Leeds Beckett University and HAREHILLS COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY KTP24_25R2

A social enterprise in Leeds is building a digital platform to turn its own financial success into a replicable model for other community businesses. The project, a Knowledge Transfer Partnership between Leeds Beckett University and Harehills Community Interest Company, aims to create a sustainable business ecosystem called the Shine CIC Business Ecology, powered by the Shine Ecosystem Portal (SHEP). Most social enterprises struggle to scale because they lack a standardised way to reinvest profits while maintaining their social mission. This research addresses that gap by designing a formal, data-driven framework that other organisations can adopt. If successful, the model could help community interest companies across the UK become financially self-sufficient, reducing their reliance on grants and short-term funding. The portal would track financial and socio-economic impact in real time, giving funders and policymakers clearer evidence of what works. The project is applied and commercially focused—it is not fundamental science. Its immediate value lies in creating a practical toolkit for the social enterprise sector, not in advancing theoretical knowledge.