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The title of the latest CSM pamphlet is Faith in Social Enterprise: A call to the churches and the nation by Francis Davis, Chair of SCA Health and Social Care and Associate of the Young Foundation.
Social enterprise is a new and exciting concept. Challenging traditional ideas about how to ‘do’ welfare – blanket state provision, for example, or ‘top-down’ charity – it advocates a flexible approach melding business acumen with social concern. But, as author Francis Davis is at pains to stress, it is not about ‘charities with trading arms’, nor ‘businesses with a charitable face’. Social enterprises represent a new departure and a fresh vision.
Moreover, many are faith-based, and this essay offers a powerful challenge to churches and Christians regarding their approach to social justice. Citing examples of social entrepreneurship from the UK and farther afield, Davis shows how, with open-mindedness, courage and a fresh understanding of mission, people of faith can transform individuals and communities through projects that harness the best practices of business to ensure sustainability, effectiveness and inclusion.
This is a pamphlet at the cutting-edge of current debates about social provision, business ethics and the role of faith in society. It challenges church and government with practical suggestions as to how social enterprise can be made to work, all informed by the author’s first-hand involvement in some of the most successful such enterprises. It also highlights the prominent role that Christian socialists at the heart of government are playing in promoting the social enterprise agenda.
As one of those government ministers, Alun Michael, says in his foreword, social enterprise represents both an idealistic but deeply practical agenda, bringing together ‘the commercial realities of the 21st century and our deeply-held beliefs in a way that may persuade many that we do know what we’re doing’.
To order a copy of Faith in Social Enterprise: A call to the churches and the nation please send a cheque made payable to CSM for £5/US$10 (postage and packing free) to CSM, Westminster Central Hall, London, SW1H 9NH, UK.
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