Elderly people are major beneficiaries of co-operative and social enterprise in rural areas, but also major contributors to their establishment and governance. This belief will be tested over the next few months in a research project recently launched by the Plunkett Foundation and PRIME (a national organisation, which helps older people set up businesses) with funding from the Countryside Agency and Age Concern.

The findings are expected to result in new work-streams in this field by all four partner organisations. Over a million people in the English countryside don’t have access to a car. This wouldn’t be so bad, but for the startling statistic that 70% of rural settlements have no shop, and 75% don’t have even a daily bus service to their nearest town.

Whilst the age profile of this group isn’t known accurately, we can suppose that a major share is accounted for by older people (classified as the over-50s in the study). For this disenfranchised group, community transport schemes and community-owned shops provide a lifeline to essential services. Other forms of rural social enterprise, such as rural housing associations, craft co-operatives and even farmer co-operatives provide other distinct benefits to older people.

Beneficiaries

But older people are far from passive beneficiaries of rural social enterprise. In contrast, the volunteer management committees of rural social enterprises frequently draw on the skills, knowledge and experience of older residents. A high percentage of self-employed people in rural areas are aged over 50, often forming lifestyle businesses of their own in preference to urban employment.

The research will study these interrelated phenomena, which are believed to distinguish rural social enterprises from their urban counterparts. The Plunkett Foundation is currently identifying a representative sample of 12 rural social enterprises which are to form the basis of field research. Project researchers will use focus groups and structured interviews to assess the extent to which each of the enterprises either benefit older people, or have depended on older people for their establishment and governance.

The results of the research are expected to form the basis for a series of practical follow-up initiatives by the project partners. PRIME promotes and supports self-employment amongst the over 50s. The research will help them to see whether social enterprise represents an alternative path into enterprise for the same target group. For Plunkett, it is expected that the results of the research will be taken up by its Rural Revival campaign, which supports rural self-help enterprises as a means of tackling social and economic exclusion. For both Age Concern and the Countryside Agency the research represents a continuation of their analysis of the role of older people in rural society.

Creative

Social enterprise is frequently perceived as a relatively new sector, driven by bright young things, primarily in urban areas, prepared to ‘think outside the box’. The research is expected to show that this isn’t always the case. In rural areas, older people frequently find that the time has arrived for them to release their creative energies, freed from career and family pressures. Social enterprise provides a channel for these energies and a solution to the social isolation of vulnerable groups. With an ageing population, the role of older people will become increasingly important in British society. The results of the research should be of interest to public policy makers and social enterprise practitioners alike.

For more information on the research project contact Elodie Malhomme, Information Services Manager at the Plunkett Foundation 01993 883636.