Social Enterprise Sector Unities Around Shared Values and Principles

ProBono Australia has announced a huge milestone for the Australian social enterprise sector, which has come together to form five shared values and principles: authenticity, creativity, justice, collaboration, and diversity.

A sector-wide design process developed these values and principles. As part of the design process, 41 people from across the sector formed a focus group. They were given a larger and collaborative voice, along with the freedom to “explore how they wanted to feel, how they wanted others to feel, and what would get in the way when working in collaboration.” 

Having formed a motivated group, they were able to work toward creating a network that the social enterprise sector can depend on.

A draft of the values and principles was shared with the wider Social Enterprise National Strategy (SENS) network. 172 respondents provided feedback. 92.07% of respondents stated that they were able to practise authenticity without modification. 74.23% said the same for their creativity, 84.91% for justice, 86.16% for collaboration, and 93.08% for diversity.

SENS Executive Director, Jess Moore, says the Australian social enterprise sector had until now been “fragmented, undeserved, and not realising its potential”.

With the values and principles in place, SENS is now working toward a co-design infrastructure for organising as a sector, nationally. They are advocating for the Albanese government to adopt these shared values and principles, much like  what Scotland has achieved. They are also working to create a foundation for the social enterprise sector, where we can work together to “create the change we are looking for in Australia.”