Social Firms UK

 In the beginning
Concept Conference Centre in Birmingham provides employment and training opportunities to blind and partially sighted people, within a hospitality and catering setting.

Concept started as a Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) research project into the feasibility of developing employment opportunities for blind and partially sighted people. Deborah Fox from the RNIB was looking into the social enterprise/Social Firm model and met Jo Miller, a registered blind chef working at a local college. The idea for Concept came out of a barely-used staff kitchen area in the basement of RNIB’s offices in Birmingham. In January 2006 they opened Concept to provide low-cost, flexible room and meal options for day delegates, primarily from Third Sector organisations.

While at the Social Firms UK conference in July 2007, Mark Powell of Social Firm development agency, Broomby (www.broomby.co.uk) gave an interview to Social Enterprise Podcasts. In it he talks about how he came to work in the Social Firm sector, the importance of Social Firms and the need for more to be set up. To listen visit:  http://www.sepodcasts.org/podcast.php?p=174