Scedu was set up in 1995 as a 'not for private profit' social enterprise

Social enterprise

A social enterprise is an organization that applies business strategies to achieving philanthropic goals. Social enterprises can be structured as a for-profit or non-profit....

. It is the social enterprise support and reference organisation for Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 and South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

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SCEDU started life as a small enterprise employing just three people with a remit to develop an enterprise culture within Sheffield communities and to encourage the growth of useful products and services for local people.

SCEDU has a firm belief in supporting community owned and inspired solutions offered in settings that are both affordable and accessible; it is committed to supporting a thriving social economy

Social economy

Social economy refers to a third sector in economies between the private sector and business or, the public sector and government. It includes organisations such as cooperatives, non-governmental organisations and charities....

 that delivers quality services to communities and neighbourhoods.

Mowbray Street

The SCEDU head office is at 53 Mowbray Street. The Mowbray Street Development was completed at the end of 2000 and contains a managed workspace

Workspace

Workspace is a term used in various branches of engineering and economic development.-Business development:Workspace refers to small premises provided, often by local authorities or economic development agencies, to help new businesses to establish themselves...

 with 28 units for new enterprises

Startup company

A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...

 to rent on a flexible basis. There is also conference/meeting room space available. The Mowbray Street Team provides a range of services for tenants in addition to administering SCEDU’s core functions.

Procurement

Scedu have been involved with tackling procurement

Procurement

Procurement is the acquisition of goods or services. It is favourable that the goods/services are appropriate and that they are procured at the best possible cost to meet the needs of the purchaser in terms of quality and quantity, time, and location...

 issues for social enterprises. In March 2006 this work led to the creation of the Scedu Tender Readiness Toolkit

Scedu Tender Readiness Toolkit

The Scedu Tender Readiness Toolkit was released in March 2006 as a practical resource for social enterprises looking at procurement....

. This was the first of its kind nationally to offer a practical solution to procurement. It comprises a series of internal self-assessment tools for social enterprises looking to move into tendering for major contracts.

Scedu leads the SEASY development partnership https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/equal/jsp/dpComplete.jsp?cip=UKgb&national=128 within the EU's EQUAL Community Initiative

EQUAL Community Initiative

EQUAL was the ‘Community Initiative’ within the European Social Fund of the European Union. It concerned “transnational co-operation to promote new means of combating all forms of discrimination and inequalities in connection with the labour market”...

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