37 3. 2. 1. The social economy...37 3. 2. 2. Microfinance...39 3. 2. 3. Incubation...
48 3. 4. Social entrepreneurship to revive the social economy...49 4. Conclusion: scanning the future to shape the future...
118 3. 3. 2. 6. Multi-stakeholder platform for corporate social responsibility...118 3. 3. 2. 7. Policy innovation design...
Furthermore, they argue that the crisis has revealed the weakness of the current economic system of redistribution;
yy the 2013 International Labour Organisation report2 notes that, in advanced economies, the challenge is to stimulate job creation while addressing macroeconomic imbalances;
where the Social Business Initiative (SBI) is supported by a permanent stakeholders group (GECES) and a list of 11 actions to be followed up.
'From the stakeholders'workshop held in 2009 with the President of the Commission, developments in policymaking circles inside and outside the European commission are palpable.
They have now become active participants in the development of social innovations at local, national and European levels. 9 In all Member States, representatives of the national and local authorities, social entrepreneurs and social economy organisations,
the banking and finance sector and the academic and university sector play an active part in the consultative multi-stakeholders group set up by the Commission in 201210 and large groups of citizens all over the world are joining
and involve stakeholders; and yy last but not least, ideas, the third corner of the action triangle, have developed also and spread.
We also know more about their conditions for sustainability and the views of stakeholders. Empirical research has helped to identify where change is happening
The rise of the collaborative economy from Airbnb (the social networking service for bed and breakfast) to car sharing
there are some challenges for the EU. yy First, in the reconfiguration of the economy which is currently taking place under the influence of network giants,
and more social innovation to engage stakeholders, citizens, geeks and civil society communities in the innovation process cannot be neglected.
Defining sensible governance modalities for big data will require substantial collaboration between the public and private sectors, based on a multi-stakeholder model,
'At the time, the idea was to find a renewed impetus for a laissez-faire market-based economy,
In other words, market economics and social security do not exclude each other, but which comes first? Two different schools of thought gave a different meaning to this concept.
social justice and economic growth are now being revisited. 19 This short history of the term gives some idea of its heuristic but ambiguous meanings from its origins to the present.
as pointed out by The Economist, 20 the‘social market economy'broadly refers to the study of the different social institutions underpinning every market economy
should this driver be geared solely to economic growth or should it serve the goals of social as well as economic cohesion?
and the social dimensions of an integrated European economy can be strengthened mutually.''This excerpt from the mission letter from the President of the European commission, José Manuel Barroso, inviting former Competition Commissioner, Mario Monti, to prepare a report setting out recommendations for an initiative to relaunch
i e. the 20 http://www. economist. com/economics-a-to-z/s#node-21529660.21 Article 3 of the Treaty on European union states:‘
It shall work for the sustainable development of Europe based on balanced economic growth and price stability,
This unanimity should not hide underlying ambiguities in overcoming corporatist approaches and acquired interests in the sphere of the social economy,
A term like social entrepreneurship tends to overlap with terms such as social economy, third sector, nonprofit sector, social enterprise and social entrepreneur, some
management scholars have recognised the parallels between biological and economic systems. The concept of an ecosystem which in biology refers to an environment where different, sometimes competing,
and involving stakeholders and end users can often double or treble the impact of budgets and or investments. 29 cf. for example SOS (http://www. groupe-sos. org).
In countries with a long tradition of social economy like Italy and France, a variety of well-established tools have been developed while in newcomers like Latvia or Romania,
social entrepreneurs and stakeholders in social business in general as it provides timely information on when,
social innovation can play a pivotal role in serving as a competitive future advantage for European economies
Finally, social innovations (seen as drivers in the current transition41) could open the way to developing a new competitive advantage for European economies,
or beliefs of the social system'in which they occur. 44 The benefits of overcoming the challenge of measuring social innovation will allow further developments in different aspects of social innovation at a crucial moment for the post-crisis economy Both micro
58 In response, a subgroup of the Commission's consultative multi-stakeholder group on social enterprise (GECES) 55 As illustrated in part 2 of this document. 56 http://ec. europa
2) identify stakeholders; 3) set relevant measurement; 4) measure, validate and value; 5) report, learn
All stages should involve active stakeholder engagement. In particular, the number and range of indicators should be agreed between the social enterprise,
The dynamics of involving all stakeholders (from investors to service users) is designed to maintain the balance between the overriding need to deliver measurable social impact and the need for a profitable operation that can meet investor expectations.
in particular in raising awareness and facilitating stakeholder engagement. This idea is reinforced by the opinion on social impact measurement of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC.
yy the development and consolidation of measurement frameworks with stakeholder participation; yy the development of reporting formats;
E O F C H A n G E s 1. 4. 3. Indicators for a socially innovative society In the wake of demands from stakeholders, the issue of social innovation
The press has echoed more than usual to the financing of the social economy in general but also to associated financial innovations such as social impact bonds or crowdfunding.
for a long time, tried to develop new thinking to modernise European economies and their social model to meet societal expectations.
wider groups of stakeholders and the broader public in a comprehensive way. The point that comes to the fore is that this report is a stocktaking exercise,
where stakeholders can more easily be mobilised on concrete issues. In order to scan the scope of empirical developments
and networks to fight social inequalities and stimulate social cohesion at local level. 3. 2. 1. The social economy According to the EU Social Business Initiative,
the social economy employs over 11 million people in the EU, accounting for 6%of total employment.
The social economy can clearly play a role in regional development. For instance, the Emilia romagna region has published a study on the importance of the social economy 73 Jane Jenson
and Dennis Harrisson in Social innovation research in the European union Approaches, findings and future directions-Policy Review http://ec. europa. eu/research/social-sciences/pdf/social innovation. pdf. 74 Its first results were presented
Its main conclusions are that public policies are the fruit of the combined contribution of public authorities and social economy organisations in the provision of public utility services, in
In so doing, new forms of cooperation are established with civil society and stakeholders. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supports the development of social enterprises as it does for other types of businesses.
Secondly, the ESF can mobilise extra funds targeted at the development of the social economy and the promotion of social entrepreneurship and easily accessible for social enterprises.
The social economy has different traditions in different parts and Member States of Europe. Some countries, like France, have a strong tradition of‘économie sociale et solidaire'.
For example, Avise75 has launched a call for proposals with the aim to accelerate social innovation in the social economy,
/The Kiút Programme, self employment and microcredit for Roma in Hungary Kiút aims to support Roma to work in the formal economy by starting up a business.
Workplace innovation concerns not only the private sector but also large parts of the social economy such as charities and foundations as well as the public sector. Celebrated examples include Google,
institutions, economy, education, culture. Portugal has to restore economic growth, employment, and make long-term structural reforms at all levels,
but especially at institutional and economic levels (public sector, public services, competition, etc.).To help address this challenge,
Via support from the Social Economy network in The netherlands, Belgium and Germany, the funds were raised to meet the matching requirements of EU ERDF (OP Zuid) and national grant arrangements.
and retail companies involved as well as foundations, welfare organisations and other stakeholders. The neighbourhood management offices work on a wide range of tasks
promoting the local economy; forming a link between the neighbourhood, city and other levels of decision-making;
The new collaborative structure consists of different stakeholders such as municipalities, suppliers, citizens, the third sector, universities, regional developers, specialists, financiers and regional, national and international networks.
The SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles 2050 project85 was a European social platform that invited a range of stakeholders to participate in the development of a vision for sustainable lifestyles by 2050.
Most of them consider social innovation to be linked to the social economy and/or work organisation,
. 4. Social entrepreneurship to revive the social economy Beyond the priority measures in its short-term action plan,
More than 2000 social entrepreneurs and supporters representing the rich diversity of the social economy came together to affirm that social enterprises must play a bigger role in the future of Europe
notably where the social economy is developed less. 7. The Commission, the Member States and regions must boost cooperation between social enterprises across borders and boundaries,
and the consultation and involvement of various social economy stakeholders and supporters of social enterprise.
and the idea that innovations have‘social'roots is progressing among mainstream innovation corporations and public and private stakeholders.
Europe's economy is expected to continue its decline, and policymakers should focus on a‘new growth paradigm'centred on society, not growth.
which should continue to increase in advanced economies and to further develop in China. In Europe,
Aside from fixing the economy, the report argues that the real challenge for European policymakers will be to break the trend of rising poverty risks,
increasing income inequality and longterm unemployment without relying on economic growth as a panacea. Investing in health and education, preferably as early as possible (e g. through early childhood education and care interventions) will help reduce costs in the long term,
Similarly, more transparency in decision-making processes and structural/institutional reforms that recognise the emergence of new actors/stakeholders on the scene (NGOS, civil society, business associations, etc.
Public, private and social economy organisations will be encouraged by investors, funders, and governments to produce social value results in the long 93 cf.
environmental and social issues) will become mainstream in the social economy. From grants to investment:
What is also at stake is the emergence of a different conception of the economy,
a shared economy that is not focused exclusively on growth. yy Finally, empowering the citizen remains at the very heart of social innovation issues.
refocused political attention on an environmentally and socially sustainable economy and changes inherent to the digital age.
At the heart of these, the European Semester95 is a yearly cycle of economic policy coordination involving EU-level policy guidance by the European commission
and budgets, ensuring de facto a better coordination of national efforts to overcome the crisis. It is worth noting that responses to the crisis had prompted the Member States to seriously tighten their economic policy coordination.
The Single Market Act and the Social Business Initiative are designed to address the social economy,
which aim to make the EU economy more efficient (a resource-efficient Europe, an industrial policy for the globalisation era), foster innovation (a Digital Agenda for Europe, Innovation Union) and fight unemployment and exclusion
which supports the shift towards a resource-efficient and low-carbon economy, provides a long-term framework for embedding the smarter use of resources as a principle to take into account in the design of economic and social policies.
A major societal challenge is the transformation of the European energy system into an almost CO2-emission free economy(-80/95),
which includes four major roadmaps (moving to a competitive low-carbon economy, a Single European transport area and a resource-efficient transport system,
of this flagship initiative are first its reliance on the cooperation of stakeholders, starting with consumers,
workers and consumers to fully exploit the benefits that an economy can generate. Mutual societies, cooperatives, third-sector organisations in general and social business are an integral part of this wider economy and,
while this initiative does not explicitly mention social innovation or flag it up as a priority,
which has a direct or indirect impact on organisations in the social economy which may be prime movers on social innovation.
and in particular for social policy experimentations. 103 It is important to remember that Europe's economy represents 500 million people,
and yy involving the social partners in examining how the knowledge economy can be spread to all occupational levels
the five European Innovation Partnerships, established as socially innovative processes to foster the cooperation of all the stakeholders on a particular issue at different levels of government. 107 1. 1. 5. Youth
and employment and creating bridges between these issues and the stakeholders. This initiative, through its focus on young people,
Moreover, youth creativity is seen now as a crucial source of competitiveness in the fastest growing innovative sector of the global economy.
All these elements can apply to the development of social entrepreneurship and jobs in the social economy as well as in other purely commercial sectors.
and facilitate a partnership approach between stakeholders (civil society, social partners, Member States). This flagship initiative identified commitments for the Commission in five areas, two of which relate very directly to social innovation:‘
and reforms'by supporting experimentation and‘promoting a partnership approach to the social economy'to harness its potential. 111 110 http://eur-lex. europa. eu/Lexuriserv/Lexuriserv. do?
U P O L I C i e S 67 Promoting a partnership approach to the social economy Actions under the European Platform against Poverty for Working in partnership
and harnessing the potential of social economy are: ll Measures to improve the quality of the legal structures relating to foundations,
Single Market Acts and the Social Business Initiative The social economy is addressed in the Innovation Union flagship initiative, 113 in the Single Market Act I114 and II, 115 in the Employment
and of the social economy at large. Social enterprises seek to serve the community's interest (social, societal,
which a specific guide has been disseminated to national stakeholders. The framework also requires the tested approaches to be scaled up.
The commitment ceiling amounts to 1. 00%of EU Gross National income (GNI) compared to 1. 12%for the 2007-13 MFF.
and the real economy. It is the EU's principle investment tool for delivering the Europe 2020 goals:
and support. 2. 1. 1. European Social Fund Taking into account the financial and economic crisis
129 including through social innovation, the social economy and social entrepreneurship. With a view to that challenge
Under this priority, interventions will concentrate on fostering innovation, cooperation and the development of the knowledge-based economy in rural areas.
including those on the margins of economic growth. LEADER also encourages interregional and cross-border cooperation and joint action between rural areas.
in order to increase the involvement of stakeholders, improve the implementation of the programmes and foster innovation.
thus contributing to economic growth and job creation. In particular it will continue the exploration, made in a 2011 report by the European Expert Network on Culture,
Eco-innovation is essential for the transition to a resource-efficient circular economy. It includes innovations in terms of products, technologies, business models but also social innovations.
pages 123-124) in terms of getting stakeholders to meet, debate and receive guidance. It will be clear
the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the City of Strasbourg hosted a large interactive European event on social entrepreneurship and the social economy.
and defined the way forward for the social entrepreneurship sector in a final declaration (The Strasbourg Declaration) summarising the outcome of the discussions and making ten precise recommendations for the sustainable development of the social economy.
This declaration represents the views of stakeholders from the social enterprise sector. At the time of writing
and stakeholders together to network on regional policies issues, create partnerships and learn to work together.
The conference was attended by over 300 participants from a large spectrum of public and private stakeholders (policymakers, NGOS, social entrepreneurs,
'while a fringe event was organised by social innovation stakeholders to discuss social innovation and the social economy as a solid response to the need for job creation.
cultural policymakers, stakeholders, artists, cultural professions and citizens meet at this forum in a variety of formats:
This is essential to boost the economy while safeguarding Europe's social model. In July 2013 the Bureau of European Policy Advisers held a high-level seminar on public sector innovation attended by the President of the European commission (cf. part I,
They either mobilise the specific expertise of stakeholders in a focused way through expert groups and networks or else they adopt a wider as well as more experimental approach to using new participatory tools of a digital or other nature.
sur l'Entrepreneuriat Social)- This multi-stakeholder group was set up for six years (2012-18) to advise
It is composed of 44 rigorously selected experts from various European stakeholders and representatives from all the Member States and EU Institutions, plus observers from other European countries.
The Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs154 is a leading multi-stakeholder partnership launched in March 2013 to tackle the lack of ICT skills and the several hundred unfilled ICT-related vacancies.
'a. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA) The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA) was established as a pilot partnership between all the stakeholders concerned,
it is driven a stakeholder approach to research and innovation that aims to break down silos, bringing together all relevant actors across policies,
More than 3000 stakeholders who share the goal of improving people's health, delivering high quality and sustainable care to older people
Scaling up innovation and creating a critical mass for stakeholders has been a guiding principle of the EIP.
It has also put the issue of active and healthy ageing high on the agenda of the relevant public stakeholders (Ministries of Health
and approaches that contribute to economic growth, solve societal challenges, create jobs and enhance Europe's competitiveness.
and methodologies to help achieve broader scale innovation that actively involves broad sets of stakeholders.
and engaging a wider number of stakeholders in the co-creation of the futures that we all want,
and focus their work on areas that are important for European citizens and the European economy, for instance, re-163 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/files/craft/social economy/doc
3. 1. 5. 4. European Statute for other forms of social enterprises such as nonprofit enterprises Various stakeholders'organisations have requested the adoption of a new proposal for a European Association,
innovative and inclusive economy. yy As far as the award criteria are concerned, the focus is on the most economically advantageous tender.
Furthermore, since employees are long-term shareholders, broadening employee shareholding would also stabilise capital markets. ESO is of particular importance for SMES (financing and business succession.
Despite their positive effects, as acknowledged in numerous EU reports, opinions and recommendations, ESO schemes are used only extensively in a handful of Member States (such as the UK and France).
This is an issue for the European economy as small businesses are among the most important drivers for growth and employment.
and are granted typically to micro and social economy enterprises or to others which are considered not bankable
and promoting good governance in this sector. b. European Code of Good Conduct for Microcredit Provision In close collaboration with many actors and stakeholders from the sector,
The consultation revealed that stakeholders believe that crowdfunding offers numerous important benefits to a wide range of actors
But stakeholders also identified certain challenges that needed to be addressed. These include a lack of awareness,
During the course of 2014, the Commission set up an expert group, the European Crowdfunding Stakeholder Forum,
the work of various stakeholders and the regulatory workshops the state of EU and domestic regulatory frameworks applicable to crowdfunding,
needs and contribution to the economy and wellbeing. While deeper and keener knowledge is addressed by research from a variety of angles181,
I O N A d E C a D E O F C H A n G E s The interactive online hub has acted as a communication channel connecting a diverse group of stakeholders,
Analysing the results on the individual and collective level will provide actionable knowledge for a wide range of stakeholders.
They will be built with specific attention to the effective and large-scale involvement of stakeholders so far excluded from the debate on societal challenges.
social inclusion and cohesion and puts into practice the‘partnership'principle (new administrative processes as well as the involvement of stakeholders,
experience and learning resources amongst enterprises and other stakeholders. It is also a practical source of information about why
and how to implement workplace innovation in an organisation. 3. 3. 2. 6. Multi-stakeholder platform for corporate social responsibility In October 2011 the European commission published a Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility
Action 1 sets out to‘Create in 2013 multi-stakeholder CSR platforms in a number of relevant business sectors, for enterprises,
their workers and other stakeholders to make public commitments on the CSR issues relevant to each sector and jointly monitor progress'.
'In 2013 the Commission services launched a specific ICT multi-stakeholder platform called‘Collective Awareness Platforms for Social Innovation and Sustainability'(CAPS)
sustainable lifestyles and wellbeing, recycling and sustainable consumption, green economy, etc.).191 COM (2011) 681.
and enable European enterprises in the ICT sector across the EU to apply corporate social responsibility policies by taking a strategic corporate approach to cooperation in partnership with other relevant stakeholders (e g. civil society, academia
and other stakeholders to identify and discuss constructively the current and future challenges to which ICT can help to respond.
It is necessary to expand participation to a wider range of stakeholders in order to have a better understanding of societal needs and objectives.
In this context, the platform aims to expand the outreach of the discussions to all relevant stakeholders. 3. 3. 2. 7. Policy innovation design The SEE platform:
and on encouraging sectoral stakeholder participation. It is supported by a number of recent policy documents including the Communication Rethinking education:
Public consultations are underway to explore the stakeholders'views on a new initiative on a European Area of Skills and Qualifications,
and to foster collaboration among stakeholders; the Council recommendation on the validation of non-formal and informal learning emphasises the role that non-formal learning plays in increasing the employability and social inclusion of young people;
or cluster serving the local economy and society. The social dimension of higher 193 BEPA report 2010, page 38.
The alliance mobilises a multitude of stakeholders to jointly strengthen the quality, supply and reputation of in-company training as part of vocational education.
By bringing together stakeholders such as social partners, chambers of commerce, industry and crafts, education and training providers, youth organisations and businesses under one umbrella, innovative partnerships are created,
the Europe for Citizens programme provided opportunities for stakeholders to engage in participatory processes aimed at defining policies of relevance to them196.
fuelled in social media. yy The economic crisis in Europe. has done the European union enough to solve the crisis?
The economic crisis has led to profound changes in the economic, political and social situation in the EU and in its Member States.
the other institutions and local politicians listen to the concerns and expectations of citizens on the financial and economic crisis, on citizens'rights and on the future of the Union by 2020.
and various stakeholders, including end-users, citizens'groups, employees and policymakers to suggest research agendas in a certain field,
In an effort to bring some of the results of these projects to the attention of policymakers, stakeholders and the broader public,
The MML invite multiple stakeholders to set up frameworks of collaboration and aim to affect the governance of research
integrating critical analysis of current and previous work with future-oriented methodologies, new actionable knowledge and continual stakeholder participation.
The project provides advice to stakeholders on how to foster Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation;
and beyond to improve the social inclusiveness of society through greater stakeholder engagement, promotion of civic capitalism and changes to social service provision through a. investigation of key processes within social enterprises for delivering inclusion
2) persistent multi-stakeholder constellations;(3) the mobilisation of multiple resources. Against the update of structural data, the project will test these hypotheses on the qualitative impacts of the Third Sector in terms of capital building (e g. social networks,
Lead by a charity organisation (NESTA), this study maps DSI stakeholders to visible activities in the EU Member States today.
and material flows through a community's economy provides a systemic reading of the present situation for goal and objective setting and development of indicators for sustainability.
yy involve local and regional stakeholders in the project from the beginning; yy support the implementation of EU policy on urban environment;
Public service providers are key players in the non-monetary economy. Nonetheless they do not pay enough attention to the need to account for their services on the peer-usage base,
CROSS207 (CIP ICT PSP) seeks to exploit these opportunities for services and applications in the field of non-monetary economy,
and yy communities of volunteers assisting persons with disabilities. 207 http://www. crossproject. eu/tag/non-monetary-economy/.
and beyond Europe for Citizens Two consultations in 2010 and 2011 (each with 120 stakeholders) on the future Europe for Citizens Programme allowed the team in charge (in DG Communication) to collect the key elements of the next
A n N e X I 137 In 2011, DG Agriculture consulted 230 key stakeholders from across Europe on Monitoring & Evaluation for the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013.
In turn, this dialogue should be linked, where possible, to broader consultations of stakeholders. It is vital that citizens receive an explanation within a reasonable time
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