So, as is the way of things, it has been longer than we intended since we last posted a weeknote! But it is what it is, so let’s just dive in…

As previously mentioned, we have been working on a timeline of CEIS’s history using one created for our 25th anniversary as a starting point. After one too many oblique references to things we knew nothing about, we decided that a trip to Glasgow Caledonian University’s social enterprise archive was in order. We were particularly interested in the John Pearce collection.

If you’re not already familiar with John Pearce, he was the founder of Strathclyde Community Business which was the original name of CEIS. Many would also argue that he was a founding father of the social enterprise movement in Scotland and, indeed, the world.

In any case, he was, happily for us, a prolific keeper of records and so we discovered a treasure trove of history waiting for us in the special collections room of the GCU library.

The most eye-catching upon arrival was an array of colourful publications which contained some of the earliest annual reports going back as far as 1984/85 - our first year of operation.

Inside, we found some fabulous hand-drawn infographics and black and white photos such as these:

This description of social community business also caught my eye:

What struck us the most, however, was how the challenges and motivations of 40 years ago so closely echo those we face today.

Take these excerpts from 1985 for example:

It would appear that we have ever been a victim of our own success with demand outstripping capacity!

There was also early recognition that increasing the number of start-ups alone was not a sufficient measure of success - long-term sustainability was key:

We spotted several recurring themes among the papers in the archive, some of which we will be developing into focused blogs over the coming months.

Overall, it was a truly fascinating visit which we thoroughly enjoyed - 3 hours went by in a flash!

Many thanks to the archive team at GCU for their expert assistance and instruction on how to handle their collections correctly.

Expect more insights from our time travels soon!

Hannah