SES was chosen by the Scottish Government for the role of Single Enhanced Intermediary (SEI) following an open and transparent selection process to help build a broad consensus across the entire sector.

The independent and membership-led organisation will act as a growing, strong and inclusive voice for social enterprises in Scotland.

It has vowed to listen and build consensus, to support and promote grassroots and local social enterprises and to collaborate with others to ensure an inclusive approach - acknowledging and building on the work of organisations such as Social Enterprise Network Scotland (SENScot).

As part of its commitment to deliver the SEI in partnership with the sector, SES has established a Transition Group (TG) to oversee the process and ensure a seamless transition.

The TG will hold the first of six meetings on Monday. It has a six-month remit to report back with recommendations, which will be published in full.

SES also recently launched a series of ‘community conversations’ with plans to run events for all 32 local authority areas in the coming months.

At each event, SES chief executive Chris Martin will update local social enterprises and other interested parties on the transition process, and listen to the views of local, geographic networks including Third Sector Interfaces (TSIs).

Chris Martin, chief executive of Social Enterprise Scotland, said: “The new SEI will be a home for everyone looking to create social impact and to provide organisations with the best possible tools to deliver even more value in their local communities.

“We hope to build a broad consensus across the sector in Scotland and we believe the SEI will ultimately give all social enterprises a stronger, collective voice.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for our sector as we progress the transition and successfully deliver a new inclusive model that will put social enterprises at the heart of Scotland’s future.”