Past as Prologue: How John Pearce Influenced CEIS’ Mission
A few months ago, we visited the Social Enterprise Archive at Glasgow Caledonian University to learn more about our company’s history, which was originally incorporated as Strathclyde Community Business (SCB) in 1984.
Alongside the archive is the collection of CEIS’ first General Manager , John Pearce. As we looked through his papers, we were struck at how his influence is still felt today in our organisation. We were also taken with how the activities that SCB were carrying out in 1984 bear a striking similarity to much of the work we still do to this day.
To that end, we decided to dive a little deeper into the history of John Pearce and to see how his ethos and leadership of SCB helped to create a legacy that CEIS still honours to this day.
Who Was John Pearce?
John Pearce was born on 23rd March in 1942 in Truro, Cornwall. In his early life he studied at both Cambridge University and the London School of Economics, where he graduated with a BA(Hons) and a diploma in Social Administration in 1963 and 1965.
After finishing his BA in Cambridge, he began working in community development programmes with both national and international organisations, including the Nepal Red Cross, and at the Young Volunteer Force in North Devon. From there, he formed one of the first community base housing associations in West Cumbria from 1972 to 1976, which was set up as one of the 12 Community Development Projects (CDP) by the Callaghan Government.
When the CDP programme finished, John moved to Scotland in 1978, where he was involved in the Industrial Common Ownership Movement (ICOM) and the Local Enterprise Advisory Project (LEAP) based in the Paisley College of Technology. This is eventually what led him to become a founding member of Community Business Scotland (CBS, or as it was later known the CBS Network Ltd) in 1981. CBS was itself the successor to the Scottish Community Enterprise Forum, who had identified the need for an organisation to represent the community business sector in Scotland.
A few years later in 1984 John became the General Manager of SCB, which would later go on to become CEIS. SCB was founded to provide information, advice, development support and financial assistance to community businesses in the west of Scotland. John left the business in 1991 and spent the rest of his life working as a community enterprise consultant and researcher. Alongside helping to manage development projects, he also wrote on community enterprise across the globe and in 2003 published the book ‘Social Enterprise in Anytown’ .
The principles John developed throughout his career would come to define not only his tenure at SCB but also the enduring values of CEIS.
John’s Influence
It’s clear that many of the principles and areas of interest that John Pearce held, and his firm belief in the power of community and social enterprise, were hugely influential on CEIS over the years.
We can trace this right back to our very first year. Our first annual report speaks about the power of community enterprise in helping to transform the fortunes of local communities. As stated by Professor Michael Roy in a recent interview we conducted with him this year, SCB and thus CEIS was born out of necessity in the mid-80s. Thrown into existence at the height of the Thatcher-era, there was widespread economic depression in Scotland, as working-class communities found themselves stripped of public services and jobs.
The West of Scotland found itself home to many communities that were hardest hit by these policies. John’s own background saw him well placed to lead SCB from the front. The idea of using community business to lift communities and individuals in a way that benefits all still sits at the very heart of what CEIS do today.
The Past as a Mirror of the Present
Early annual reports and foundational documents for SCB serve to highlight the similarities between what we were doing back then and what we’re doing now. They also highlight the growth of what we call the Third Sector.
Indeed, the cover of our very first annual report from 1984/85 contains a quote from then chairman Tony Worthington, proudly stating that there are now “60 established community enterprises in Scotland, providing over 2000 new jobs and training opportunities in some of the areas hardest hit by unemployment.”
Contrast that to now, where there are over 6,000 social enterprises in Scotland, employing the equivalent of almost 90,000 full time employees. The sector has come a long way since 1984.
Similarly, SCB’s focus on delivering training and development work remains the same focus for CEIS. Just looking at what SCB delivered, as shown in the 1986/87 annual report, shows that social enterprises, like the community business before them, still need capacity building help with the same areas:
A Map for the Future?
In amongst the multitude of documents we found when we visited the John Pearce archive at Glasgow Caledonian University was a report from 1987. In it, alongside various operational details, was a statement for what the future of SCB should be:
“To promote community enterprise in areas of high unemployment, as a mechanism for stimulating and organising economic development, as a focus for community development, and as providing a chance for local people to exert some influence over their local economy.”
To us, that sounds a lot like using an inclusive economy to put economic development in the hands of the people who live there.
Which is very similar to what CEIS believe in today. Our focus on Community Wealth Building as the engine for creating a more inclusive economy in Scotland is central to our vision and mission. Something that we demonstrate through our work and impact, examples of which can be found on our Community Wealth Building Hub.
What’s Next?
As we continue to celebrate our 40th anniversary year it’s important that we not only take stock of the past but make firm plans for the future. So, what can you expect from CEIS into the next year and beyond?
Well, after he left SCB in 1991, John Pearce’s attention turned to social enterprise internationally. That’s been a focus of CEIS for many years now, and we will continue to work on the international stage with our International Social Enterprise Observatory (ISEO) programme.
We see academic spinouts as an area where social enterprise can really flourish, and for the last five years we have been working closely with numerous Scottish universities to help them spin-out some great new business ideas into social enterprises. Look out for more info on our academic spin-out programme coming out soon.
Social innovation is also a huge focus area for us coordinating ambitious programmes that drive innovation for social good and help bring communities, social enterprises, and social economy organisations into the wider business innovation ecosystem.
And of course, we remain focused on continuing to deliver a broad range of services across the CEIS Group. This includes:
- Offering social enterprise support via the CEIS brand, which helps to deliver the Just Enterprise programme
- Delivering innovative employability and training support via CEIS Ayrshire
- Making SME finance accessible via DSL Business Finance
- Ensuring that the impact of social enterprises, and businesses, are measured in a meaningful way with Social Value Lab.
If John Pearce and the original founders of SCB could see us now, we think they’d be delighted with the progress we’ve made and what we have planned. And we can’t wait to see what the next 40 years brings.
John Pearce’s influence on CEIS and the broader social enterprise sector in Scotland cannot be overstated. As we move forward, we carry with us not just his ideas, but his spirit of innovation and commitment to community. In many ways, our work today – from community wealth building to international collaborations – is the natural evolution of the seeds planted 4 decades ago.
