The ACTION project will pilot an innovative model which will replicate areas of community and social enterprise success within the cross-border region and enable communities to utilize peer support and expertise through a pioneering ‘social franchise’ concept. The project aims to become a hub within both communities to identify model projects, help transfer best practice, broker franchise and consultancy advice amongst community and social enterprises and through its joint staffing and development, become a genuinely sustainable cross-border initiative. The project will work with community and social enterprises within both pilot areas to investigate community/ social enterprise success and produce template business concepts to enable replication in the cross-border region. The project will develop the ‘social franchise’ model into a practical and revenue generating enterprise concept and lead to a sustainable social enterprise as an exit strategy for the pilot project. Project Objectives: • Conduct a comparative analysis between both regions to establish strengths/weaknesses of community/social enterprise to assess how best to build on the strengths and overcome weaknesses;• Identify growth areas for sustainable community and social enterprise according to business and product life-cycle;• Assist enterprises to pilot actions which could address areas of potential opportunity e.g. market research/analysis, test trading, production of regionally-adapted business plans;• Identify community and social enterprises or entrepreneurs who show potential to become ‘social franchisors or franchisees’.•Create, trial and review ‘social franchise’ formats within each pilot area;• Identify and highlight ways which individual and partnerships of community and social enterprises can, and have, used procurement contracts and tenders as sustainable income sources and use these as examples of best practice.Integrate within Social Franchise concept, the awareness, peer support and quality assurance systems to enable enterprises to secure public and private sector procurement contracts;• Become a respected and self-sustaining ‘Community Business Brokerage and Social Franchise Agency’, itself constituted as a Social Enterprise to add significant value to Community and Social Enterprise activity within both regions.