The Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC) is developing a social franchising support programme of tools and resources with part of its funding from the Big Lottery Fund to help social enterprise expansion.

A SEC spokesman said: “Social franchising is a relatively new model of growth and little support exists for those wishing to embark on this route.

“The aim of the project is to undertake detailed research into the processes and issues that surround social franchising and from this develop support and tools.

“In addition to this, the project will also undertake research into alternative scaling-up models such as licensing, joint ventures, consortia and mergers; enabling SEC to develop a solid understanding of the wider scaling-up arena and the associated support needs for social enterprises.”

SEC is looking for partners interest in this area. You can contact them here.