Lord Young, the Prime Minister’s enterprise adviser, has launched a new government and industry-backed national network devoted to supporting social enterprise and helping them to become more sustainable.

The Social Enterprise UEN (University Enterprise Network) will draw upon the local, national and international expertise and knowledge contained within the higher education and business sectors to strengthen the social and economic value of such organisations.

The UEN is being led by GAIN partner Plymouth University, in conjunction with the Co-operative Group, SERCO, the Social Enterprise Mark Company and the National Council for Entrepreneurship in Education (NCEE).

Lord Young delivered a keynote address at the public launch of the UEN, at the Institute of Directors on 8 February.

David Frost, Chair of NCEE, Professor Wendy Purcell, Vice-Chancellor of Plymouth University, and Darren Gibson, CEO of SERCO also addressed the invited audience from the university, social enterprise and private sectors.

Professor Purcell said: “This is the first network of its kind in the country and presents Plymouth and its partners with a fantastic opportunity to lead the higher education sector in establishing best practice principles for social enterprise.

“It is a tripartite partnership between industry, the public sector and universities which will look to make a substantial contribution to the long term competitiveness of the UK economy and to social cohesion.”

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