This study based on guided conversations with 19 stakeholders explored the experiences of social enterprises that deliver social care in Scotland within the Self Directed Support (SDS) framework. It found mixed evidence of transformation in the Scottish social care market and significant differences between urban and rural settings. It highlights misconceptions of social enterprise as a cheaper, less professional and often volunteer based service:
‘Yet, despite such misperceptions, some rural Scottish local authorities were found to rely entirely on social enterprises to deliver social care in difficult to-reach areas and to small, isolated communities, while some urban local authorities allocated social enterprises difficult clients who had been rejected by private sector providers’.
Henderson et al 2019 SE social innovation & SDS
Fiona Henderson, Kelly Hall, Audrey Mutongi and Geoff Whittam (2019) Social Enterprise Journal Vol. 15 No. 4, pp. 438-456