SSE NW Eco Social Enterprise Start Up Programme FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions These are to help you make your application the best you can make it... Below are key questions / tips for making your application to The Eco-Social Enterprise Start Up easier. An eco-social enterprise seeks to make a difference across a wide range of eco and environmental challenges facing communities across the North West.

1. Eco-Social Enterprise Start Up Programme
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Below are key questions / tips for making your application to The Eco-Social Enterprise Start Up
easier.
An eco-social enterprise seeks to make a difference across a wide range of eco and environmental
challenges facing communities across the North West. The list below gives you an idea of areas your
work could fall into, and this list is not exhaustive;
Green Leadership tools Land based education Animal management
Green tech Affordable energy Bio diesel
Healthy fast food Ecotourism Eco friendly cleaning
Permaculture & urban farming Forest School Sustainable coffee shop
Solar energy Outdoor adventuring Waste management
Food waste Upcycling Bee keeping
Eco-floristry Eco fashion Tree surgeon
Eco-artist Recycling Pest control
Book loan Tool Library Healthy, local eating
Bike repairs Activist group Health & wellbeing
Please note that either handwritten or word processed applications will be accepted via email
submission. Please make your handwriting clearly printed using black pen.
Answer all the questions the best you can. If you don’t know something, please say so or write N/A
(Not Applicable) in the box.
Deadline for applying is no later than 4pm Monday 23rd
July 2018
Get some you know to sense check your application before you submit it. We want to be able to
understand your form and fully understand your idea.
Feel free to contact us to ask questions at angelastanley@blackburnehouse.co.uk or on 0151
708 3914
A. YOUR PERSONAL DETAILS – this section is here for you to tell us your basic information and short
description of your idea or existing organisation. All personal information is stored in line with data
protection and GDPR policy.
B. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA – this section tells you the things we are looking for in the students we will
accept on the programme and helps you to identify if you and your project idea or existing
organisation fit with what we are looking for in prospective students.
C. YOUR START UP PROJECT OR ORGANISATION – this section gives you a chance to tell us in
more detail about your project or organisation. Stick to the word count as we have set this to
help you keep your answers brief.

2. Where is your organisation or project based? Or where will your location be once up &
running? – this could be a community centre, old pub, garden in your neighbourhood.
Tell us what area of your community you are working – include any addresses, postcodes. Help
us get a picture of where you work
D. ABOUT YOUR EXISTING ORGANISATION - Tell us more about your business structure / set
up information i.e. is it constituted? i.e. our you volunteer led? Or more formally set up as a Ltd.
Company or CIC (Community Interest Company). There is no right or wrong with this question,
just where you are right now.
E. ABOUT YOUR SOCIAL IMPACT - this set of questions is about you telling us what difference
your idea or organisation is going to or is already having. Be clear about the eco-social impact
as this what our programme is set up to support.
Who or what will benefit? List your main customers, target audience or environmental cause –
this could be people, animals, the environment or more specific groups of people. You may have
evidence from your own work or other statistics to prove the importance of this.
What will be the social impact created? (e.g. more sustainability, less waste, creating jobs for
long term unemployed, increased pro-environmental awareness, more people in training, habitat
reclaimed...) – these are the big changes you are making or hoping to make. You may have
evidence from your own work or other statistics to prove the importance of this.
How do you know your organisation or project idea makes a difference?
The following questions are here to get you thinking...
1. Have you had direct experience of the issues or similar projects?
2. Have you done some research to see who else is running the kind of projects you are
proposing? Why will your project be different or additional to theirs?
3. Have you talked to people that your project is seeking to help about needs and about their
ideas?
4. Have you talked to experts in the field who have run similar projects? Have you run activities
or run a pilot project.
If you have already started your organisation – tell us about what you have;
1. Done so far (activities) 2. Your top 3 successes
F. ABOUT YOU – The School for Social Entrepreneurs is about helping people to become the best
social enterprise leaders they can be so the more we know about you the better we can see how
you and your idea fit together. Big yourself up, brag about all you are doing and your successes,
we want to know!
Tell us what made you want to set up your project or organisation – this could be because
you have had experience of similar problems and feel called to change the situation. It could be
you were inspired by something you have been learning or a job or volunteering role you’ve had.
Tell us about three of your achievements you are most proud of & why? - ideally your
examples are linked to your idea or the organisation you are developing, but they don’t have to
be. We want to see what you consider to be achievements are and why they matter to you.

3. What are you doing now? Tell us about any paid work or volunteering or studying you are
doing – this question is about us understanding how you split your time up and how, if you got a
place of our programme, you would manage this. There is no expectation you are in paid work.
What previous experience do you have in paid work or volunteering or studying? – this
question is about understanding the range of skills, expertise and networks you have been
building. All of your experience counts to make you have the potential to succeed on our
programme.
List any qualifications, formal or in-work / volunteering or training you have started or
completed. We don’t require you to have any qualifications or training to get onto the
programme – we know that many entrepreneurs become successful with a very wide range of
back stories not always from ‘formal’ education. We are asking this question so we can assess
what skills you have and any gaps we would need to look at in the course we offer you.
Tell us why you want to join the Eco Social Enterprise Start Up Programme include;
What do you hope to get out of the start up programme at the end of the 6 months? –
Here is your chance to tell us why we need to give you a place on our programme i.e. what
support do you need? What networks do you want to build? Where would getting a place take
you in 6 months time?
What ways will you inspire the group during the 6 month programme? – tell us about how
you work in a group and what this inspires in others i.e. good listener helps to bring out other’s
ideas. We are asking this as we will build a group of students with complementary skills so the
programme works well for all students and the group dynamic.
What are your top three challenges progressing? (they can be personal or professional)
– be honest what’s holding you back from making progress. This question helps us see you
understand areas where you can improve and where you need helps from others.
How would you describe your top three strengths? - this question is here to find out about
what you consider your strengths are. If you struggle to answer questions like this, think of what
friends, or family or peers say to you about your strengths i.e. sense of humour, determination,
honesty
If you still have any questions after reading these suggestions feel free to contact us to
ask questions at angelastanley@blackburnehouse.co.uk or on 0151 708 3914
Deadline for applying is no later than 4pm Monday 23rd
July 2018