The ACTION (Active Communities Through Interregional Opportunities and Networks) Project is a collaborative undertaking between Dunhill Rural Enterprises Limited (Waterford) and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. The purpose of the project is to develop and pilot an innovative model for community regeneration by facilitating community and social enterprises to grow through the replication of good ideas, peer support and the development of ‘social franchises’.

The objectives of the project partners are to channel their combined experience in the community and social enterprise sectors to create strong cross-border links and to seek sustainable future revenue generation opportunities for communities in their respective regions. This project aims to build on a background of innovative and proactive community and social enterprise activities in Carmarthenshire and County Waterford. It proposes to replicate these valuable activities by identifying opportunities to address areas of market need within these regions. The project is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through
the Ireland Wales Programme 2007-2013 (INTERREG A4)

Social Franchising/Replication – A Concept
The ACTION project aims to replicate the good work of social enterprises in the pilot areas of Carmarthenshire and County Waterford by working with these communities to 'franchise' their existing business models. There is nothing complicated about 'social franchising'. It is simply linking up like-minded communities through the work of the project, exploring how good ideas can be shared and discovering how communities in our regions can get new initiatives off the ground. If a social enterprise can work successfully in one partner region, there is no reason why we cannot work together and form a mutually beneficial relationship to share expertise, start a 'franchise' and support the people of County Waterford and Carmarthenshire.

Fo rmore infomation on the ACTION Project Telephone: +353 (0)51 396007 or Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it