2 Research Question

The research question for this project is:
How, and under what conditions, do market development activities geared towards public procurement, such as the East Midlands BEST Procurement programme, contribute to the sustainability of social enterprises?

To elicit the underlying assumptions and implications of this question, the following questions can also be posed:

2.1 Related questions

What is 'social enterprise' and how does it differ from 'mainstream' business, and what are the implications of this difference?
How do organisations, like social enterprises, incorporate new knowledge and skills into their operations and how do they capitalise on these changes?
How does a social enterprise change to meet new opportunities such as public contracts?
What changes occur within public sector organisations in developing more open markets and mature supply chains that include social enterprises as a business model?
How do contract opportunities change to allow social enterprises to fairly distinguish themselves in tender/contract opportunities?
What advantages/disadvantages do social enterprises experience in public procurement opportunities, and are they fair?

2.2 Wider considerations

What contribution does social enterprise, as a concept and in practice, have to make to late capitalism?
Can the social enterprise model contribute to the increased social and environmental sustainability of the 'mainstream' private sector
What are the implications for public policy of increased public sector contracting of social enterprises?
What policy implications are there for the East Midlands in developing the social enterprise sector?