Partner-Up, a new service to promote and facilitate mergers and collaboration for the sector, was launched last week by Nick Hurd, minister for Civil Society.

Described by Hurd as a 'discreet dating agency', Partner-Up is an independent marketplace where charities, social enterprises and housing associations can safely explore partnership options and receive support in deciding which orgainsations to approach.

Speaking at the launch, Lesley-Anne Alexander, CEO of RNIB and Chair of ACEVO, highlighted the importance of consolidation in the sector saying that too many organisations are attached to their brand which limits their impact and scope.

This is illustrated by the 730 separate charities that support 370,000 registered blind and partially-sighted people in the UK.

The need for a collaboration fund to facilitate mergers in the sector was also identified by Nick Hurd, who said that similar models exist in the US where foundations support the costs of legal and financial advice.

An infrastructure fund has been announced in the UK but this is limited to regional bodies only.

Partner-Up is now open to organisations to register their interest for free at www.partner-up.org. In the past twelve months, 200 organisations have been contacted about strategic partnership work and there are currently over 30 live ongoing merger opportunities.

Professional support is provided through an extensive network of partners – BWB, Primetimers, Eversheds, 3SC and Social Enterprise UK – and this combined expertise provides a ‘one stop shop’ for effective collaboration.

Nick Hurd said: “Better connections between organisations are more important than ever in a fast-changing environment. I welcome Partner-Up and hope it will allow many more social enterprises to merge, collaborate and make the most of new opportunities – particularly in social finance and public service delivery."

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