Over the past 20 years, significant investments from funders have fuelled the development of Australia’s social enterprise sector. However, there is still a need to fully understand the impact of this funding at a broader level and its contribution to the growth of the social enterprise sector. To address this, we are initiating a collaborative effort to co-produce a timeline of funding, highlighting the role of various funders individually and collectively in advancing the sector.
To date, the social enterprise sector has been the focus of a range of broad mapping studies which focus on the contribution and impact of the sector at a point in time. This would be the first time we deep dive to retrospectively understand the role of philanthropy and other funders on the growth and impact of the social enterprise sector.
In 2024 the Siddle Family Foundation, Westpac Foundation and the English Family Foundation came together to address research gap to more fully inform funding into the social enterprise ecosystem. They developed a research brief through a series of discussions with funders, intermediaries, academics and practitioners across the social enterprise sector. These discussions highlighted the need for a research process which embraced iterative co production, drawing on a diverse range of knowledge and wisdom across the social enterprise sector.
May Miller-Dawkins Advisory was engaged to deliver this project to assess the outcomes and impacts of funding within the social enterprise ecosystem over the past two decades. By gathering qualitative data and narratives from stakeholders, they developed an understanding of best practices for funders to maximise their impact when supporting the development of new ecosystems.
Anticipated outcomes include gaining a deeper understanding of the cumulative impact of funding within the social enterprise sector and producing tools and strategies to enhance the effectiveness of future funding efforts in the sector, ultimately fostering ecosystems that address complex social challenges.
Our primary audience is funders interested in collaborative approaches to funding ecosystems that foster social innovation and systems change. However the research findings will also be of interest to Government policymakers seeking insights into the social enterprise sector, and social enterprise practitioners and boards aiming to better understand ecosystem dynamics and collaboration’s role in driving systems change.
The full report is expected to be made publicly available during 2025.