Skillshare Study Visits

Your food enterprise could benefit from a Skillshare Study Visit

If your business concerns food and is community run, you could be entitled to a FREE visit to a similar successful food enterprise.

What are Skillshare Study Visits?

Skillshare Study Visits are part of the Specialist Enterprise Support service to community owned food enterprises under the Making Local Food Work programme. Visits are directed at groups who are part of the programme and form part of an overall objective to help community food enterprises develop and thrive.

They provide an opportunity to learn from other community food enterprises, discover how they do things differently, and inspire new ideas to implement in your enterprise. Whether you have been trading for years, or are a newly forming community business, visiting other enterprises can help to inspire new ideas and renew enthusiasm.

What can I expect from my visit?

A Skillshare Study Visit will usually include a presentation and tour from the host organisation, discussion and exchange of ideas with the host, and an opportunity to speak to other staff and volunteers, and even other visiting groups.

Visits will be accompanied by a Guide with community food enterprise experience to support visitors to get the most of the experience. The Guide will be responsible for preparing a report on the visit, and this will require input from the visitors including a follow-up interview.

Successful applicants will be awarded a travel and subsistence budget of up to £175 and are encouraged to take more than one member from their enterprise. Applicants can apply to visit a specific organisation known to them, or ask the Plunkett Foundation for a recommendation.

Who can apply to visit?

Study visits are aimed primarily at Community Supported Agricuture groups, Community Shops, Community Owned Farmer's Markets, Food Co-ops, Community Food Didtribution businesses and Country Markets. If capacity allows we will endeavour to match requests from other types of community owned food business, such as cafes.

Applicants and Hosts can be based in rural or urban locations anywhere in England, and can be from emerging enterprises as well as established ones.

The Plunkett Foundation have a pool of ‘Hosts Organisations’ for visitors to visit, but there is also flexibility for visitors to suggest alternative ‘hosts’.

How can I apply?

Please contact the Making Local Food Work project officer that best suits your enterprise. If your enterprise is not currently engaged with the programme, than please submit the application form below to olivia.gardner@plunkett.co.uk.

or call 01993 814386

Application form for visiting organisations