Martin Murphy : An Enterprising Vision for Communities of Untapped Potential

vi·sion

   [vizh-uhn] 
noun
1.
The act or power of sensing with the eyes; sight.
2.
The act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be: prophetic vision; the vision of an entrepreneur.
3.
An experience in which a personage, thing, or event appears vividly or credibly to the mind.

"By 2030 the majority of businesses in and around 'deprived communities' are run on a cooperative or social enterprise model, are incentivised to recruit locally, and allocate a proportion of their profits to the regeneration of the local community – in consultation and collaboration with that community."

When someone says that they "have had a vision", in the past tense, in my mind it refers to some form of perceived clairvoyance on the part of a person in receipt of a revelation that is unique only to that individual; that being, in essence, something I can not share in, something I do not understand or necessarily believe in myself and therefore something that is far removed from my own concept of reality. However, when someone is heard to say that they "have a vision", in the present tense, the word suddenly takes on a far more palpable, arresting and therefore believable meaning. When looked at in this context, it really is quite amazing how much difference a single word can make when your mind perceives the potentially hidden meaning behind a simple statement.

The vision quoted above, which serves as an introduction to an article written by Martin Murphy entitled 'Encouraging Social Enterprise In Deprived Areas' and consequently published on The Guardian website at the end of September, sits firmly with the latter belief; that belief being a tangible conviction that can be viewed subjectively without any hint of being unrealistic or limited to the view of a single person. It is a compelling vision that can be shared amongst many people, considered scientifically and therefore existing as an idea that is potentially achievable through a collective investment in a common cause. It is this belief in a common cause that is a driving factor behind the work of London Creative Labs in striving toward creating a self-sufficient and sustainable economic base for 'deprived' communities all over the country, starting from the ground and working up together, as a community.

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The first Social Startup Lab!

On Tuesday the 15th of June, London Creative Labs held the first of its Social Startup Labs in Vauxhall, South London.

At Social Startup Labs, 50 participants (social entrepreneurs from across London) learned by doing how communities can work together to create and grow social businesses that provide or enable employment opportunities for all (including the disadvantaged) and make their neighbourhoods better places to live, work and play!

Overview video. Actual lab footage available later!

At the end of the day, five social ventures successfully emerged with clear actions to be taken within a week of the Lab.

The Event in three sentences.

The morning was about building the bigger picture of needs, assets and opportunities of a bunch of people in a room.

The afternoon was about taking action that was informed by the bigger picture from the morning.

The power of community was used to encourage and provide lift-off for individual initiatives, working them from idea to social startup, social project or to bring fresh teams around existing social project or startups.

Photos by Pip Dudrah

For unedited feedback, output and to get involved: read the full Lab Report!

The next Social Startup Labs will be take place on the 23rd of July. Info and tickets here.