Your social enterprise story starts with the initial idea and the people who set it in motion to become reality. Who were these people and when did this happen? These first questions lay the foundations and you can build on it from there:
- Why did they set it up?
- What funding made it possible?
- Where was it set up?
- What stages did they go through to get started?
- Who helped them do it?
The story then follows the organisation’s journey in finding its feet and making changes in order to grow.
- What activities were carried out and by who?
- What partnerships were formed?
- How did the organisation change over time?
- Who did it help along the way?
- What additional funding was granted?
- What were its highs and lows?
Like every good story, yours will have highs and lows and it is good to share the successes as well as the more challenging times.
Heritage half hour
Archivist’s example: Community Business Scotland Network
Community Business Scotland Network (CBSN) was set up in 1981 to encourage and support community businesses. Look at the CBSN timeline to see some of the stages from its story.
Activity A1: writing down your story
This activity will help you to write down the main points of your organisation’s story and answer some of the questions raised in the text above.
Open the Activity booklet and click on Activity A1.
Jargon buster
Histories are provided in an archive catalogue to give people a bit of background to help them better understand the materials in the collection.
A biographical history provides an overview of a person’s story and is used for collections where material has been accumulated through the personal, educational, and professional activities of that individual.
An administrative history provides an overview of an organisation’s story and is used for collections where material has been accumulated through the activities of an organisation by people carrying out their role within it.
Find out more about these and other terms in the Jargon buster.
You may not know it but Scotland has a distinct social enterprise heritage and is seen as a world-leader in the social enterprise movement today. How did it get this reputation? From pioneering work of social entrepreneurs in the 1970s to every Scottish social enterprise in operation today, all of you have contributed to Scotland’s social enterprise success story.
Social enterprises like you are also making a valuable difference within their local communities, by providing employment and volunteering opportunities; helping disadvantaged and vulnerable groups; promoting learning and cultural participation; improving health, wellbeing and the environment; and altogether, making your local area a better place to live.
People can learn from your story and be inspired by it to do something that makes a positive difference to people’s lives and encourages social change.
Toolkit tea break
Archivist’s example: Open Aye
If you think your organisation is too small or hasn’t been established long enough to be of value then think again. Watch this video about Open Aye and be inspired.
Activity A2: reflect on your story's value
This activity gives you the opportunity to reflect on your organisation and note down all the reasons why its story is of value.
This is a good motivational exercise for a team meeting, allowing everyone to reflect on the great work you have done and take pride in it.
Open the Activity booklet and click on Activity A2.
Think about what you have done today and what ‘things’ have been created through those activities. Perhaps you started the day in the office checking emails, taking notes and responding to them, or printed out papers and went to a meeting to discuss a project. Just those two activities will have created materials like emails, handwritten notes, agendas, minutes, reports, travel expenses claims. These physical and digital things tell the story of what you did on any given day. However, if your story included the detail of everything you did day-to-day it would be very long and dull. What you want to tell is the condensed version which gives the essence of your organisation’s story.
Materials that tell that story can be put together in a collection and preserved as an archive. If you added everything to your archive you would need a lot of storage space and that’s another reason why only the things that capture the ‘big picture’ are kept. This includes important stuff (such as legal documents, vital correspondence and final copies of reports) as well as things that capture the day-to-day activities (such as minutes of formal meetings, annual accounts, selected photographs, flyers, programmes).
Toolkit tea break
Archivist’s example: John Pearce papers
John Pearce was a pioneer in community enterprise from the 1970s onwards. His collection of materials tells the story of his work with organisations such as Local Enterprise Advisory Project, Community Business Scotland and Strathclyde Community Business, as well as his consultancy work and writings. Look at examples of materials from the John Pearce collection.
Activity A3: identify the materials that tell your story
This activity considers the range of materials that can be used to tell an organisation’s story.
Open the Activity booklet and click on Activity A3.
Jargon buster
Archives are collections of information in any physical or digital media such as paper, parchment, film, tape, disc, which have been created and accumulated as a result of the activities of a person, family or organisation.
Records is the term used in archives for the collection of materials that tell an organisation’s story.
Papers is the term used for the collection of materials that tell a person’s or family’s story.
Find out more about these and other terms in the Jargon buster.
Now you know what materials best tell your story, it’s time to find out where they are. You may have a central area for storing all your digital and physical materials but usually they are spread over several locations. Some examples of where materials may be found or stored are listed below.
- Digital: on a computer; shared drive; online cloud-based sharing platform; or on portable hard drives, CDs, or discs.
- Physical: in a filing cabinet; shelves; desks; or in cupboards.
They may also be spread over several premises, for example if you have more than one building or people who work from home. There will be obvious places to look but remember that you are looking at your story from the very beginning and there may be materials that have been stored away and forgotten about. Check your broom cupboards and closets and ask around. It may be that people no longer involved in the enterprise have a collection of ‘stuff’ in their attic or garage.
Physical materials might be in boxes or carrier bags and it’s not been unknown for them to be found stuffed up chimney breasts! Digital materials might be on old floppy discs that you can no longer access but if you know that they contain key materials that aren’t available elsewhere, they are worth holding onto. Technologies are around which can be used to extract information from old formats.
Some items will be duplicated across different locations, for example minutes of Trustees meetings will be held by all the Trustees but only one copy of the final approved minute needs to be added to your archive.
Heritage half hour
Archivist’s example: noting down where materials are held
Look at this example to see two different ways the location of materials could be noted down.
Activity A4: noting down where the materials are held
This activity gives you the opportunity to reflect on the materials you listed in Activity A3 and think about who might hold these materials and the places where they are kept.
Open the Activity booklet and click on Activity A4.
