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What is a Social Enterprise?

Social Enterprises are part of the growing "social economy". The social economy, sometimes referred to as the "third sector", positions itself between the traditional private sector on the one hand and the public sector on the other. It includes voluntary and community organisations, foundations and associations of many types.

Social Enterprises are businesses that combine the entrepreneurial skills of the private sector with a strong social mission that is characteristic of the social economy as a whole. These businesses, such as those established by New Horizons Partnership, use trading activities to achieve their goals and financial self-sufficiency.

New Horizons Partnership established these social enterprises for the following reasons:

1. They provide meaningful employment to our clients and a progression route from training to the world of work.
2. They allow us to be less reliant on public funding and move towards self-suffiency.
3. They are a vehicle by which we can sustain our provision of services to clients in the long-term.

Now take a look at the links on the left for more information on each of the social enterprises which New Horizons Partnership already operates or is in the process of establishing.