Governance and Policy

RISE, the voice for South West social enterprises, is the manager of the Social Enterprise Mark, operating in South West England. RISE is working to make the Social Enterprise Mark available nationwide by 2010. The Mark is subject to strong interest and demand across the UK and has benefited from wide press coverage.

The Mark is not in competition with Star Social Firms or SEE Companies – as they serve different needs.

Applications to the Social Enterprise Mark are reviewed by an independent panel.

Social Enterprise Mark Independent Panel

The Independent Panel exists to protect the consistency of the Social Enterprise Mark and ensure that it is a label customers can trust.

The Independent Panel has the final say on whether or not an application for the Social Enterprise Mark is approved.

All applications for the Mark are initially reviewed against the qualification criteria by the Social Enterprise Mark Impact and Assessment Manager. Any further queries will be followed up at this stage and the findings and recommendations will then be reported to the Independent Panel. The Independent Panel will review these and raise any additional queries of their own before reaching a decision.

Panel members