HOW COVID-19 HAS AFFECTED OPERATIONS & FUNDING RELATING TO SOCIAL ENTERPRISES IN BIRMINGHAM

Social enterprises are very common in Birmingham having the largest concentrations of social enterprises in the United Kingdom. With the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the operations and management of social enterprises in Birmingham has been greatly affected. This study seeks to analyse the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the operations and funding of social enterprises in Birmingham UK. In order to achieve this, the study is going to carry out a qualitative methodology in order to analyse the impact Covid-19 has had on social enterprises. The research is going to select relevant stakeholders through a non-purposive sampling criteria identifying individuals who have direct interest in the functioning of social enterprises. The relevant stakeholders will be expected to respond to semi structured interviews that are structured to evoke responses relevant to this area of research. The research realized that Social enterprises in Birmingham are a critical player in the economy of UK with many individuals depending on the social enterprise industry. In addition to that, the study realised that the Covid-19 pandemic exposed social enterprises to various financial and market risks. Moreover, social enterprises were forced to make a change in their organizational structure through cost management changes and offering alternative services. However, the government came in support through provision of grants and funding to boost the social enterprise economy. Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 14 October 2021 doi:10.20944/preprints202110.0215.v1 © 2021 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license.


Background of the Study
Considering the high transmission rates of Covid- 19  The non-essential sector has contributed to the economic fallout, which has been experienced in all parts of the world (Reeves, McKee, & Stuckler, 2014). It has been reported that the economic downturn has majorly affected low-income and casual workers (Adams-Prassl, Boneva, Golin, & Rauh, 2020). Most non-essential employees have either been furloughed or laid off, leading them into bankruptcy. A recent study highlighted that the likely ratio of bankruptcies due to the Covid19 outbreak would be more than the deaths caused by the covid virus (Hsiang et al., 2020). In addition to that, the mitigation measures of the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to a significant reduction of income, unemployment, poverty, among many more (Bittihn, Hupe, Isensee, & Golestanian, 2021). The extreme consequences can be attributed to many governments underestimating the risk related to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic (Chowell & Mizumoto, 2020).
Birmingham is the UK's second city with a population of more than 1 Million. Birmingham's high population played a critical role in the spread of Covid-19 cases (Ghosh, Nundy, Ghosh, & Mallick, 2020). Although it was not the country's worst-hit area, it was adversely affected by the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic (Ghosh et al., 2020).
One of the critical sectors of society that were adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic is social enterprises. Social enterprises are businesses that make profits while achieving societal goals (Lambooy, Anthoni, & Argyrou, 2020). More often than not, making profits is not the fundamental goal of social enterprises (Lambooy et al., 2020). The profits obtained from their operations are often used to fund and sustain social programs (Lambooy et al., 2020). Social enterprises obtain their funding from grants and donations (Lambooy et al., 2020). Birmingham generates its income mainly through trade. The BSSEC report states that 86% of the income generated by social enterprises in Birmingham is obtained from trading, and the remaining 14% is generated from grants, donations, and other sources (BSSEC, 2014).
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, operations and funding of social enterprises in Birmingham and the entire UK have been negatively affected (Obrenovic et al., 2020). A recent survey of 550 charities by the Institute of Fundraising stated that 48% of social enterprises in the UK risk losing their voluntary income due to the Covid-19 pandemic (Hatch, 2020). It is reported that there was a 41% increase in direct debit cancellations for social enterprises in April 2020 in the UK (Melanie Rapidata, 2020). Moreover, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic made social enterprises cut back their operations due to the income drop. Reports have indicated that 60% of social enterprises in the UK cut back on their staff by April 2020 (Hatch, 2020). Social enterprises took measures that involved postponing programs' implementation, closing their office set up, limiting their activities, among many more (Hatch, 2020).
In Birmingham, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic had a profound effect on social enterprises (Social Enterprise UK, 2020). As a result of the pandemic, social enterprises have faced significant operational and financial consequences alongside a spike in demand for services, a reduction in an employment capacity, and a reduction in funding capacity (Social Enterprise UK, 2020).
The pandemic came unexpectedly, with the social entrepreneurs uninformed on any possible means to handle the impact (Yoosefi Lebni et al., 2020). With the unforeseen problem, implementing contingencies for survival may be challenging for this sector, like many other sectors facing the same threat (Yoosefi Lebni et al., 2020). Concomitantly, most enterprises have not adopted feasible technologies and could cushion the organisations in uncertainty (Hope & Player, 2012).
Since the pandemic's impact on various entities is still unexplored, it is vital to research the effects caused by the pandemic on the sector. The study is significant in defining strategies to be implemented in such outbreaks and unforeseen circumstances (Holmes, 2008). Therefore, this study evaluates the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the social enterprises and analyses challenges encountered-whilst providing solutions for the future of operations.
The research evaluates the impact Covid-19 has had on the social enterprises and their operations within Birmingham city in the UK; Providing insight into the industry's performance during the pandemic and survival after the pandemic. Moreover, the research will cover different businessrelated theories to understand these factors' impact on the business. The research outcome will be beneficial to the investors and entrepreneurs in determining the approaches to survive the industry.
It will also be beneficial as a reference point for the investors who wish to start their operations in the UK.

Statement of the Problem
Different sectors of the UK economy have experienced economic disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic (Mark Stephens, 2020). Besides, the Covid-19 pandemic had an abrupt impact on operations in almost all industries globally (Yoosefi Lebni et al., 2020). Countless businesses have been impeded following the closures, limitation of operations, limitation of movements, reduction in consumption, among many more. According to Bartik (2020), even though some businesses gained from the pandemic, most were negatively affected, particularly those considered nonessential. Social enterprises serve a critical role in society in providing solutions to the challenges in a broad scope of cultural and environmental issues (Katz & Page, 2010). However, COVID 19 has impacted social enterprises because of the increased cost of conducting business, reducing consumer demand, and reducing grants by funding organisations. (Petrakis, 2020). The pandemic effects present a significant need to monitor the enterprises' performance concerning their social and organisational goals. This research study will evaluate and analyse and address the pandemic's impact on social enterprises.

Justification of the Study
Social enterprises play an essential role in achieving global social development goals (Skilled Impact, 2018). There is a vital necessity to understand how social enterprise businesses operate and deliver services alongside the strict contingent regulations resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. This study is crucial as it will identify the appropriate contingency strategies for the smooth and progressive functioning of the social enterprises amid the pandemic. There is a lack of sufficient information on the impact of Covid-19 on social enterprises' funding and operation.
It is essential to analyse the negative impact of Coronavirus on social enterprises to bridge the research gap on the effects of the pandemic within Birmingham.

General Objective
To evaluate the impact of Covid-19 on the operations and funding of social enterprises.

I.
To identify how customer expectations and needs are influencing business practices and service delivery in the Covid-19 era.

II.
To evaluate the effects of Covid-19 on the operations and funding of social enterprises in Birmingham, UK.

III.
To predict and effect that the Covid-19 pandemic will have on future operations on social enterprises.

IV.
To determine the various ways social enterprises can reconfigure to minimise pandemic and future uncertainties through an effective contingency plan.

I.
How are the social enterprises suited to the uncertainties in their operations?

II.
How has the Covid-19 pandemic affected operations within social enterprise businesses in Birmingham? III.
How has the pandemic contributed to the challenges in the funding of social enterprises in Birmingham?

IV.
What are the key factors that need to be considered in social enterprises that keep them shield against uncertainties in the future of their operations?

Limitations of the Study
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been experienced in almost all regions across the world.
Social enterprises worldwide have felt the impact of the pandemic (Lenzen et al., 2020). There is limited research on the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the social enterprise in Birmingham.
Social enterprises also consist of different functions in their entirety; The focus is on the general operations of the second entities' funding concerning how they have been affected.
2 Literature review

Introduction
The chapter provides a literature review of the social enterprise's operation and how such pandemics have affected various businesses' operations. The section entails a comprehensive look at the studies that have been written about the pandemic affecting social enterprise's operations and funding; The review will highlight the pandemic's impact. This section also carries out a critical review of the contingency plans that the social enterprises need to take to ease the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Research gap
The COVID-19 pandemic is an uncommon virus that emerged. The pandemic provides an avenue to explore and study to add to the field of knowledge. The consequences of enterprises have not been explored, especially enterprises in Birmingham, UK.
The research will be significant to assist within the research gap. It is also evident that social enterprises have not encountered a downtime period in the face of such a pandemic (Aruru, Truong, & Clark, 2021). The study will help identify the pandemic's significant consequences on social enterprises through a Birmingham city case study.

Social enterprises
Social enterprises are defined as entities that use commercial strategies to maximise financial, environmental, and social well-being (Katz & Page, 2010 (Kerlin, 2006). According to Kerlin (2006), the entrepreneurship aspect indicates the element of engaging in continuous business. The social dimension depicts the primary goal of social enterprises that are defined in the societal benefit. In comparison, the governance dimension shows that a social enterprise needs to be based on a mechanism and structure to ensure that the organisational goals are maintained and attained. The Social Business Initiative (SBI) under the EU defined the above dimensions' operational criteria to ensure they are reflected in the social enterprises (Kerlin, 2006).

Social enterprises in the UK
The concept of social enterprises first came up in the 1970s in the UK (Defourny & Nyssens, 2008).
These were developed as an alternative to the commercial, organisational, public enterprises, cooperatives, and private entities. In social enterprises, they applied two paradigm shifts: a typical ownership legal structure and a democratic form of governance. As part of the principles, the enterprises comprised the core values: trading and financially viable independence, creating social wealth, and operating in environmentally responsible ways (Bull & Ridley-Duff, 2008). Kerlin (2006) indicates that the social entrepreneurship concept has gained ground in most regions globally over the last two decades. Thus, such regions, especially in Europe and the United States, increasingly gain significant social enterprise grounds (Kerlin, 2006 Some social enterprises can be under private for-profit and the public sector (Defourny, 2013).
However, different parts of Europe have adopted different approaches. Therefore, they can be located within the third sector or in the social economy, which is usually oriented towards nonprofit organisations and cooperatives and not-for-profit private enterprises (Defourny & Nyssens, 2006).
Italy is the pioneering region of social enterprises (Adam, 2004). New initiatives in the country to heed to the demand for unmet needs in the 1980s led to the emergence of the cooperate initiatives In his research, Doherty (2006) indicated that the UK had not been long in adopting this concept.
Once Italy had defined the social enterprise's role within the various legal frameworks, the UK advanced a social enterprise definition (Doherty et al., 2006). The definition advanced that social enterprises are the social objectives as the primary goal whose surpluses are principally reinvested in the community rather than driven by the need to maximise profits for the stakeholders and the

The operation and role of social enterprises today
Since their inception, social enterprises have gained popularity even globally. The popularity may be attributed to increased knowledge amongst the population and increased consciousness to provide solutions to societal issues (Adam, 2004). According to Adam (2004), the twenty-first century has continually encountered problems that have necessitated various entities' intervention to solve. The need has been an aggravating factor in forming and implementing social enterprises to formulate strategies and policies from individual and organisational perspectives (Lyon & Owen, 2019).
The rise of social enterprises has necessitated legislation and regulations of operation across different regions. However, it has been indicated that Germany and Japan have not passed any federal law on social enterprises' definition, but they still have them in their countries (Stinchcombe, 2000). The different approaches speak to the different levels of adoption and operations in each country. Certain countries have had the sector in operation for a much greater period than others. Therefore their legislative and policy frameworks are much established, making their initiatives more advanced and better coordinated (Kerlin, 2009).
The operation of the sector under the element of work integration is defined under the following: Integration objectives-this concept relates to training and employment aspects, the type of job contracts and the target groups. It involves training for social integration and works professionalism.
Training and job contracts-the element is mainly oriented towards providing job training in different fields. Other entities are geared toward providing formal and informal training and learning.
The target groups-the social enterprises concern themselves to a particular target in the market or can be defined on a general objective of serving society. Under the general service, the social enterprise's scope is defined by the type of objective it delivers. In various regions, the sector's objective is determined upon needs. In most cases, it is the less abled and the economically disadvantaged.
Under the indicated dynamics, the operations are defined as the goals, structure, governance resources, and environment. In the economy, social enterprises engage with various industrial sectors, such as business activities and services. It is also a significant focus to work with the community and social services, social workers, education, and healthcare entities (Kerlin, 2006).
Various research entities (Kerlin, 2009) state that most countries have adopted the fee-forservice/product operational model for their social enterprises. Other forms implemented include the service-subsidisation model standard in Sweden and Hungary, the employment model common in Romania and Sweden, and the cooperative model, which has gained significance in countries such as Hungary and Romania (Kerlin, 2009).

Funding for Social enterprises
Social enterprises operate to create social wealth and operate in environmentally responsible ways (Galera & Borzaga, 2009). Their role in society is to provide services and products to the introduce new products and services to maximise profits, which will help fund (Frumkin, 2009).
The social enterprises' funding has long been based on donations and grants (Lyon & Sepulveda, 2009 (Kerlin, 2009). Profits from the fees in training and sales of products and services are also significant funding sources.

Covid-19 and its effect on businesses
The novel coronavirus pandemic came suddenly to the world, and due to its deadly nature, every sector would feel its impact. Covid-19 was declared as a global pandemic since it was very infectious and, at the same time, associated with a high and quick mortality rate (Biswas et al., 2020b). When protecting the population while monitoring the spread of the virus, various restrictive measures were put in place. The businesses and different institutions had to close to this effect.
The abrupt stopping of businesses has led to a long stall in the production and circulation of services in the economy (Yoosefi Lebni et al., 2020). According to Bartik (2020), reduced spending has also impacted businesses. The effect of the stopped processes in organisations was that most people were fired in the process, with a large percentage of job losses being recorded Even as the pandemic ravages on in various parts of the globe and most businesses have been greatly affected (Verma & Gustafsson, 2020, p. 19). The resumption of operations must be a considerable activity for most businesses. The depletion of funds, the ignition of the organisational processes is bound to be tough. It is also a significant problem that business resumption is already tagged with new restrictive operation measures.

The impact of covid-19 on social enterprises
Reflecting on the effects upon other entities, it is also evident that the social enterprises have equally been affected. Even in the face of the pandemic, social enterprises' role is highly demanding (Petrakis, 2020). Given that most of the sector entities are built towards helping the society through various problems and encounters, the impact was felt with a substantial burden to help alleviate the problems that arose (Petrakis, 2020).
At the basic level, the social enterprises were disrupted in the organizations' processes due to the restrictive measures implemented (Petrakis, 2020 The research focuses on the impact of the pandemic on the pandemic on the social enterprises in Birmingham. The study results will help define the effects on social enterprises' operations and the impact on the funding. The study will define possible ways of addressing the challenges faced during the pandemic and offer recommendations for the future of operations.

Introduction
This research aims to evaluate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the operations and funding of social enterprises in Birmingham, UK. Accordingly, the methodology section will discuss the methods that would be implemented to achieve the research objectives. Therefore, the methodology section will analyse the various research methodology components such as research strategy, research philosophy, research approach, data collection procedures, and data analysis. To achieve this the research has set aims and objectives in place.

Research Onion
Research

Research Approach
The most common research approaches include the deductive approach and inductive approach.  The inductive approach is exploratory during the initial stages of research, while the deductive approach works from a narrow perspective, mainly focusing on hypothesis testing (M.N Saunders et al., 2015). Therefore, this particular study will follow the inductive approach. It seeks to explore the Covid-19 phenomena and their impact on social enterprises by providing interview questions to relevant participants to gain insight based on the interviewees' interview responses.

Research Design
The most common research designs used is that research projects include qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis. Qualitative analysis uses subjective judgment to comprehend phenomena from the perspectives of the relevant participants selected. In contrast, a quantitative analysis uses mathematical and statistical techniques to comprehend the phenomena under research (Choy, 2014).
Remarkably, this study would follow qualitative analysis to comprehend the participants' opinion regarding the phenomena under research. Moreover, qualitative analysis is imperative when the nature of the research questions requires exploration (M. N. Saunders et al., 2015). This research is exploratory, qualitative analysis is most suitable for this study.

Data Collection
The collection of data in this research will be executed through interviews. A set of selected relevant participants will be provided with a list of semi-structured interview questions. The respondents will be selected from various social entrepreneurship ventures in Birmingham, UK.
The interview discussion session will entail 15 open-ended questions. The interview questions will vary from interview to interview depending on the participants' responses and area of expertise. The figure below gives a diagrammatic illustration of the data collection methods that are going to be used. Therefore, this particular study will follow the non-probabilistic purposive sampling method because the interview questions acted as a guideline in selecting the category of people to be sampled. The figure below is a diagrammatic representation of the sampling parameters used in this research.

Data analysis
Corbin & Strauss (2008) defined analysis as the process of data interpretation and evaluation to derive purposeful results. Therefore, this research will use the thematic data analysis approach to do data analysis and interpretation. For this reason, the study will use a qualitative analysis data software known as "Nvivo" to do thematic analysis. Thematic analysis entails identifying, analyzing, and reporting themes and patterns within the data. Thematic data analysis is carried out through a systematic step-by-step iterative process using the qualitative data analysis  One of the critical factors affecting validity and reliability is human error (Brink, 1993). Brink (1993) mentioned that the researcher risks data reliability and validity in qualitative analysis. A higher degree of error would result in less accurate results (Brink, 1993).
Therefore, this study will use three techniques recommended by (Brink, 1993) to minimise the risk of error to ensure the research methods' validity and reliability.
• Extensive training of the researcher as interviewers before data collection • Researcher Spending enough time with the interviewee before data collection starts • The researcher assesses and enhances a relationship with the interviewees to move from a stranger to a friendlier person during the research process using the stranger-to-friend model (Brink, 1993).
Reliability and validity are dependent on four aspects: creditability, dependability, transferability, and conformability (Guba & Lincoln, 1994). To ensure that the four aspects will be taken into consideration throughout the research. Much focus will be put to find a match between research questions, methods, and theory. During the research, the theory evolved, and the research questions will be modified to address the subject matter appropriately. In addition to that, the data sample will be matched with the research area and will consist only of respondents who have a solid connection to social enterprises. Accordingly, this will facilitate a close bond between the data and the research topic, making the research process and proceed in one direction.

Ethical Considerations
Ethical considerations are essential as they ensure the general public's accountability by protecting the study's subjects (Connelly, 2014). Ethical considerations are essential as they support the values required for collaborative work, such as mutual respect, fairness, and not harming others (Connelly, 2014). Before conducting the research, individual consent will be obtained from the subjects. After that, the participants will be provided with information regarding the dissertation, purpose, and significance. Moreover, the participants will be informed that their participation in the interviews would be entirely voluntary. The respondents will also be informed that their identities would remain anonymous, and no unauthorized party will have access to the respondent's information as it would be private and confidential.

Introduction
To achieve the objectives of this research project, the study conducted interviews with relevant stakeholders in the social enterprise sector in Birmingham to generate insight into the impact of covid-19 in the social enterprise sector. After the interviews were carried out, qualitative analysis was carried out to unearth opinions, perspectives, experiences and thoughts of participants regarding the interview questions. Mainly, the research project put together the data collected through the semi-structured interviews, identified possible patterns within the data set and analyzed it through thematic analysis, capturing essential information in the collected data that can be used to answer the hard research questions and achieve the study objectives. After the collection of the data, the study developed initial relevant codes depending on the data. After that, the researchers sorted the different developed codes into themes and collating the potent coded extracts within the identified themes. This section of the research presents the findings from the analysis and a detailed discussion of the results produced.

Response Rate
Following this, the research project had initially targeted nine respondents to take up the interview questions. Targeted respondents had a direct and indirect interest in social enterprises such as employees, beneficiaries, funders, local leaders, owners, entrepreneurs, and social enterprises. Respondents included respondents who live or work in the city of Birmingham in the UK. Interviews addressed the respondent's perspective on Covid-19 and its effects on the operations and funding of social enterprises. Out of the nine targeted respondents, one respondent did not participate in the interview process for fundamental reasons. Eight respondents participated in the research process, which is an 89% response rate. An 89% response rate is an above-average response rate, making the eight interviews usable and sufficient for practical qualitative analysis.

Demography analysis
In the preliminary analysis, the study analyzed the selected population based on demographic factors such as age, gender, and stakeholder type. Demographic analysis is essential as it provides data regarding the research respondents and helps the researcher determine whether the research participants represent the target population for generalization purposes.

Gender
Respondents were expected to state their gender in the preliminary analysis. Out of the eight participating respondents, 63% were male, while 37% were female. Admittedly, the gender distribution of the data sample indicates a gender balance in the selected sample. The figure below summarizes the above data.

Age
The participants were also requested to state their age so that the research could gain insight into the respondents' age composition. 17% of the respondents were between the ages of 25 and 35, while 50% were between the ages of 35 and 45, while 33% were between 45 and 55 years.
There is an outstanding balance in the age distribution of the respondents for individuals of different age groups. The figure below is a summary of the above data.  Note: In the thematic analysis that follows, respondent 1 to 6were entrepreneurs, respondent 7 was a customer, respondent 8 was an employee.

Thematic analysis
Thematic analysis was carried out to develop themes and subthemes for the research. According to the respondents, social enterprises are beneficial to society during the Covid-19 pandemic in two significant spheres.

I. Economic sphere
Social enterprises facilitate local economic development by increasing economic activity and creating employment opportunities for less privileged community members who are often excluded from the labour market. As a result, this has played a critical role in stimulating economic growth. Moreover, the respondents hinted that social enterprises had stimulated economic growth while instilling responsible community practices and an inclusive and sustainable model.

II. Society sphere
Respondents highlighted that social enterprises enhance social cohesion in the community.
They hinted that most social enterprises promote social cohesion by reducing inequalities by providing goods and services to vulnerable community members at affordable prices and fostering a sense of community by involving citizens in different ways, primarily through volunteering activities.

Theme 2: Risk
The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has generated many risks for social enterprises, entrepreneurs, and business people that were unprecedented. According to the interviews, risk management appeared as a critical management response concerning the emergence of the Covid-  Moreover, the closure of non-essential services and lockdowns has contributed to decreased goods and services.

Respondent 3
"Since the universities been shut for a while now and students do not come to school any more, I lost a huge number of customers because students were my primary source of income."

Theme 3: Operational Change
At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, change in companies and organisations has been inevitable. Change in an organization has been imperative in order for businesses to adapt to a Covid-19business environment. However, the respondents also commented that initiating operational change is a big challenge as it involves grand procedures. An operational change must first be presented as a proposal, put under consideration, evaluated and agreed upon before it is actualized. Most respondents hinted that change in operational activities might be time-consuming since it would take a long time for the strategic change plan to be approved. Most of the changes that the participants considered significant included Cost management-related changes and alternative services.

Cost management changes
According to the respondents, most of the social enterprises have initiated measures to reduce costs and risks involved in business to manage the production and profitability of the Moving forward, social enterprises need to take center stage and inspire responsible activities in the mainstream economic sector by incorporating economic activities with environmental and social activities. Policymakers should implement policies that promote social innovation and cooperation to enhance the impact of social enterprises in social transformation.

Discussion
The main challenge of the Covid-19 crisis to social enterprises is that most of the social enterprises utilized most of their resources in the emergency response that has affected their operational capacity due to short term liquidity problems (Farhoud et al., 2021). Since it has been noted within the interview responses, the social enterprises need much support from the government, and their situation would worsen without sufficient support from the government.
One of the critical issues that have affected most social enterprises is the drop in activity due to is essential for policy markets to implement measures that will enhance the sustainability of social enterprises during the Covid-19 pandemic and even in the post-Covid-19 era.
Policymakers should facilitate this social transformation by providing financial resources to social enterprises that promote social innovation and adopt new business models. The government should make sure that it creates an environment that encourages social innovation by funding the innovation projects suggested by social enterprises. Moreover, the government should also fund projects that facilitate the community's transformation to a green, inclusive and sustainable community.

Introduction
Chapter 5 presents a summary of the results and discoveries discussed in Chapter 4 above and concludes from the research findings. Moreover, this chapter also seeks to suggest recommendations for further research in this area of study. Admittedly, the research established that the stakeholders in social enterprises were not prepared for the COVID 19 pandemic and its consequences. Social enterprises in Birmingham had not pre-established disaster management programs to counter the consequences of the pandemic.

Summary of the findings
As a result, most of the social enterprises utilized most of their resources in the emergency response towards the pandemic. Therefore, this resulted in short term liquidity problems in the social enterprises. The core responsibility of social enterprises in the society of implementing innovative and value-driven economic practices was affected in the different scenarios the respondents derived their perspectives from.
Thematic analysis of the research findings unearths many risks that social enterprises were exposed to by the COVID 19 pandemic. First and foremost, all the respondents highlighted that their financial positions were affected. The significant decline in the demand for goods and services during the pandemic reduced the cash generation in the businesses.
According to the responses, this study established two significant sources of funds for social enterprises: profits/retained earnings from their business and grants from governmental and nongovernmental institutions. As a result of the pandemic, grants became a great challenge to secure because most of the grants and donations were redirected towards managing the COVID 19 situation in providing relief services to the worst-hit communities, provision of COVID 19 protective wear, among other prioritized initiatives. Therefore, a substantial financial risk was posed on these social enterprises in Birmingham.
One of the key findings of this research is that the COVID 19 pandemic exposed the enterprises to a risk of shortage of labour supply and demand-supply imbalance. Admittedly, the social nature of social enterprises exposed workers to the COVID-19 infection, thus making them unable to work. COVID 19 contingent measures of isolation also contributed to the unavailability of the labour force at their work stations.
The market risk presented itself in the form of shifts in demand and supply patterns in social enterprises. From the interview responses, the reduction of demand for goods and services affected most social enterprises since the customers had shifted their focus to essential goods and services for survival. Ban of operations for non-essential services also contributed to the decrease in demand for some goods and services, for instance, service providers around schools and universities. Decrease in demand, shortage of labour supply, and other financial risks led to losses from projected revenue.
It was also observed that the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic forced enterprises to restructure their organization to suit the new norm, which was a great challenge for most of the social enterprises. Due to the already low cash disposition, most respondents highlighted that their companies had to apply stringent cost-efficiency models to eliminate unnecessary expenses and still achieve a sustainable profit margin. These included laying off some employees and working from home to cut travel expenses. On the other hand, some respondents highlighted that some social enterprises sought alternative ways of operation to suit the new COVID 19 containment measures like service providing exclusively through digital platforms and offering take away services.
Respondents noted that the Birmingham City council supported social enterprises by helping protect their financial security, extending contracts due for expiry and lobbying the central government for the great work that the social enterprise sector has done. Moreover, the government also supported them through the provision of resources and recognition.
Admittedly, this research shows that social enterprises have been instrumental in mitigating the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, including posing as the trusted partner in ensuring a better allocation of resources in the provision of goods and services needed to address immediate concerns.

Recommendations
Due to the nature of the Covid-19 pandemic, social enterprises must adapt to the new way of life. Action plans for social enterprises to facilitate the transition towards more resilient societies through its principles of solidarity, social impact, and cooperation need to make. Embracing and realizing the full potential of social enterprises is very instrumental in the bid to change the COVID 19 crisis into an opportunity and enhance better livelihood in the community and stimulate innovation and exploring economic activities.
Players in social enterprises should accept to take pay cuts. The goal of profit maximization in the businesses has to be put on hold. Businesses should instead intend to purely serve the various goods and services in the affected communities. However, this does not ignore the need to meet operational costs of the businesses, which calls for a cost-profit balance strike to achieve a winwin situation between them and the now low income-earning consumers.
Relevant policymakers should develop more inclusive and sustainable approaches as they handle the current situation and have an eye on the future if they need to cushion against similar occurrences. Moreover, they should implement policies that promote social innovation and cooperation to enhance the impact of social enterprises in social transformation. In addition to that, the government can continue supporting social enterprises and their activities through issuing grants and create a conducive business environment for the stakeholders in the social enterprise sector.