On Friday 5th March DRCD announced that the SERI/Amarach/ILDN consortium was the winner of the Tender.
Background
The Department of Rural and Community Development (DRCD) was established in July
2017 to provide a renewed and consolidated focus on rural and community development in Ireland.
In 2019 DRCD published the National Social Enterprise Policy 2019-2022 (NSEP) which seeks to create an enabling environment for social enterprise in Ireland to grow and contribute to Ireland's social and economic progress.
One of the policy commitments was to "Improve data collection relating to the extent of
Social Enterprise in Ireland and the areas in which social enterprises operate."
DRCD has found during policy implementation that lack of data or, more specifically, no
reliable estimate on the number of social enterprises in Ireland has impeded efforts
regarding support and awareness.
In January 2022 DRCD sought applicants to tender for the first Census of Irish Social
Enterprises. SERI headed up a consortium comprising SERI, Amárach Research, and the
Irish Local Development Network (ILDN) and bid for this tender.
Objectives of The SE Tender
Design and implement a baseline data collection exercise regarding the social enterprise
sector in Ireland. The achievement of this objective will be the establishment of a reliable
evidence base necessary for successful policy delivery through a robust and repeatable data
collection exercise regarding the social enterprise sector in Ireland.
The assignment will have two stages:
Stage 1 – To design a comprehensive data collection process/methodology, in collaboration
with social enterprise stakeholders, to establish the size and scope of the social enterprise
population in Ireland.
Upon satisfactory completion of Stage 1,
Stage 2 – To conduct the first National Social Enterprise baseline data collection exercise in
collaboration with social enterprise networks, present a preliminary report with headline
findings followed by a comprehensive report about the scale, scope and nature of the social
enterprise population in Ireland. The data collected would be presented in an anonymised
format.
Result of Tender
On Friday 5th of March, DRCD announced that the SERI/Amarach/ILDN consortium was the
winner of the Tender.
Fergus Finlay Chair of SERI said;
This is a landmark moment for the consortium headed by SERI and provides great recognition and opportunities for the membership of SERI and the consortium team.
Timelines are currency being reviewed and it is expected that survey will be completed in 2nd half of 2022. The survey and resulting Census presents a critical opportunity for SERI to consolidate its position as the leading representative organisation in Ireland.
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