Electronic Networks - Building Community, 2002

A Local Economic Strategy for an ICT Social Enterprise Business

Steve Shanta, Scotland

This paper outlines an economic rationale for establishing a Social Enterprise Business, or not-for-profit limited company, to develop and deliver ICT services in the Ayrshire sub-region of Scotland. The ICT services of the social enterprise are a strategic investment for promoting digital inclusion in disadvantaged communities. The socio-economic objectives and services of the social enterprise are summarised within the context of an emerging knowledge-based local economy.

Background

The Digital Inclusion strategy for the Ayrshire sub-region of Scotland seeks to enhance the sustainability of local communities by raising the level of ICT skills and capacity needed to fully participate in emerging ICT jobs and services. This strategy aims to support the development of digital inclusion in ways that will add real value to communities, make a significant contribution to a knowledge driven economy and provide a mechanism for the creation of jobs, especially in local small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The implementation of this strategy requires the development of higher skilled ICT specialists, a general labour pool with higher ICT competence and a more ICT literate population within local communities. Ayrshire's approach will target higher skill levels amongst the "under-employed" in the current workforce; thereby creating a positive "upward displacement" of skills and employability. This process has been successfully piloted through the "Jobrotation" scheme, first introduced in Norway, and has demonstrated success as a vehicle for generating job opportunities in local companies for unemployed clients.

Services and Objectives of the ICT Social Enterprise

The establishment of the social enterprise will enable Ayrshire communities and companies to access independently managed ICT support services while generating additional ICT jobs, opportunities for business development and a significant increase in e-commerce activity. The social enterprise will aim to :

• Offer communities a cost-effective way of accessing ICT support services and of getting connected in to a wider e-Community network.
• Accelerate Ayrshire's investment in practical ICT skills and in the development of support services for local "knowledge based" businesses.
• Provide a management framework for the extension of ICT training and Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) activity.
• Anticipate trends in the growth of e-commerce and meet the ICT recruitment needs of local employers.
• Provide an independent professional ICT capability for the private, public and "third" sector partners in Ayrshire.

Economic Rationale for the ICT Social Enterprise

The economic benefits anticipated from the social enterprise go beyond increased employability for participants and the reduction of unemployment in disadvantaged communities. The additionality expected from the social enterprise can be summarised as follows:

• Provision of a managed focus for commercial ICT development and capacity building in local communities.
• Establishment of a Digital Apprenticeship programme that will create a local pool of ICT specialists needed to support the development of e-commerce in Ayrshire. This innovative programme will provide a training and work placement "bridge" between current ILM projects and full time employment.
• Introduction of intermediary ICT services that will offset part of the known ICT skill shortage in companies by enabling existing ICT personnel to be released to implement new e-business systems and practices.
• Achievement of "economies of scale" in the sourcing of public ICT resources and services, such as ICT equipment and network bandwidth, that will enable the growth and spread of electronic services to communities.

The ICT social enterprise business is considered by Ayrshire's public sector partner organisations and the local economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire, as the most appropriate method for managing and sustaining existing public ICT assets while ensuring that the capacity of local ICT infrastructure helps to promote digital inclusion in a cost-effective manner.