Michael Bull
Social Enterprise Research Fellow/Social Enterprise Subject Unit Leader
Tel: 0161 247 6043
E-mail: m.bull@mmu.ac.uk
Responsibilities
Social Enterprise Research at the Centre for Enterprise, Social Enterprise Subject Unit Leader for Final Year Undergraduate Degree programmes.
Mike is currently working with Susan Baines on an ESRC business engagement grant, co-funded by NHS Manchester project, entitled: Engage Stimulating Third Sector Engagement in the Health Sector Supply Chain Engage. A 12 month scoping programme of seminars, workshops, focus groups and interviews that is intended to highlight the barriers facing third sector and social enterprise organisations in working with the local NHS here in Manchester.
Mike is also currently co-authoring for Sage Publications a textbook on social enterprise, led by Rory Ridley-Duff of Sheffield Hallam University and also Pam Seanor from University of Huddersfield. See Understanding Social Enterprise Theory and Practice for details.
Mike is also involved in the development and commercialisation of a number of diagnostic tools developed during his time at Centre for Enterprise, see cfe tools for details. Including Balance for social enterprises which now boasts over 300 organisations to benchmark against and LIBRA a personal development diagnostic built in partnership with Harrow College.
Editorial and Review Team Board Social Enterprise Journal
Board member of SENW (Social Enterprise North West) www.senw.org.uk
Board member of Together Works The Social Enterprise Network for Greater Manchester (www.togetherworks.org.uk)
Mike is an external for University of Northampton.
Background
Mike is a Research Fellow at Centre for Enterprise, and Unit Leader for Social Enterprise, a final year elective and core for undergraduate Business School students. Mike joined MMUBS in 2002 and has worked on several ERDF (European Regeneration Development Fund) and ESF (European Social Fund) projects. Prior to that Mike was a researcher at MIPC (Manchester Institute for Popular Culture) in MMU within the Sociology Department.
Mike has a Masters in Research from Manchester Metropolitan University, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Management, both from University of Leicester. His first degree was a BSc (Hons) Combined Studies of Printing and Photographic Science with Social Studies of Technology and Mike also has a Higher National Diploma in Printing Management.
Industrial experience of 16 years in the printing industry, including; HMSO (Her Majestys Stationery Office), Remploy Limited and numerous roles in SMEs. So private, public and third sector experience.
Research Agenda
Mikes research interests in Social Enterprise are:
(i) The challenges in the business model and balancing social and enterprise.
(ii) Definitional debate and Ethical Capital.
(iii) The complexities in and between social enterprises, including those in transition from grant funding to contact funded to those that trade with customers.
(iii) The management practices of social enterprises.
Mike is also interested in self reflection and diagnostic tools for individuals and SMEs. He is central to the development of a management analysis tool for the social sector called Balance
Academic Enterprise
Bridging the Divide Governance & Decision Making in the Third Sector; 9th 10th July 2008. In collaboration with Rory Ridley-Duff at Sheffield Hallam University, this was two 1-day workshops which utilized an extension to the Balance tool which analyses board style and decision making, awareness and orientation in directors and trustees of organisations. See www.shu.ac.uk/_assets/pdf/ciod-Bridging-the-Divide.pdf for details.
LIBRA In partnership with Harrow College, in 2008 Mike developed a personal development tool targeted at the employability agenda, hard to reach groups and long term unemployed. The tool allows the user to self reflect on their ambitions in life, their barriers and their action plans for change. See www.cfetools.org.uk/libra.asp for details.
In 2008, funded through HEFCE Mike and Helen Crompton from MMU delivered a research and strategic awareness project into Seedley and Langworthy Trust.
In 2008, funded through HEFCI Mike and a third sector consultant Adrian Ashton (www.adrianashton.co.uk/) supported the development of six social enterprises in Greater Manchester with social accounting and auditing, strategic management and operations management issues.
Mike was the sub-regional leader for the two-year, million pounds, ERDF and NWDA funded North West Into Enterprise Programme that rolled out across the region in 2007 in partnership between University of Cumbria, UCLAN, Voluntary Action Cumbria and MMU. IntoEnterprise provided free expertise and comprehensive programmes of support to new entrepreneurs across the North West, and aimed to help 110 businesses, offering access to business experts and coaching, online business skills training, advertising and promotional opportunities plus support. It was specially designed to help them maximise their potential and achieve fast track growth. It helped entrepreneurs in the private and community sectors with important preparation and planning in the early days of starting up and within the first year of trading. It was also aimed at entrepreneurs who have taken the NES programme run by MMU Business School and partner organisations across the region.
Balance: A tool to help with managing your organisation Baseline assessment workshop. Business Bridge for Business in The Community (BiTC)2007 in Greater Manchester and Merseyside
Planning for future sustainability: An introduction to the BALANCE toolkit. Delivered in partnership with MISPA March 2007
Action Learning Facilitator on Business Bridge for Business in The Community (BiTC)2006 January to December Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
UnLtd Sounding Board panelist. December 2006
Greater Manchester Voluntary Sector Conference Manchester Social Enterprise Talkshop. October 2006
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Social Enterprise Workshop. September 2006.
Latest publications and conferences;
Bull, M., Turner, P and Schofield, C (2009). Building Critical Reflection in Small Firms – The tale of 3 Diagnostic Tools. Conference Paper @ Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. Liverpool.
Baines, S., Bull, M and Woolrych, R (2009). Engaging Third Sector Suppliers to the NHS. Conference Paper @ Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. Liverpool.
Bull, M., Baines, S and Woolrych, R (2009). Commissioning, Contracts and Connectivity Is it really happening? Looking at the engagement between NHS and Third Sector in Manchester. Conference Paper @ International Social Innovation Research Conference. Oxford.
Bull (2008) “Challenging tensions: Critical, theoretical and empirical perspectives on social enterprise” Guest Editorial. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research. Volume 14. Number 5. pp- 268 – 275.
Bull, Crompton and Jayawarna (2008) “Coming from the heart: The road is long”. Social Enterprise Journal. Vol 4 number 2. pp108 – 125.
Bull, Ridley-Duff, Foster and Seanor (2008) “Seeing social enterprise through the theoretical conceptualisation of ethical capital” Conference Paper @ Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. Belfast.
Bull, Ridley-Duff, Foster and Seanor (2008) “Ethical Capital: The Neglected Aspect in the Conceptualisation of Social Enterprise. Conference Paper @ 5th Annual Social Enterprise Research Conference July 2008 London South Bank University.
Externally Funded Research
2009 ESRC Business Engagement Grant, see: www.business.mmu.ac.uk/engage/
2008 Harrow College, development of LIBRA, see: www.cfetools.org.uk
2006 2008 Into Enterprise. ERDF and NWDA funded project in partnership with University of Cumbria, UCLAN and Voluntary Action Cumbria.
2005 2006 Learning in Social Enterprises. ESF funded research project.
2004 2005 Benchmarking Social Enterprises. ESF funded research project.
2002 2004 Improving the Competitiveness of SMEs. ERDF funded project.
2002 Innovation & Change in the Clothing Industry. ESF funded research project.
2001. The Impact of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester 2002; Initial Baseline study. UK Sport; UK Sports Council funded research project.
Conferences Organised
Critical Reflections on Social Enterprise. Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. Centre for Enterprise Seminar Series. November 2006
Publications