Scotland's Social Enterprise Strategy 2016-2026

Introduction

This strategy sets out a wide-ranging, ambitious and long-term programme to develop the potential of Scotland's social enterprise sector. It describes a clear path to stimulating social enterprise activity, developing stronger organisations, and realising market opportunity over a ten-year timeframe. It positions social enterprise as central to achieving our shared vision of a fair society and inclusive economy.

The Scottish Government is committed to realising the full potential of social enterprise; a way of doing business that is great for the economy and great for the people of Scotland.

This strategy describes how that potential can be realised. It has been developed through a process of co-production, where the Scottish Government has worked with the social enterprise community to articulate shared ambitions and find ways to deliver on these.

In developing the strategy, we have been informed by Scotland's first official census of social enterprise activity ^[1] , by the views and aspirations of hundreds of social enterprises across the country, and by the ambitions already set out in the sector's Vision for Social Enterprise ^[2] .

The strategy that has emerged is both wide-ranging and ambitious in intent. It represents a step-change in the Scottish Government's long-standing commitment to the social enterprise sector. It will build on Scotland's already world-leading model of support for the sector.

The strategy will be accompanied by a series of three-year Action Plans. These will describe in more detail the evolving commitments, initiatives and programmes that will deliver on the long-term priorities set out on the following pages.