About Us

RISE is the voice for South West social enterprise.

The RISE Vision, Mission and Values

Vision
Social enterprise will be recognised as a successful business model at the heart of thriving communities

Mission
RISE will improve the trading and operating environment for social enterprise development in South West England.

Values
As a strategic leader for the South West social enterprise sector, RISE will be: credible, approachable, representative and accountable

RISE aims to support the development of a sustainable social enterprise sector in the South West of England by the following objectives:

1. Ensuring SW social enterprises have access to effective high quality business support
2. Facilitating the delivery of social enterprise business support at the most appropriate level throughout the region
3. Sharing and providing information and good practice on social enterprise development
4. Lobbying and promotion on behalf of social enterprises and support agencies at appropriate levels
5. Ensuring that RISE is managed effectively as an organisation

RISE is a membership organisation open to any individual or organisation that is interested in the social enterprise agenda, and is based in South West England.

Further information can be found in the RISE Strategy and Business Plan (PDF, 150kb).

To view PDF (Portable Document Format) documents, you will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded free from the Adobe website.

Membership categories are as follows:

1. Social Enterprises - organisations that adhere to the DTI definition of social enterprise.
2. Social Enterprise Support Agencies - organisations and agencies that have a primary role in providing business support to Social Enterprises (e.g., CDAs, Social Firms SW, DTA, Business Links, RCCs and Social Enterprise Agencies).
3. Associates - individual members (individual freelance consultants and trainers and other sole traders) and any other businesses not qualifying under the social enterprise category. Associate membership does not carry voting rights, but is designed to enable individuals with interest in social enterprise to engage with the RISE networks and access the professional development opportunities provided by Business Advice Network and Additions services.
4. Partners - public sector, other publicly funded and voluntary sector organisations. Examples include SWRDA, Locals Authorities, Local Strategic Partnerships, Learning and Skills Councils, Primary Care Trusts, Health Authorities and others.

For more details, please see the membership guidance and form (MS Word, 115kb).

As a customer of RISE you will:

1.�be dealt with promptly. We will respond to your enquiry within ten working days or within the deadline agreed with you.

2.�always know in advance if there will be a charge for the service you require. We will make it clear if there is a charge for a service so that you can make an informed decision.

3.�receive a service that is confidential. We will treat your enquiry in confidence and only disclose your details with your permission.

4....be encouraged to feedback your views on the service you have received to help us evaluate our services and improve the quality of our services. As part of this you will have access to our customer complaints procedure. We will use the feedback you give us to continually improve the quality of our services to better meet the needs of all our customers.

View the Customer Complaints Procedure

Rise Staff

Our address is:
RISE
Unit B
Pynes Hill
Exeter EX2 5AZ

Tel: 01392 435775
Fax: 01392 456537
Email:

Find us

RISE is the trading name of the Regional Infrastructure for Social Enterprise Limited.

Regional Infrastructure for Social Enterprise Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 4699732

RISE is a member of the Social Enterprise Coalition.