Holyrood Election Conversation & Social Enterprise Manifesto Launch for The Scottish Parliament election 2016!

Hi all hope you are all well

Holyrood Election Conversation & Social Enterprise Manifesto Launch for The Scottish Parliament election 2016!

I am attending the above event on Monday 11th April. We have been encouraged to ask questions of those running the event from the Scottish parliament and Social Enterprise Scotland. Here is the questions I am going to take with me. what do you think?

I am a dyslexic dyslexia and inclusion specialist and founded Dyslexia Pathways CIC in 2009. We are the first dyslexia focussed social enterprise in the world. We are a small CIC but we have big ambitions. However we are finding it extremely difficult to move forward. The issue here is accessing grant funding that will give us the time and space to grow.

I have recently accessed support from the Scottish Cultural Enterprise Office and thank them for being dyslexia friendly so its not all bad news.

I have made several successful funding applications for projects run by Dyslexia Pathways CIC as well as in my career as a dyslexia and inclusion specialist working in colleges.

Question 1: What support is there available that will enable a small social enterprise such as mine to grow? One issue here is the vast majority of funders talk about community in terms of a geographical location, when we are working with a dyslexic community which does not fit in within that narrow, and lets face it, outdated definition of community.

I know there is funding out there but much of the time I find out about this too late to enable me as a dyslexic to complete what are quite complex and time consuming application forms. I am also concerned that small social enterprises just cannot compete on a level playing field with larger more established social enterprises.

I founded Dyslexia Pathways CIC as a business novice and it took me sometime to find my feet as a social entrepreneur. Although we were founded in 2009, it took me a while to gain confidence to even think of myself as a social entrepreneur. We managed to win contracts to support dyslexic, neuro different and disabled students attending university. Also, our recent Unique Dyslexic Get Creative project was a real success.

Last year I attended a 20 week entrepreneur course at Acorn Enterprises, as well as attended the inaugural Scotland CanDo Scale programme. Both were fab programmes but I was concerned at the lack of support for dyslexic and neuro different entrepreneurs. I also attended a couple of Social Enterprise Academy Leadership courses. I am also concerned at the lack of dyslexia awareness of funders also; considering statistics show that around 35% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic, I believe this situation needs to be addressed and solved.

Question 2: What support is being made available to enable prospective dyslexic, neuro different and disabled social entrepreneurs to embrace social enterprise to address issues such a marginalisation and exclusion many of us face in education. training and employment?  

Many dyslexics do end up failing at school. Not because they are not bright enough but because our education system still lets so many of us down. Many dyslexics then go on to be marginalised in employment, and cannot succeed in training for work because dyslexia issues have not been resolved. As a result we have around 50% of the prison population being dyslexic and over 60% have very poor literacy and numeracy.  

This is a waste of their lives and a waste of potential to the Scottish economy.

Social enterprise should be about inclusion in terms of encouraging and supporting dyslexic, neuro differenct and disabled prospective social entrepreneurs into social enterprise as a career path. I just don't see that happening within the social enterprise movement.

ta for taking the time to read my blog. Any comments are most appreciated and please share.