Grant Maintained or Grant Restrained? Rural Social Enterprise in Ceredigion, Wales

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the types and extent of social enterprise in rural regional Wales, and the suitability of government policy towards rural social entrepreneurs. The rural unitary authority area of Ceredigion is surveyed to examine the number and type of social entrepreneurs and their experiences in dealing with government policy. Overall, the analysis suggests that successful Social Enterprises (SEs) in Ceredigion are typically based around dedicated groups of people engaged in a collective, mainly government grant-supported local action, in comparison to a more, 'community entrepreneur' based model. This study suggests that the current focus of government policy on grant-based funding of SEs may be influencing the development of rural social entrepreneurs, highlighting in particular the need for development of alternative funding allocation mechanisms which encourage the development of trading capacity in SEs