In February 2000, the government set up a Social Investment Task Force to investigate ways of financing economic development in under-invested communities.

Its recommendations have laid the foundations for a new system of local entrepreneurism and inward investment - a system in which social landlords are expected to play an active part.

Giving deprived communities better access to opportunities in the wider economy is part of the process - but more important is development from within, at a very local level, enabling each community to generate its own economic momentum.

In this context, RSLs are tasked with aiding and sustaining local businesses, supporting start-ups, inspiring and facilitating training and local employment for tenants and residents, and fostering inward investment.

For RSLs, whose responsibilities over the last decade have increasingly extended beyond the provision and maintenance of housing, this is yet another new role, requiring a new range of skills and understanding.

This seminar will examine methods and sources of community finance, and use examples of good practice to illustrate how lives can be changed for the better through successful social enterprises.

This event includes lunch allowing delegates and speakers to make new contacts and continue discussing the projects outlined in a comfortable and informal setting.