WISE in Practice: Insights from the WISE Learn Book

What we’re learning about funding, sustainability, and building a stronger WISE sector

This session brings together voices from across the social enterprise ecosystem to share what’s been learned from over two decades of funding and supporting Work Integrated Social Enterprises (WISEs).

The WISE LearnBook is a practical, experience-based resource designed to support funders, practitioners, and intermediaries. Rather than offering a single model or set of answers, it opens up the real conversations, the tensions, trade-offs, and lived realities, of building and sustaining WISEs.

👉 Webinar page with speakers

👉 Webinar recording and full transcript coming soon

Why this conversation matters

WISEs play a critical role in creating pathways to employment for people who experience disadvantage. But the conditions they operate in are complex, and often misunderstood.

Across the discussion, a few key themes emerged:

1. Sustainability isn’t simple, and it isn’t static
Sustainability in WISEs is not a straight line to profitability. It shifts over time in response to the market, community needs, and the impact model itself. For many organisations, it’s about being able to deliver their work day-to-day and having the resilience to continue into the future, not just hitting a financial benchmark.

2. Impact comes with real costs
A consistent insight was that the “true cost of impact” is often underestimated. For most WISEs, income from trade alone is unlikely to fully cover these costs. This creates ongoing tension between financial expectations and delivering meaningful outcomes.

3. Funding shapes the sector
Philanthropy and funding models don’t just support WISEs, they influence which models grow, what success looks like, and whose voices are heard. Short-term funding, narrow metrics (like job targets), and pressure to scale can unintentionally distort decision-making.

4. Growth should follow demand, not pressure
WISE leaders shared the importance of growing in response to real demand, rather than expectations from funders or the broader ecosystem. Scaling impact doesn’t always mean scaling the organisation; it can also happen through partnerships, networks, and different models of delivery.

5. Honest conversations about risk are essential
There is often a gap between how risk is discussed and how it’s experienced. Both funders and practitioners highlighted the need for more open, realistic conversations about challenges, uncertainty, and failure, not just success.

6. The system around WISEs needs to evolve
While WISEs deliver strong employment and social outcomes, they are not consistently supported by policy, funding structures, or shared data. There is a clear opportunity for more coordinated advocacy, better evidence, and stronger alignment between philanthropy and government.

What this resource offers

This webinar is part of a broader effort to share practical insights with the sector, not as a definitive guide, but as a starting point for deeper conversation.

It brings together:

• Reflections from funders, intermediaries, and WISE leaders
• Real-world examples of what works (and what doesn’t)
• Honest perspectives on sustainability, scaling, and impact

A key message from the session is that there is no single model for success in WISEs. Different organisations, communities, and contexts require different approaches.

Explore more

1. Main Learn Book
2. Case Studies
3. Appendix: Grant Making Guide