Do we need a refreshed Framework?

It will be four years next week since the Government’s ‘Strategic Framework for Women’s Enterprise’ was launched by Patricia Hewitt. (If you don’t know about this document, download it here – womens-enterprise-strategic-framework.pdf) It was the first policy report of its kind to be published by central government, and has undoubtedly contributed to increased awareness of women’s entrepreneurship issues, and the development of women’s enterprise in the regions. Arguably it’s also helped to engage the private sector (eg banks) and the media. Prowess was actively involved in developing and drafting the Framework and we recently lobbied Margaret Hodge, DTI Minister, and the Task Force  to have the document refreshed and revised. Although much of it is still valid, the statistics and research need to brought up to date, and the business support context has gone through radical change.

There has been a bit of resistance to this idea – it’s not a good time for ‘new’ Frameworks in Government at the moment. But we’re not saying we need to start again. Unlike four years ago, when we were still in the process of persuading government officials, regional agencies and the media that women’s enterprise should be an economic priority, the case has pretty much been made – but we can’t continue to expect an out-of-date policy document to influence new economic strategies. When the RDAs come to revise their Regional Economic Strategies, for example, there is no current, authoritative source of government commitment to women’s entrepreneurship. We feel it would be an appropriate project for the Women’s Enterprise Task Force to champion and would like to hear from blog readers what they think. Please comment and let prowessblog know whether a refreshed Framework is a good idea, and why. If you’d rather comment less publicly, send an email to Jackie at Prowess – j.brierton@prowess.org.uk – and it will be treated in confidence.

Gender Equality Duty – does anyone know about it?

The most significant piece of equality legislation in 30 years – the Gender Equality Duty - came into effect on 6th April, but does anyone know about it? If effectively implemented, it could have a significant impact on how public services are delivered -including business support – but awareness seems low. It promotes a positive approach to equality – public bodies, and private or voluntary organisations providing publicly-funded services, will have a legal responsibility to demonstrate that they’re treating women and men fairly. This will include developing equality action plans, showing how their budgets reflect the needs of women and men, and how they are actively tackling discrimination. Improved data collection which is gender disaggregated will also be required. More information at www.eoc.org.uk and www.fawcettsociety.org.uk.

Any comments on the new Duty from blog readers? It would be good to hear how Regional Development Agencies and Business Link are promoting it and what tangible developments have come about as a result.

Business Support Simplification Programme

The Business Support Simplification Programme (BSSP) - if implemented – will have a radical impact on the provision of enterprise support across England. It’s based on the premise that there currently more than 3000 business support products being delivered across the country – and Gordon Brown wants that number down to 100 or less. As prowessblog readers may already know, the DTI team responsible for BSSP have identified nine separate themes for the new ‘in-development’ suite of business support products. They are: innovation; environment; enterprise; globalisation; skills; business collaboration; finance; regulation; and, economic inclusion. And, to date, the actual number of proposed products across these nine areas is around 40.

There has been justified criticism of this approach, potentially creating silos and artificial ‘walls’ which, instead of creating a simpler process for the client, may actually restrict their ability to find the right kind of support. This could be particularly detrimental for women entrepreneurs who, we know, tend to seek a more holistic type of support, combining more than one service. There is a also a big question mark re the delivery of these services – with new Business Link providers in many regions, and a lack of clarity on how the Information, Diagnostic and Brokerage (IDB) approach will actually work in some areas. To be fair to the DTI implementation team - with its unenviable role – they recognise there will be major implementation issues. But the timescales are worrying – the planned transition to the new ‘portfolio’ is planned by the end of 2007. Consultation to date has been patchy and a formal consultation document is not planned until July, by which time many key decisions will have been taken.

An introductory document on progress to date will be published in the next week or two – and Prowess will make this available on its website (www.prowess.org.uk).

In the meantime, prowessblog welcomes any insights on how the BSSP is being communicated and/or implemented in different parts of the country.

Funding & the Task Force

prowessblog raised the issue of funding for the new Women’s Enterprise Task Force, i.e. that is has no funding. The following comment was sent by Dawn: 

I’ve just read the Prowess Blog and was taken aback to learn that the Women’s Enterprise Task Force (WETF) has ZERO funding from the Government or the Regional Development Agencies.

This must be unprecedented – surely all other Government Task Forces have had some sort of funding, however meagre?

How come the WETF has no funding at all?

I read Bill Kennedy’s comments on Prowess Blog (5th March) asking how serious the government is in promoting the women in business agenda given there’s no funding, and I agree – the message seems loud and clear.

Does anyone out there know what amounts of funding or in-kind support other current or recent Government Task Forces have/had?

It’s time the Government looked into this and explained it.

Can a formal question be tabled in the House of Commons?’

So – what do others think?

Task Force Update

Prowessblog met with the co-chairs of the Women’s Enterprise Task Force on Monday – Pam Alexander and Glenda Stone. They confirmed its priorities to be: finance (particularly technical education & financial literacy);  improved data; business support & RDA delivery; supplier diversity/procurement (in partnership with Prowess’s new pilot – further information in future blog post); and PR & awareness-raising.

However, apparently the Task Force will have to apply to the DTI for funding if it wants to resource any of this work – with no guarantee it will be successful. Prowessblog is concerned that a Task Force, appointed by Government, has been launched without initial funding to do its work – and asks whether any other task force has been expected to operate in this way? What do blog readers think?

International Women’s Day – Prowessblog at No 10

Prowessblog was at 10 Downing Street – very early yesterday morning – for an International Women’s Day event. Attended by almost all the female Cabinet Ministers, and hosted by Ruth Kelly, Minister for Women as well as the Dept for Communities and Local Government, it was an interesting way to start IWD.  Around 40 women, many playing leading roles in community-based organisations as well as national bodies, were invited. Tony Blair made a brief appearance and emphasised the importance of women & equality issues and that despite progress to date, much more had to be achieved. As someone pointed out, he kinda had to say that given the audience…….. He then disappeared before having to answer any challenging questions. Prowessblog managed to speak to Ruth Kelly and raised the issue of (real) Treasury engagement in women’s enterprise and also concerns re the funding of the Women’s Enterprise Task Force.

On a lighter note, having been invited to a ‘breakfast’ event, there were no bacon butties on offer - just fresh fresh fruit on skewers, a few (very small) pastries and chocolate biscuits. Even TB had to admit that we’d been a bit conned by the ‘breakfast’ reference on the invites!

Launch of new Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report

The new UK Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) report was launched yesterday (6th March) at the London Business School. It’s got more information on women’s entrepreneurship than ever before and well worth a read. Rebecca Harding, author & exec director of GEM, highlighted that, on the face of it, little had changed from 2005 data – however, the additional analysis she’s done on gender highlights some interesting issues. Although men are still twice as likely to set up businesses as women, women in the youngest and oldest age groups (18-24 & 54-64) are more than three times less likely to start an enterprise – so, in fact, if you look at the figures for 35-54 year old women, the gap is significantly more marginal. This highlights important policy issues around where enterprise support is needed most. You can find the full report at www.gemconsortium.com

Prowess Conference 07 & policy issues for Minister

Reflections on the Prowess Conference

 

Welcome to just the second post of the new Prowess policy blog. But please don’t let policy put you off – the idea is to use the blog to stimulate ideas and feedback on all things women’s enterprise. The deal is that we raise issues and keep everyone posted on key developments – with the odd bit of gossip and occasional humorous interlude – in return for your witty ripostes and wise comments (actually any comments, within reason, are welcome).

It’s already two weeks since the Prowess national conference in
Brighton (England) which, despite a difficult venue and weather problems, was enjoyed by most of its 300+ delegates. The overall standard of speakers and presentations was good and, as usual, a number of interesting talking points emerged – not least, what the new Women’s Enterprise Task Force will prioritise and how it will operate. (More news of the WETF in future posts.)

The DTI Minister, Margaret Hodge, gave a speech on the first day and, despite depriving delegates of their full lunch & networking break, her commitment to attending the event was much appreciated. We’ve now written to her to follow up some key issues which we can share with you:

1. Data Disaggregation: of all government-sponsored programmes and funds by gender & ethnicity.
2. Benefits bridge & New Deal: expressing our concern at the growing evidence that New Deal is failing many people making the transition into self-employment.
3. Business Support Simplification Programme (BSSP): ensuring that implementation of the BSSP won’t disadvantage women seeking business support.
4. BAME women’s enterprise strategy: need for more action and leadership from government.
5. DTI endorsement for the Prowess Flagship Award
6. Refreshed central policy document to replace the now out-of-date Strategic Framework for Women’s
   Enterprise

We’re hoping to meet the Minister very soon and your comments or feedback on any of the above issues would be very welcome.

Next post later this week………………watch this space.

Women’s Enterprise in the UK – Intro blog

Writing a regular ‘policy’ blog on all things women’s enterprise seemed like a good idea – one early morning back in November. And, before I did a bit of research into the world of blogs, I thought there would be some good examples to inspire my efforts. But to date, I can’t say I’ve found a blog about women’s enterprise which entices me to log in on a regular basis. (Suggestions very welcome.) So therein lies the challenge – how to make a blog relevant and interesting enough to attract an audience and provoke lively, useful discussion? I think the essential ingredients of a successful blog include: §         Regular updates    §         Interactivity – ability to comment and join in      §         Topical content      §         Occasional controversy  §         Readable prose – short, simple & avoiding jargon Easy then?! Well, let’s kick off with what I think a Prowess policy blog could be about – and please let me know what you think. 

I’d like this blog to: §         Provide useful updates on policy developments within enterprise, particularly re women’s entrepreneurship                     §         Comment on political developments which impact on enterprise  §         Highlight and, if necessary challenge, media coverage (or lack of coverage) of women-owned business    §         Provoke debate on topical issues at regional, national (and international?) level     §         Generate fresh ideas and potential solutions to current challenges    §         Attract a diverse audience    §         And, maybe, just occasionally, indulge in a little harmless gossip………..  Ambitious perhaps – but let’s have a go.The aim will be to have at least a couple of posts every week  – the next will be posted later in the week with some reflections on the Prowess Conference – which should give us plenty to write about. In coming months I’ll be writing about the BSSP, the WETF, the WWC action plan and the CSR (free, very stylish, Prowess bags to the first five bloggers to correctly identify these acronyms – or witty alternatives) – and looking forward to hearing from as many of you as possible.  Happy blogging. Jackie Brierton 

(Director of Policy, Prowess)

For more information on Prowess, visit www.prowess.org.uk