified 77 social enterprises with a base in the state, working across a range of industrial and service sectors. Using Housing SA/SAHA data for 2016/17, it is estimated that public procurement created about 125 full-time equivalent jobs and a further 100 full-time equivalent jobs through the supply chain in that year.

The report concludes that public procurement can present an opportunity for targeted employment stimulation in areas of social and economic need, and recommends a strategic needs and opportunity review that is followed by a trial of a procurement initiative focussed on engaging social enterprise.

The report was officially launched at the Purpose Business Network – North, organised by the Don Dunstan Foundation, at the Stretton Centre in Playford on 12 September 2018.