Scotland has a long history of pioneering forms of business, including mutual, co-operatives and social enterprises.

Over the last 14 years, the Scottish social enterprise sector has enjoyed unparalleled levels of political and economic support with the Scottish Government embracing social enterprise as an important partner in the economy and in the creation of a fairer, more inclusive Scotland.

On Wednesday 4th September, Aileen Campbell, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government launched the third bi-annual Social Enterprise in Scotland Census report and outlined the key findings at the Social Enterprise Policy & Practice Conference.

This project, led by CEIS with financial support from the Scottish Government, is an essential guide to tracking social enterprise development, its impact on the national economy and identifying the support needs of the sector.

The report, researched and produced by Social Value Lab, presents the findings of the Social Enterprise Census 2019, the third comprehensive account of social enterprise activity in Scotland. It focuses on the scale, reach and contribution of this activity as well as the characteristics, prospects and needs of those organisations that are delivering it.

We would like to thank the members of the Social Enterprise Census Steering Group for their support and input to the report. Organisations on this steering group included Firstport, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Inspiralba, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Government, Senscot, Social Enterprise Academy, Social Enterprise Scotland and Social Firms Scotland. For further information, visit www.socialenterprisecensus.org.uk

Download the Key Facts
Download the Summary
Download the Full Report