Lancashare, the county’s sharing platform, celebrated its 3rd birthday in November 2019.  Hundreds of businesses joined in the annual celebrations at the Grand Venue, Blackburn to celebrate the company and the county.  Lancashare, a platform created by businesses to centralise (share) all the county has to offer, launched on Lancashire Day 2016.  

Since then, hundreds of businesses have joined the ever growing platform to show their support for the county as well as access fantastic benefits.  In just 3 short years, Lancashare members have driven huge and positive change for the county.  Whilst members get access to great benefits including; a website, SEO, social media, access to funding, jobs, events, awards, networking groups, property, advice, support, special offers, news and much more, they can also upload (or share) these centrally too.  Lancashare tracks and reports on the returns for each member, but also tracks the impact on the county collectively.

As well as being nominated for 12 awards and being officially approved as Northern Powerhouse Partners in 2018, the sharing continued with the launch of Mancheshare in 2018 and Cumbriashare in 2019 with more counties on the horizon.  Founder, Lisa Edge said; 'None of this would have been possible without the belief of Lancashire businesses, it seemed simple to us, that in order for Lancashire to prosper, we 'all' need to work collaboratively, help each other and 'share' what we can, we're an amazing county, with so much to offer, sharing it centrally just makes sense.  Without these businesses, we are an empty platform with a funny name, it is they who have made sharing a success, it is they who have driven change and it is they who have inspired our surrounding counties to seek county wide collaboration!  The impact?  Collectively these businesses are helping to reduce unemployment and carbon footprint, they're creating local supply chains and embedding social values, they're keeping more money and opportunities right here in Lancashire.'  

Lancashare has now shared over £500m in public procurement with tender opportunities dropping into local business inboxes every week.  The provision of a bid writing service means businesses in Lancashire who previously didn't know how to tender are not only trying, but winning contracts locally.  3 councils have now joined Lancashare to show their unity for the county, including Blackburn with Darwen who’s CEO, Denise Park, addressed the audience at the annual celebration.  

Lisa went on to say, 'We're delighted authorities are putting their spend opportunities on Lancashare, it gives local businesses an opportunity to bid, the provision of our bid writing services and incredible tracking means we're not only keeping business local, but we're helping businesses to submit quality applications, saving councils time and money and helping them to hit their local spend targets as well as creating local supply chains!'  

2020 will see the sharing continue with the launch of The Gen, a central platform for young people to access all they need, from jobs to training, from funding to mentoring, advice and support through to career guidance.   Lisa said, 'After almost 20 years in education, 30 years as a mum and 7 years as a foster carer, it's clear to see that the next generation will struggle if we don't do something.  We've developed something that can change the future pathways for so many, but we can't do it alone, everything young people need to succeed is already here, we just need to centralise and share it!  The Gen is scheduled for launch in early 2020 and already has the backing of some 5 Northern Powerhouse Partners.