What You Need to Know About the PCSEA

The President’s Challenge Social Enterprise Award (PCSEA) winner has been decided. 2013 PCSEA Start-Up of the Year goes to Bettr Barista. The institution helped improve the lives of women and other troubled people. PCSEA gives recognition to institutions for their exemplary contributions to the society. The award was instigated in March of 2012 and its scope only includes social enterprise. This is the only award bestowed by the Office of the President.

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When you speak of social enterprise, it means businesses that operate under a mission. Social enterprise businesses draw most of their income through trading. The profits earned will be allotted to their community. Apart from these, you also need to know other things such as:

Categories

There are three categories under the PCSEA. The awards include Youth Social Enterprise of the Year, Social Enterprise of the Year and Social Enterprise Start-Up of the Year. The Youth Social Enterprise of the Year involves social enterprises that are managed by youths (not more than 35 years old). Social Enterprise of the Year involves social enterprises that have been in the business two years or more. Lastly, the Social Enterprise Start- Up of the Year involves social enterprises that have been in the business not less than two years.

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Eligibility

Now that you know the categories, it is time to know the eligibility. Social enterprises are eligible for the PSCSEA if they  are generating social impact by simply addressing Singapore’s social needs. The social enterprise should also be registered in Singapore. The PCSEA is open to non-profit and profit enterprises so long as they meet the criteria mentioned earlier.

Criteria for Judging

If you are curious about the criteria for judging, you should know that there are 5 criteria for judging to include social impact, governance, business performance and financial viability, innovation and productivity improvement and working environment.

Application

You can nominate yourself by filling the PCSEA nomination form. The nomination form should be accompanied by supporting documents and they should be submitted to the Ministry of Social and Family Development office. The nominations will start from July every year and the announcement of the winners will be on December of the same year. 

Notification

The committee will notify you if you are shortlisted. The completeness and the adherence of your application will be reviewed by the committee. If you passed the initial screening, you will be scheduled for an interview and field visits. But if your documents are lacking, your application will be rejected.

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