24 Social Impact Leaders Share Key Opportunities To Advance The Australian Social Enterprise Movement

“What is now required to further the social enterprise movement in Australia and where do the key opportunities lie?” That was the question we asked Australia’s ‘business for good’ leaders at The 2022 Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) in Brisbane.

Given SEWF had served as a catalyst for sector growth and awareness during the five years leading to Australia hosting the forum, it’s important for the movement to look beyond, work towards bold new ambitions and ensure that we take the movement mainstream.

It was interesting to hear some strong themes repeated and the importance of ensuring the movement is open and welcoming to everyone seeking to create sustainable systems that see people and planet thrive.

key themes which emerged from discussion and interviews during the forum included:

The importance of inviting everyone in and breaking down the silos.
An ongoing emphasis on collaboration as a collective system and broad-based social movement.
With state-based networks and Social Enterprise Australia now established, the forming of thematic networks and infrastructure which improves connectivity are important.
First Nations first. Reciprocity, regenerative approaches, interconnectedness & 'we not me' approaches, which decolonise.
Self care and vulnerability can’t be left aside. This work is hard, burnout is rife and without health, we can’t sustainably create impact.

Australia’s social impact leaders respond to the question “What is now required to further the social enterprise movement in Australia and where do the key opportunities lie?” in a podcast recorded live at the 2022 Social Enterprise World Forum.

Highlights from the interviews (listen to the podcast for full details).

Sarah Gun, GoGo Events

To advance the Australian social enterprise sector, we need to invite everyone else into our sector.

I think this sector has worked so hard to bring itself to scale over the last twenty years. We've done as much as we can; we've done a great job and I think we've seen and confirmed this with the amount of energy, time, know how and passion we've built into the sector. To scale and achieve a serious impact with people and communities, where we create a better future and planet, we need to invite everyone else in, get more diverse voices into the room and introduce different ideas that can carry on the work we've done.

Roberto Daniele, Catalyst 2030

What I believe is required next for social enterprise is collaboration.

We need to move away from individual social enterprises and understand we're a collective system that needs to collaborate in a much more intense way.

We're not going to achieve some of the ambitious goals the sector is setting for itself unless we work together more. The sector is still fragmented; there are too many small players working in isolation. We need to address and improve that.

Elisabeth Lette, ArcBlue

The next step in driving the social enterprise sector further in Australia is asking how do we work together and realise the unique and valuable role we all play?

We need to recognise our strengths, collaborate (not compete) and understand the power of many.

Sally McGeoch, Westpac Foundation

It's been amazing being at the Social Enterprise World Forum and just hearing such diverse perspectives in business, government, entrepreneurship and intermediaries.

What's really obvious to me is greater cross sector collaboration is critical now. Social entrepreneurs cannot do this work alone; government and business all need to lean in.

We need to build out the sector, support more intermediaries, and really take a greater ecosystem perspective in order to grow and thrive.

Narayan Gopalkrishnan, Queensland Social Enterprise Council

I believe the future of social enterprise is at an intersection with Indigenous business. I think First Nation models and practices are extremely important for social enterprises to work with, and a lot of the values that emerge out of First Nations communities across the world need to be adopted.

This should be including the ideas of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and the ways in which people work with each other rather than competing.

What's needed to further the moment is essentially communication; we need to start listening to each other, challenging our boundaries and moving beyond traditional forms of social enterprise. Just because a model has worked in Glasgow doesn't mean it's going to work here; Australia has to develop its own models of social enterprise, and they need to be centred within First Nations practices.

Rebecca Scott OAM, STREAT

If I think about the possibilities that come out of this amazing forum, it has been a massive vitamin injection for the sector. I would hope this momentum and energy doesn't dissipate, and part of the opportunity is a connective tissue forming throughout the sector. We're building these state-based practitioner networks, and all of this has been a massive hit of extra social capital.

With the connectedness we've created here, we need to really harness and channel it.

The practitioner's network seems like a really obvious place to start. The other thing that's come up a lot has been thematic, and I also think thematic work makes sense to do in the practitioner's network. Many of us have built practitioner networks with the idea of replicating something like what we see in Scotland. But at the moment, what we've got are parent bodies in each state and territory.

We haven't started building the sub-networks, but sub-networks are a really obvious structure to start to do thematic work and bigger collaborations.

In my case, I'm interested in how we take lots of social enterprises that might be in Victoria and work together in food system regeneration? We're already starting to create structures to do that work. I'm hoping we stay connected, that all that social capital stays nurtured and we keep coming together. We can't wait another twelve years before we all come together in Australia to keep doing this work.

Steve Williams, Mind Flow Grow

What we really need to continue building this movement is recognition of the importance of wellbeing and resilience for change makers.

The movement is growing so quickly that people are being stretched. What we really need is to teach people how to look after themselves and develop a self-care practice. Wellbeing and resilience are key.

Chad Renando, GEN Global

What do we need to do in order to further the movement we have started here at the World Forum?

The biggest thing we're actually getting when I'm looking around the room right now is connection; the amount of ideas and opportunities that have come just from the serendipitous collisions here are vital.

How do we continue that? It is through a structured collective impact opportunity. We need to keep the opportunity of what we get here by bumping into each other in a more intentional way. Why is it that this is the only time so many people (quite often in the same city) actually see each other and work together? We can create structured collective impact approaches and align all levers, including governments, universities, corporates, investors, risk capital foundations and philanthropy, with the people that are actually being impacted. We can seat us all around the table on a consistent basis, continue this conversation in a structured way and mobilise that action.

Belinda Morrissey, English Family Foundation

It's an amazing time for social enterprise in Australia, and we really need to grasp this opportunity.

We've got a new government and a renewed sense of community within our regions and across our cities, as well as a greater understanding of the need for agency and decolonisation. What we need to do is be loud and bold.

We need to really get behind the #switch2good campaign and normalise social enterprise as business as usual.

Paul Quilliam, Social Enterprise Network Tasmania

The next step for the social enterprise ecosystem is to keep relentlessly investing in relationships over transactions; the R value over the T value will always prevail.

Emma-Kate Rose, Food Connect Shed

In terms of what we need to do to further the social enterprise movement, it's about time we recognise social enterprise as being the pioneer of the next economy. Pioneers need support from government policy, the ecosystem in terms of funders of all shapes and forms, and each other. This can be done through strengthening member-based networks and other organisations that provide wraparound stuff for entrepreneurs.

Without that community of people behind them, entrepreneurs are on a lonely journey.

If we want to create the next economy in the next eight years (because really that's all the time we've got) we need to ramp that stuff up.

Davinia Vella

I'm extremely excited we are having the conversation about developing a national strategy for social enterprise. I think it would be very beneficial for our nation and the future of social enterprise. The opportunities I see arising in this space is in using the national strategy to create larger social enterprises that provide more impact and work for disadvantaged and diverse individuals.

Jess Moore, Social Enterprise Australia

We're in a moment with huge opportunities. The World Forum has put a spotlight on social enterprise in Australia. It's also created new connections between people. We can now plan, act, and learn together in new ways to build a better future.

We also have a federal government in Australia who for the first time are talking about a wellbeing economy. Now is the moment to engage the government to partner with and develop a national strategy that can unlock the power of social enterprise.

David Brookes, Social Enterprise Australia

I've been on an absolute high the last couple of days here in Brisbane at the Social Enterprise World Forum! It's great to see the sector's growth over the last 10 to 15 years. Obviously, the sector is growing, but it has some ongoing challenges ahead.

The real opportunity is around setting a national policy framework in place, especially with the emergence of Social Enterprise Australia as well as the state and territory networks providing that basis for practitioner engagement and involvement.

We have a lot of settings in place to receive a buy in at a national level, in terms of setting policy and building on momentum that's been created over the last 10 years through events like this and bringing practitioner momentum and the great work of social enterprises to fruition in the future.

Tony Sharp, Substation33

What we need to do is consult about our needs and stop just grabbing a piece of the pie. We've all got to grow the pie and not grab a piece of the pie.

The most important piece of work we need to do is validate what a social enterprise is, and make sure we are consistent with the messaging we are giving to the rest of the world and commercial partners.

Elise Parups, Queensland Social Enterprise Council

What we need for a vibrant and amazing social enterprise sector is to start looking beyond our silos and what we think we know about social enterprise. For too long, social enterprise has been seen as a side dish. We need to see it as the main course.

We need to have the movement for change central to everything we do, so that we can enable systems change. Let's work outside the square.

Mikey Leung, Digital Storytellers

If we want to grow the social enterprise movement for the future and next decade, we have to tell our stories bigger, better and beyond ourselves outside of the sector. If we're going to become a movement, this means involving communities of practice, other business sectors and our whole society throughout that shift in the economy. To do that, the seed is storytelling.

We have some of the richest stories and experiences from the solutions we are creating and the economy now. Those solutions are available to create a better future, and when we can tell those stories better and make them more accessible, we'll be able to create that change.

Richard Warner, Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative

To further the social enterprise sector, what we need to do is go deeper and listen to the voices of people, communities and environments that are affected by problems. We need to listen to what's going on through people's voices and then engage them in a participatory way in crafting our future.

The other thing that's really important is working together across our boundaries and differences. We're a broad based social movement and we can achieve so much from listening and learning from each other.

In terms of opportunities, I think they are uncharted; we're going to learn through connecting with each other. We actually don't know what those opportunities are, and they will soon unfold.

Adrian Appo OAM, Yajilara

If I was to think about how we move social enterprise forward, strangely enough, my first thoughts are we need to reframe our thinking. Social enterprise makes a significant and deep impact. I suppose until we start believing in that ourselves, how can others then believe in it for us?

Daniel Doherty, Jigsaw Australia

There are a lot of things needed in the future of social enterprises in Australia. The one thing that is most needed is continued education, enthusiasm and action from social enterprise.

Just being involved and not afraid to constantly take action is crucial. One of the main opportunities is that social enterprise is becoming known; it’s a very hot topic and we're seeing a lot of success.

The opportunities are unlimited, you don't have to go too far to find a social enterprise to be involved with. Just be there, be active and make a difference.

Alex Hannant, The Yunus Centre

What do we need to do to build momentum off of this World Forum? I think it's two pronged, and I am coming at this from the perspective of Social Enterprise Australia.

Facilitative work to surface what we actually need must occur - The conditions and infrastructures we need to improve our connectivity and the extent of our activities and innovation have to be in train.

At the same time, we've got to go to Canberra and invite the government to engage in the co-production of a long term strategy which places social enterprise at the heart of the change agenda of this country. This is both bottom up and top down.

Sharon Zivkovic, Community Capacity Builders

What we need to do to further the social enterprise movement in Australia is to concentrate on thematic networks.

We've actually established state-based networks, now it's the time for us to come together and tackle the global challenges impacting Australia. Together, we can really make an impact.

Daniel Flynn, Thankyou

There are answers at every level, but in the space we're in at Thankyou, we feel the role we play and the role every social entrepreneur plays is to take risks, dream bigger and go harder. As we take bigger leaps, it attracts people to first of all notice the space, and second of all be inspired and contribute to it. That is not the only thing we need, but I think it is certainly the role we play and we will continue to play.

Adrian Appo OAM, Tom Allen, Luke Terry and Belinda Morrissey.

Luke Terry, White Box Enterprises

We've had a brilliant couple of days at the Social Enterprise World Forum, but it's what happens next I think that matters the most. There's a couple of things we really need to think about. What you do in the next hundred days is what will shape the legacy of this event. What social enterprise are you going to call next? What leader are you building a mentoring relationship with? What impact investor and philanthropist is visiting your social enterprise over the next hundred days? What new board conversations are you having to take us from a sector to a movement?

This is our moment; Every city that has hosted this Forum has been transformed. But, it doesn't just happen on its own. It is on us to create this change to create the legacy of SEWF 2022. Together, let's make it happen.

Impact Boom remains committed to helping drive action around growth of the ‘business for good’ movement globally. Get in touch to discover how we can partner to design, develop and deliver capacity-building programs or turbocharge awareness via our media.