Latest Business News: Enterprise In Rural Areas

30 November -0001

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ENTERPRISE IN RURAL AREAS

Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael has praised an action-research programme to tackle social exclusion in rural areas through the use of social and community enterprise.

Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael has praised an action-research programme to tackle social exclusion in rural areas through the use of social and community enterprise.

A consortium led by the Plunkett Foundation and comprising: ACRE, Co-operativesUK, PRIME and Enterprising Communities, will manage Defra's Sustainable Funding for Rural Social Exclusion Programme. The consortium is supported by the Development Trusts Association and ViRSA.

The Programme will support two main types of projects:

Projects submitted by community and voluntary organisations or parish councils wishing to develop enterprise-based approaches to improve the financial sustainability of their activities. Projects submitted by groups of people in rural areas wishing to establish or develop a social enterprise which will contribute to the alleviation of social exclusion.

Due to the relatively short duration of the Programme, many fledgling initiatives which are supported will not come to full fruition by the end of the support project. The intention will be, rather, to support different initiatives and different stages of their development life cycle, to enable comparisons to be made between these support processes and their outcomes and impacts. The programme will be evaluated and the results will inform policy development.

Source: Defra 29/11/04

Website: http://www.defra.gov.uk

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