This year has felt like a real turning point.
The social economy is now firmly embedded in the fabric of our regional economy, not something that sits alongside it. That shift was clear when Kindred director Jen Van der Merwe had the opportunity to speak at the launch of the Liverpool City Region Growth Plan, where she talked about the importance of growth meaning something to the people who live here – it must be inclusive and it must work for our communities.
A new strategy and a renewed focus on impact
Kindred has launched a new five-year strategy that takes us through to 2030. With new STOs joining our board, we’re looking forward to shaping our collective future together, with a clear focus on impact.
One of our key priorities for next year is our impact framework. We want to make sure we can tell everyone’s story properly and gather clear evidence of the difference we know is being made. This is a long-term commitment for us – doing the work properly, and doing it collaboratively with STOs and our wider ecosystem partners.
There’s a lot to feel optimistic about, and the updates below give a flavour of what we’ve been working on over recent months.
Investment and impact
Throughout the year, we’ve continued to invest in STOs we already have relationships with. Evidence from the last five years shows us that this approach works best, and we’ve now made 63 investments.
We’ve also been working in partnership to grow the support available. Match funding from Do it Now Now brought in an additional £65,000, helping to support two Black-led STOs we’ve recently invested in.
Our 2024 impact report shows just how much Liverpool City Region’s social economy is growing and thriving. Since 2020, it has created £35.9 million in total economic and social value. You can read more about the impact report here…
In November, the government launched its Office for the Impact Economy, designed to harness impact capital and purpose-driven business to support national renewal. In explaining how it will work, government highlighted that:
“Places across the UK are already working in partnership to improve people’s daily lives – from Kindred’s work in Liverpool City Region to bring together social enterprises – and Legal & General’s landmark £2 billion commitment to impact investment by 2030…”
We’re delighted to see the impact of the social economy, and the hard work of social traders, recognised in this way. We’re excited to keep building a more social economy together.
Working in Communities of Place
Across the region, we’ve continued our work in Communities of Place, supporting locally-led ideas and collaboration.
Runcorn
Our Ideas Work team organised a symposium focused on access to space and property, bringing together STOs and attendees to explore the challenges and opportunities around space.
We also partnered with Runcorn Town CLT and Halton and St Helens VCA on Reimagining Runcorn, creating space and support for ideas shaped by the people who know the town best. This work has already received more than 40 ideas for Runcorn.
Knowsley
Our Women in the Know programme, which began in 2023, continues to bring together a brilliant cluster of alternative Creative Care providers. Supported by Capacity, the programme has also included a pop-up shop in Kirkby in the Know, showcasing the services offered by these creative and care-focused STOs.
St Helens
Make CIC has been commissioned to co-create the property pilot for the new Community Assets Holding Company (HoldCo), which forms part of the proposed Social Investment Pathfinder.
Kindred’s lease at Street and a Half (SnA) in St Helens will act as a pilot site to test and refine the HoldCo business model. Street and a Half is now fully occupied, with event spaces one and two fully booked until the new year.
Sefton and Wirral
In Sefton, our focus is on supporting organisations such as Safe Regeneration, Expanding Horizons and Sefton Council, by matching growing social businesses to surplus space.
In Wirral, a social innovation cluster is being driven by investee STOs.
Each cluster has its own identity and is becoming a rich source of jobs and innovation, connecting home-grown social entrepreneurs with new opportunities across the region.
Communities of Interest
BlaST
We commit to investing 25% of our funds in Black-led businesses, and our most recent impact report shows that this figure has reached 31%.
This year, BlaST held its third growth conversation, exploring what growth really means – not just in terms of size, but also purpose, resilience and impact. Members mapped different stages of growth, the challenges they face and realistic actions for moving forward.
Its fourth That Thing event in November saw Mr Boy Cookery School CIC, led by Kazem Ashourzadeh, win £1,200 through an audience vote. The organisation will open a new café in Liverpool 8. Runners-up My Hapii, Ujima Ice Cream and Earth Gang Barbers also received funding on the night.
BlaST’s work continues to build a strong pipeline of Black and minority ethnic entrepreneurs, showing that with the right funding and space, businesses can grow by 45% year-on-year.
Looking ahead
Finally, we’ve continued to broaden the reach of the social economy through a new group of advocates, made up of members from each of the Combined Authority’s sector-based cluster boards.
Working with these advocates, and with local authorities across the region, helps to embed the infrastructure needed for long-term transformation. It’s an ambitious challenge, and one that will be a key focus for us next year.
We’re looking ahead to an exciting 2026 and are really looking forward to continuing to work in partnership to change our economy and our city region for the better.