for EHRS (www. openehr. org) Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise, IHE, a major industry-led ehealth systems interoperability initiative (www. ihe. net)( 43.
http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/archives/e-businesswatch/studies/special topics/2007/documents/Special-study 01-2008 ict health standards. pdf. Accessed on:
14 september 2011.46) Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation. IRELAND'S PRIORITIES FOR FP8-Preliminary Irish Paper on the Eighth European Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. 2010.
The prosperity of our nation rests on the inventiveness and industry of our citizens and our enterprises.
however, we must exploit to an even greater extent the innovative potential of Germany and, in particular, of our small and medium-sized enterprises.
Our citizens and our enterprises must be able to access the Internet via fixed and mobile networks.
We want to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) in particular to improve their capacity for innovation
zzassisting small and medium-sized IT enterprises with their internationalisation efforts and facilitating their access to growth capital;
and provide stimulus for social progress. 2 Supporting the young digital economy By bringing together established businesses and young, innovative enterprises under a future-oriented innovation and growth policy,
We are strongly supporting the adoption of an EU-wide basic regulation on data protection enshrining the applicability of EU data protection law for Internet enterprises based outside the EU (marketplace principle.
These are affecting small and medium-sized enterprises in particular. We want to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by digitally supported,
With open data, we are also supporting the growth of innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES), in particular, often do not have the necessary resources. The complementary initiatives IT SECURITY in business (IT-Sicherheit in der Wirtschaft) and Alliance for cyber security (Allianz für Cybersicherheit) are being expanded. 2. Modern data protection for the information age We are committed to a high level of data protection
most micro-and small enterprises in developing countries are just forms of survivorship, with limited chances to grow. 3 This definition is intended not to diminish the importance of self employment.
BPO is a diverse category that contains activities related to the management of enterprise resources (ERM), human resources (HRM),
and employ 2. 9 million people or nearly 25 percent of everyone working in a business process outsourcing enterprise.
and used by local communities working to increase the competitiveness of enterprises in mobile content
as well as business training for local micro enterprises. Action Technique pour un Developpement Communautaire Action Technique pour un Developpement Communautaire (ATEDEC) is designed a project to educate orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda in computer applications,
Coursera is a for-profit social enterprise that facilitates large-scale participation of students who sign up for free online courses with top universities around the world.
Enterprise resources management (ERM) A business method that addresses an organization's relationships with all of its constituencies (customers, partners, suppliers, employees, etc..
New kinds of hybrid enterprises are rapidly appearing. For example, Waterhealth International, a fast-growing for-profit, uses innovative water purification techniques to distribute clean water at minimal cost to more than one million people in rural India, Ghana,
Waste Concern, a hybrid profit/nonprofit enterprise started in Bangladesh 15 years ago, has built the capacity to convert 700 tons of trash, collected daily from neighborhood slums, into organic fertilizer,
Social enterprises that create shared value can scale up far more rapidly than purely social programs, which often suffer from an inability to grow
other enterprises that can process the crops once they are harvested, and a local cluster that includes efficient logistical infrastructure, input availability, and the like.
and allay fears by mitigating power imbalances between small local enterprises, NGOS, governments, and companies.
and build productive enterprises. Creating shared value represents a broader conception of Adam smith's invisible hand.
Business and government courses will examine the economic impact of societal factors on enterprises, moving beyond the effects of regulation and macroeconomics.
The EU development strategy on social innovation is to connect research organisations, with innovation agencies and with other types of intermediary enterprises:
or social enterprises are getting stronger. They attract growing attention, funding, and great expectations from citizens, from governments and from international funding bodies.
The analysis of the interplay between governments, NGOS, development agencies, industry and social enterprises is called multi-stakeholder analysis. It would be incorrect to see social innovation as a new or isolated concept or as a disruptive innovation.
DG Enterprise funds a social innovation platform (circa 5000 users) and organizes a competition in honour of social innovator Diogo Vasconcelos.
For example the Social Business Initiative is related a policy activity at the level of the enterprise (or firm) and market legislation:
Considering the typology of organisation engaged, 194 are social enterprises, charities or foundation, 183 are businesses,
and their relationship to social enterprises (e g. Murillo et al. 2013). ) It is beyond the scope of this book to argue for one particular interpretation among the many
and how governments and enterprises can operate on a global scale to influence the privacy standards of network-centric systems and the related internet governance issues worldwide.
From Organized Publics to Formal Social Enterprises?'.'Journal of Peer Production 1 (3). Dourish, P. & Bellotti, V. 1992)' Awareness and Coordination in Shared Workspaces'.
such as established charities and social enterprises. We've tried to explore who the people and organisations working on DSI are,
Government and public sector organisations, businesses, academia and research organisations, social enterprises, charities and foundations and grassroots communities) 2. The way these organisations are supporting DSI (for instance,
Social Enterprise Charity or Foundation, Business, Grass roots Organization or Community Network, Academia and Research, Government and Public sector. 2 Project Type:
digital fabrication and micro enterprises. 28 Growing a Digital Social Innovation Ecosystem for Europe MAKERS MOVEMENT Maker Fairs are interesting expressions of this new form of networking events
facilitating and expanding communities Democratizing access to emerging technologies SOCIAL ENTERPRISE CHARITY OR FOUNDATION BUSINESS GRASS ROOTS ORGANIZATION OR COMMUNITY NETWORK ACADEMIA AND RESEARCH GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR 193 182 153 118 55 Number of organisations (Total 701) Case study
in order to help small and medium-sized enterprises. DSI should also create new specific instruments for social entrepreneurship.
The platform specialises in supporting community enterprises, creative startups and charities. Another example is Spacehive,
Journey to effective assessment and metrics http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/social-innovation/strengthening-social-innovation en. pdf Guide to Social
. uk/open-data-challenge-series 44 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/social-innovation/competition/45 http://en
-make-decisions Growing a Digital Social Innovation Ecosystem for Europe 97 73 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/social-innovation/strengthening
15 3. Social entrepreneurship, social enterprises, social economy: what is the difference? 2. Upscale social innovation into public policies 17 1. 1. Evaluating social innovation 17 2. 2. Social policy experimentation 18 3. Examples of social
the innovation agenda was focused exclusively on enterprises. There was a time in which economic and social issues were seen as separate.
and Urban Policy and DG Employment, Social affairs and Inclusion, with inputs by various other Directorates General (DG Enterprise and Industry;
Just like not all enterprises are social enterprises, not all innovations are social innovations. Compared to mainstream innovations,
/leaderplus/pdf/library/methodology/leader approach en. pdf 15http://ec. europa. eu/bepa/pdf/publications pdf/social innovation. pdf 16http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise
and increasingly social enterprises are moving into this space. This does not mean they replace the state,
social enterprises, social economy: what is the difference? Social innovations can come from both the public and the private sector.
When they come from social enterprises or the social economy, it is most helpful to think of them as overlapping but distinct concepts.
but certainly not sole agent type spearheading Europe 2020 social innovations is the social enterprise.
Social enterprises are ventures in the business of creating significant social value, and do so in an entrepreneurial, market-oriented way, that is,
In this way, for example, population-representative 16 data on social enterprises in Hungary Romania, Spain, Sweden,
This suggests that social enterprises in particular, even though small in numbers (marginal or niche), nevertheless hold valuable insights and intelligence regarding social innovation for Europe.
Social enterprises are driven not solely by the need to maximise profit for shareholders and owners.
The Commission uses the term'social enterprise'to cover‘an enterprise whose primary objective is to achieve social impact rather than generating profit for owners and shareholders;
'23 Basically, this covers enterprises for which the social or societal objective of the common good is the reason for the commercial activity, often in the form of a high level of social innovation,
The definition of social enterprise in national level varies across Europe. This is because social enterprises can take numerous forms,
are engaged in multiple spheres of activity and because legal structures vary from country to country.
for example, until recently the law only recognised social enterprises focusing on work inclusion. Finally, there are frequent confusions between the terms social enterprise and social economy.
Social enterprises are part of the social economy, which also includes foundations, charities and cooperatives. Social enterprises are businesses trading for social purposes, within the (social) economy.
In a discussion on social innovation it is worth summing up by saying that not all social enterprises are innovative,
not all social enterprises are led by social entrepreneurs, and not all social entrepreneurs lead social enterprises.
No sector has a monopoly on new ideas and perhaps the most fruitful areas are where boundaries are crossed. 22 http://www. selusi. eu;
By social enterprises here, we mean ventures whose primary goal is to create significant social change,
and who do so in a market-oriented way, through generating own revenues, through selling services or products in the market.
The debate on the definition of social enterprises is also ongoing, just like for social innovation, see also the chapter on Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation in the OECD study"SMES, entrepreneurship and Innovation,
"http://www. oecd. org/cfe/smesentrepreneurshipandinnovation. htm 23 http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/social business/index en. htm 17 2. Upscale social
ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/socialinnovation/strengthening-social-innovation en. pdf 18 This means that the assessment has to look at the track record
Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises-promotes the use of financial instruments to improve access to finance for SMES.
From 2008 the social enterprise I-Cane Social Technology BV continued the works of the I-Cane foundation.
close user interaction and cooperation between social enterprises and knowledge institutes can deliver world-class break out solutions. 36 www
Community programmes, trainings and events. 4. The social economy Social enterprises can play a unique role in identifying unmet needs and in developing new types of service.
Social enterprises are positioned between the traditional private and public sectors Although there is no universally accepted definition of a social enterprise,
their key distinguishing characteristics are their social and societal purpose combined with the entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector.
Social enterprises devote their activities and reinvest their surpluses to achieve a wider social or community objective either in their members'or in a wider interest. 43 However,
it constitutes a misnomer to refer to them as‘not for profit'(as is customary in the United states) as any enterprise needs to make a surplus
Many social enterprises operate a relatively complex‘hybrid'funding model. They do this by mixing income from grants
Some make sufficient income from their revenue generating activity to finance their whole operation (e g. social enterprise shops, pubs, restaurants etc..
Definition from DG Enterprise and Industry: http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promoting-entrepreneurship/socialeconomy/social-enterprises/index en. htm 30 generate rental income that cross subsidises their other operations
(e g. local development trusts and incubators. Community transport social enterprises often use some commercially run bus contracts to cross subsidise services for the disabled.
There is no single financing model and this can cause difficulties when social enterprises approach banks and public funding agencies for support as they are perceived as being either complex or inexplicable.
ERDF can support the development of social enterprise in a number of ways similar to the ways in
which it supports other types of businesses. These include finance for: business advice and guidance (business planning, coaching and mentoring, support with marketing) premises for start-up centres, incubators and single enterprise business premises innovation to develop new products,
services or ways of working helping to open up new markets for social enterprises by improving the commissioning
and procurement process (e g. through the inclusion of social clauses in public works and services contracts) Financial support can be delivered directly to individual companies, through social enterprise intermediaries,
such as social enterprise or cooperative development agencies, and through financial institutions. There are increasing numbers of financial institutions that specialise in investing in social enterprises and many of the new ethical banks specialise in this type of investment.
The UK's recently announced‘Big Society Bank'will be capitalised from the interest on dormant bank accounts
and will invest only in social enterprises. 44 The European Social Fund can also support social enterprises.
Firstly, it can strengthen administrative capacities and support structures which promote social enterprises. This can be carried out in particular through education and training, for example, by the integration of social enterpreneurship in the curricula of specific vocations,
or the provision of training improving the business skills of social enterpreneurs. Networking and the development of partnerships,
as well as the setting up of business development services for social enterprises can be supported too. 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.
etc. 45 Market access for social enterprise is restricted still. Sometimes they are unable to compete for the award of public tenders against other SMES because of interpretations of national rules.
The example from the City of Nantes below illustrates how a procurement framework has opened a space for social enterprises to work directly with the private sector in helping disadvantaged people into employment.
Similar examples exist in other parts of the EU. The social enterprise Fusion 21 in the UK46 places apprentices
There are also social enterprises and cooperatives whose aim it is to save energy and reach a more sustainable society.
An example is http://www. rescoop. eu/.Supporting social enterprise at regional level: Yorkshire Key Fund and Social Enterprise Support Centre Pilot stage The Yorkshire Key Fund started out under the ERDF's South yorkshire Objective 1 programme in the 2000-2006 period.
It used the ERDF to finance social enterprises and entrepreneurs. Now, a decade later, the Key Fund covers all of Yorkshire and has also become the fund manager for a range of social investment funds in four neighbouring regions and sub regions (North West, Cumbria, North
East and North Midlands. With ERDF backing of £3million, the total fund size is £6m (about €7m at current exchange rates.
The Start and Grow Fund backs small start-up social enterprise projects with loans of up to €25,
The Grow and Prosper Fund backs new and existing social enterprises with loans of between €5000 and €50, 000.
For established social enterprises the loan size may go up to €150, 000. It can also take equity shares of up to 10%between €5000 and €25
Social enterprises in Yorkshire also benefit from the Social Enterprise Support Centre (SESC) which provides nonfinancial support in business planning and strategic development;
SESC helps social enterprises to become financially sustainable, deliver quality services, and, where appropriate, supports them to gain
133 enterprises were mobilised through these works of which 39 are in public works and 66 in building construction;
75%of beneficiaries were accompanied by a local insertion company (a type of training and employment social enterprise.
STEP started a social enterprise and now offers 250 part-time interpreters across a wide range of languages.
supported by a Fisheries Local Action Group, in Charente-Maritime (France) Pilot stage The french Fisheries Local Action Group Marennes Oléron supported a project presented by the social enterprise
and organise the needs that the enterprise could satisfy. The Axis 4 of the European Fisheries Fund supported the investment needed to improve
They form the bottom of the enterprise pyramid and are the seeds from which most SMES and even large companies grow.
'Through this support, they have set up micro enterprises and built up a successful credit record.
'Fejér enterprise agency: Innovating in microfinance by developing electronic credit assessment Implementation stage Fejér Enterprise Agency (FEA) 50 started its microfinance activities in 1992 with project funding from the EU Phare enterprise development programme.
It is based in Székesfehérvár, about 60 km to the west of Budapest, and takes its name from the Fejér County in the Transdanubian region.
and existing micro and small enterprises so as to improve their financial and social standing and living standards.
Loans are provided to micro-enterprises, and to families to fulfil education and housing needs. With training support through the ERDF's JASMINE and investment from the European Investment Fund, its scale and reach has increased year on year.
Permicro's has enabled 500 previously unemployed people to become economically active with micro-enterprises. http://permicro. it/38 6. Health
bringing together public services and private enterprises. The Living Lab on Wellbeing Services and Technology, a social innovation producing user-driven innovations (Western Finland) 52 Piloting stage This Living Lab is a finalist or the Regiostars 2013 competition53.
o an incubator for social enterprises and social innovation, owned by the City of Milan o the Hub Milan:
://antropia. essec. fr/)is an incubator for social enterprises run by the Institute of Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship of the ESSEC business school in Île-de-France60.
the enterprises created through Alter'Incub will receive both physical space to operate and tailor-made business support.
Large scale implementation Denokinn72 brings together social enterprises, public authorities and the private sector to scale up successful innovations after they have been piloted.
which the cars could be put together in work inclusion social enterprises by those excluded from the labour market.
the chief executive of the cooperative group Mondragon, representatives from three ministries as well as chief executives from leading enterprises in the region.
They are also exploring strategies to support the creation of new social firms (work integration social enterprises.
Guidance on programming social innovation in the Structural Funds 49 enterprises, etc. -on how this framework can be used for implementing social innovation in favour of policies
The ERDF also specifically includes social enterprises under the investment priority for social inlcusion and combatting poverty.
and one for social enterprises. Article 5 of the ERDF Regulation sets out the investment priorities under each thematic objective for this fund.
and combating poverty includes the specific possibility for the ERDF to support social enterprises (9 (c))
there are already some existing examples in the current period like in the living labs. SME support measures could also apply to social enterprises:
Apart from support to social enterprises, thematic objective (9) on promoting social inclusion and combating poverty also mentions:
53 What will social enterprise look like in Europe by 2020?..54 The way forward...55 Improve governance in relation to social innovation...
102 3. 1. 5. 4. European Statute for other forms of social enterprises such as nonprofit enterprises...
109 3. 2. 8. Best practice sharing between Member States regarding the use of capital accumulated in social enterprises and in particular asset locks...
110 3. 3. 1. 1. Mapping of the social enterprises sector, business models, economic weight, tax regimes, identification of best practices...
110 3. 3. 1. 2. Database of labels and certifications of social enterprises...110 3. 3. 1. 3. Social innovation prizes...
The services that have been involved most in this matter from the beginning (Employment and Social affairs, Enterprise, Regional Policy, Agriculture,
How business, government and social enterprises are teaming up to solve society's toughest problems, William D. Eggers and Paul Macmillan (Harvard Business review press, 2013.
and different understandings in Europe of what constitutes a social enterprise or business. As acknowledged in an OECD report on social entrepreneurship25‘e ven
A term like social entrepreneurship tends to overlap with terms such as social economy, third sector, nonprofit sector, social enterprise and social entrepreneur, some
i e. the Commissioners responsible for the Single Market (M. Barnier), Employment and Social affairs (L. Andor) and Enterprise (A. Tajani).
A striking example of the development above is entitled the study A map of social enterprises
schemes and actions aimed at promoting social enterprises and supporting the development of a conducive ecosystem where it exists as well as the current state and dynamics of social investments markets.
the political and legal recognition of the concept of social enterprise; public support schemes; whether marks and labelling schemes are in use, the social investment markets.
develop and scale up social enterprises. 1. 3. 3. Examples of ecosystems for social innovation As mentioned above,
the growing importance of social enterprises in the EU social innovation policy framework emphasises the importance of developing an enabling environment made of specific instruments,
enterprise and industry in particular. 40 This is the terminology used by EU institutions (Commission, Parliament, Economic and Social Committee) to frame the notion of social impact in the Eusef (European Social Entrepreneurship Funds) and Easi (European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation.
-level measurement (how successfully a social enterprise is contributing to this goal) and macro-level measurement (social enterprises grow in an ecosystem composed of a favourable governance framework,
capacity-building tools and learning processes) have become necessary. Measures of the success/impact of social innovation is shared the increasingly idea that‘economic outcomes have for a long time been the main indicator to measure the development of organisations and countries,
The Commission's Communication on the Single Market Act II56 highlighted the need to develop methods for measuring the social and economic benefits generated by social enterprises in the implementation of the Eusef57 and the programme for Employment and Social Innovation (Easi.
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
investments and guarantees to social enterprises which can demonstrate that they have a‘measurable social impact'.
with guidelines on how social enterprise can measure their social impact on the community. The report adopted by the GECES in June 2014 makes a set of recommendations
In order to meet the needs of social enterprises funders and policymakers to achieve comparability in reporting and monitoring,
and scope of the venture and to allow an approach that respects the diversity of social enterprises as well as the need to cope with change and improvement,
In particular, the number and range of indicators should be agreed between the social enterprise, beneficiaries or service users as well as investors, allowing for lighter and cheaper processes for small ventures.
yy guidance to assist social enterprises, funders, fund managers and investors in all EU Member States in complying with the standards proposed;
weak 64 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/innovation-scoreboard/index en. htm. 65 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise
a factual Europe-wide study on A Map of Social Enterprises and their Ecosystems in Europe,
Identification of social enterprises to develop an operational definition that can be used to identify, measure and map social enterprise across Europe
and thus provide the basis for carrying out the remaining research tasks; Task 2: Measurement, characterisation and mapping of social enterprise to collect (through primary and secondary research) and analyse data on the scale, characteristics and patterns of development of social enterprise in each country studied;
Task 3: Legal and standards mapping to map (a) legal‘labels 'and frameworks designed exclusively for social enterprises where these exist;(
b) corporate law aspects of the three legal forms most commonly used by social enterprises in each country studied;(
c) legal and regulatory barriers to creation and growth of social enterprise; and (d) marks, labels and certification systems designed for social enterprises;
Task 4: Mapping of public policies and social investment markets to provide an overview of national policies,
schemes and actions aimed at promoting social entrepreneurs and social enterprises and supporting the development of a conducive ecosystem (where these exist);
and, the current state and dynamics of social investment markets in Europe; and Task 5:
and policy action to support the growth of social enterprise in Europe. This is the very first time that researchers have carried out such a systematic and broad overview of existing traditions and legal,
public policy and investment conditions for the development of social enterprises. 72 http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/social business/docs/expert-group/20131128-sbi-sector-mapping
The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) supports the development of social enterprises as it does for other types of businesses.
Financial support can be delivered directly to individual companies, through social enterprise intermediaries, such as social enterprise or cooperative development agencies,
and through financial institutions. There are increasing numbers of financial institutions that specialise in investing in social enterprises and many of the new ethical banks specialise in this type of investment.
The European Social Fund (ESF) also supports social enterprises. Firstly, it can strengthen administrative capacities and support structures
which promote social enterprises. This can be carried out in particular through education and training, for example, through the integration of social entrepreneurship in the curricula of specific vocations,
or the provision of training improving the business skills of social entrepreneurs. Networking and the development of partnerships
as well as the setting up of business development services for social enterprises can be supported too. 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'.
Market access for social enterprises is restricted still (even if the provisions of the new directives on public procurement76 adopted by the European parliament
Sometimes they are unable to compete for public tenders against other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) because of interpretations of national rules.
The example below from the City of Nantes illustrates how a procurement framework has opened a space for social enterprises to work directly with the private sector in helping disadvantaged people into employment.
They form the bottom of the enterprise pyramid and are the seeds from which most SMES and even large companies grow.
133 enterprises were mobilised through these works; 75%of beneficiaries were accompanied by a local insertion company (a type of training and employment social enterprise.
40 S O C i a L I N N O V A t I O N A d E C a D E O F C
A Social Innovation Park in the Basque country Denokinn brings together social enterprises, public authorities and the private sector to scale up successful innovations after they have been piloted.
which the cars could be put together in work inclusion social enterprises by those excluded from the labour market.
From 2008 the social enterprise I-Cane Social Technology BV continued the work of the I-Cane foundation.
close user interaction and cooperation between social enterprises and knowledge institutes can deliver world-class break out solutions.
Some examples of forms of environmental social innovation include wood recycling social enterprises organic gardening cooperatives, low-impact housing developments, farmers'markets, car-sharing schemes, renewable energy cooperatives and community composting schemes. 83 In some sectors social innovation
It includes the rectors of the three universities, the chief executive of the cooperative group Mondragon, representatives from three ministries as well as chief executives from leading enterprises in the region.
It is also exploring strategies to support the creation of new social firms (work integration social enterprises.
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
88 http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/conferences/2014/0116-social-entrepreneurs/index en. htm.‘A call to action to realise the potential of social enterprise Governments
and regions to encourage the growth of social enterprises. At EU level, the SBI has made a positive start in promoting ecosystems for social enterprises
but we must not lose momentum. Therefore, 1. The EU must follow through on all the actions in the SBI.
and deliver on the actions suggested in Strasbourg. 3. There must be a stronger engagement at EU, national, regional and local levels with the social enterprise community in the co-creation of new policies to support social enterprise,
suited to the local context. 4. The Commission must ensure that its commitment to create an ecosystem for social enterprise is mainstreamed in its policies. 5. In partnership with the social enterprise sector,
Member States, regional and local authorities must fully support the growth of social enterprises and help them build capacity.
For example through legal frameworks, access to finance, business start-up and development support, training and education and public procurement. 6. The European institutions and Member States should reinforce the role of social enterprises
the Member States and regions must boost cooperation between social enterprises across borders and boundaries,
and enhance their capacity to support social enterprise growth. 8. Public and private players must develop a full range of suitable financial instruments
and intermediaries that support social enterprises throughout their lifecycle. 9. Social enterprise still needs further research and national statistical collection for a better understanding, recognition and visibility of the sector, both among policymakers and the general public. 10.
and is involved actively in social entrepreneurship through a substantial number of opinions and the Social Enterprise Project.
Nine EESC members are involved directly in Make it happen through actions that involve strengthened cooperation with social enterprise supporters, the participation of the project group members in European events,
and the consultation and involvement of various social economy stakeholders and supporters of social enterprise.
the EESC has called for a more supportive environment for social enterprises and for their better integration into all EU policies.
The main actions points guiding the Social Enterprise Project are therefore as follows: 1. Co-creation of new policies to support social enterprise 2. Partnership to support social enterprises 3. Development of a second phase of the SBI.
Following an ongoing local strategy, the Social Enterprise Project is also taking part in local events spread around Europe to conduct fact-findings missions,
collect best practices and investigate policy ideas and recommendations for the EU institutions. 4. Conclusion:
on the establishment of a methodology to measure the impact of social enterprises on the creation of socioeconomic benefits and their benefit for the community;
The Social Business Initiative has addressed also the question of the status of social enterprises (mapping)
What will social enterprise look like in Europe by 2020? The second of the aforementioned studies is The british Council's‘think piece,
It provides a basis for discussing what will shape social innovation and the growth of social enterprises in the near future.
How will social enterprise respond to economic conditions, social and environmental challenges, government policies, technology and investment over the next years?
Social enterprises are on the rise throughout the EU, with governments and investors increasingly recognising the sector as a valid alternative to both private and public sector business.
By 2020, associations and charities will be part of the‘social enterprise spectrum, 'generating most of their income through trading activities.
Enterprises from the private sector will have to demonstrate their credentials, and could be better at this than traditional social enterprises.
Public, private and social economy organisations will be encouraged by investors, funders, and governments to produce social value results in the long 93 cf.
Richard Catherall What will social enterprise look like in Europe by 2020? British Council, January 2014. http://www. britishcouncil. org/sites/britishcouncil. uk2/files/what will social enterprise look like in europe by 2020 0. pdf. P A r T I s o C i a
since more and more enterprises will try to maximise their social impact while delivering a financial return.
pressure on investors to consider social impact in investments and growing involvement of social enterprises on financial services delivery.
innovative social enterprises will have to make an international impact thanks to social franchising. Complex networks:
social enterprises will be concerned more with the importance of their impact (through changing government practices and business, through developing effective solutions that work.
This consciousness will result in highly networked micro-social enterprises. Social entrepreneurs will be connected with micro-social structures and work with public, charitable,
Indeed, effective social enterprises will be considered as models and will spread more rapidly than classical mechanisms (e g.,
The attraction of young people to meaningful employment makes a case for developing a sustainable framework for social enterprises and social innovation initiatives.
and job creation through promoting and supporting self employment, social enterprises and business start-ups. The Single Market Act I, adopted in April 2011,
Social enterprises seek to serve the community's interest (social, societal, environmental objectives) rather than profit maximisation (see box).
yy Improve their visibility (mapping of social enterprises, database of labels, support for local and national authorities to build integrated strategies for social enterprises, information and exchange platform.
In the Single Market Act II, the Commission also committed to developing a methodology to measure the socioeconomic benefits created by social enterprises. 118 Communication Social Business Initiative-COM (2011) 682,25. 10.2011.119 More information
. htm. Definition of social enterprise in the SBI The Commission uses the term‘social enterprise'to cover the following types of business:
Enterprises must also play their part in improving energy efficiency with an energy audit every four years (energy audits are not compulsory for SMES.
The ERDF can also contribute to the development of social enterprises by developing new business models and innovative solutions to address societal challenges.
or urban development focus or where the actions aim to develop new business models for social enterprises.
this can include finance for business advice and guidance (business planning, coaching and mentoring, support with marketing) as well as for premises for start-up centres, incubators and single enterprise business premises.
Services can be provided by public as well as private organisations, especially social enterprises and NGOS. Social enterprises and NGOS, generally strongly embedded in the local territories, offer specific services to local communities.
Other actors, such as the work integration social enterprises (WISE), have a double function of providing social services to the community and of integrating low-skilled workers into the labour market.
Building partnerships, especially at local level with these actors enhances the coherence of the social service delivery
the competitiveness of SMES135 COSME136 is the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMES) running from 2014 to 2020.
yy improving access to markets, particularly inside the EU but also at global level, e g. via the Enterprise Europe Network137 (600 partner organisations in 54 countries;
This programme is also open to social entrepreneurs. 135 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index en. htm. 136 More information on http://ec. europa. eu
/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index en. htm. 137 http://een. ec. europa. eu/.86 S O C i a L I N N O V A t
This declaration represents the views of stakeholders from the social enterprise sector. At the time of writing
pg=expert-groups. 148 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/public-sector-innovation/index en. htm#h2-1. http://ec
. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/public-sector-innovation/index en. htm 94 S O C i a L I N N O V A t
The Enterprise Policy Group bringing together decision-makers from Member States and the European commission on SME policy, industrial policy or competitiveness and innovation-related actions has touched upon social innovation on several occasions.
17 january 2014). 3. 1. 5. Create an optimised regulatory environment The third strand of action of the Social Business Initiative is to improve the situation on the ground for social enterprises.
to offer legal forms that can cater for the specific needs of social enterprises and improve the way public authorities take into account the needs of social enterprises,
namely through public procurement and state aid regulations. 3. 1. 5. 1. Simplification of the European Cooperative Regulation The Commission's policy concerning cooperatives is to guarantee that enterprises of this type,
independently of their size, can continue to operate in the market by preserving their social role, particular style of functioning and ethics.
The working group discusses the themes of enterprise education access to finance and business development support.
making better use of the Enterprise Europe Network; and sharing the best practices of successful cooperatives already operating in the Member States.
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
/coop-communication-en en. pdf. 164 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemdetail. cfm? item id=5876 to celebrate the UN 2012 International Year of Cooperatives in Brussels in April 2012 and in Nicosia in September 2012.165 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme
/files/sce final study part i. pdf. 166 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemdetail. cfm? item id=487.167 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/public-consultation/past-consultations/index en. htm. 168 http://ec. europa. eu
/enterprise/policies/sme/files/smes/1 en act part1 v7 en. pdf and http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemdetail. cfm?
item id=3318.169 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/files/public-consultation-files/summary replies en. pdf http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise
/newsroom/cf/itemdetail. cfm? item id=5876.170 http://ec. europa. eu/internal market/company/societas-europeae/./102 S O C i a L I N N O V A t I O N A d E C a D E O F C
H A n G E s search, social and health services, culture or the environment. However, they often find it costly and difficult to operate outside national borders due to the diversity of national civil and tax laws.
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,
and facilitate access to finance for social enterprises through quasi-bond instruments from 2014-20.
For the same period, the Structural Funds have been reformed to enable Member States to earmark Structural Funds to finance social enterprises. 3. 2. 2. Access to venture capital The European Venture capital Funds174
and are granted typically to micro and social economy enterprises or to others which are considered not bankable
facilitate access to finance for social enterprises, extend the support given to microcredit providers under the current European Progress Microfinance Facility
The European commission's microcredit circuit. 3. 2. 5. Crowdfunding for social entrepreneurs The European commission recognises the potential in crowdfunding to help bridge the finance gap for projects such as social enterprises,
which aims to address the growing need for availability of equity finance to support social enterprises.
It invests in social impact funds which strategically target social enterprises across Europe. Beyond simple financial return targets, these social impact funds seek to trigger positive societal change as part of their investment activity.
in order to assess the volume of funds which are potentially available as a potential source of funding for social enterprises. 3. 2. 8. Best practice sharing between Member States regarding the use of capital accumulated in social enterprises
or appropriate to impose it on social enterprises. The locking of assets is a provision that exists in the legislation of some Member States,
which prevents the members of a social enterprise, whatever its business form, from distributing reserves and surpluses amongst themselves at the time of winding up and liquidation,
and used only to achieve the objectives of the enterprise. However, this rule is related to issues of ownership rights that exist in a number of Member States with respect to the assets of the legal entity.
i e. the conversion of a social enterprise into a company limited by shares, matched with the distribution to members of reserves accumulated over the years.
and protecting the mutual legal form and 180 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/files/mutuals/prospects mutuals fin en. pdf;
The synthesis report of the replies was published at http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promoting-entrepreneurship/files/mutual/mutual-sy-rep-11-10-13 en. pdf. 110 S
and described below. 3. 3. 1. Recognising social innovators 3. 3. 1. 1. Mapping of the social enterprises sector, business models, economic weight, tax regimes, identification of best
yy to identify social enterprises; yy to specify the characteristics, business models and economic weight of social enterprises,
and assess barriers to starting, developing and expanding social enterprises; yy to map the legal frameworks and labels,
and identify legal/regulatory barriers; yy to map public policies and social investment markets that impact on the start, development and growth of social enterprises;
and yy to identify issues in the emerging ecosystems for social enterprises that are of relevance across the EU
and suitable and feasible actions to be carried out at EU level to enhance national and regional policies and actions towards social entrepreneurship.
and certifications of social enterprises Key Action 6 of the SBI has to be implemented by the European commission after the completion of the‘Mapping of social enterprises'action.
On the new hand, labelling could be one efficient way to‘recognise'social enterprises throughout change without a uniform legal form.
and played a leading role in promoting new ideas, new collaborations and the concept of social innovation in Europe and EU policies. 183 More information on http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies
and researchers in providing evidence and methodologies that can support policymaking. 188 See the report on funding opportunities for social innovation (http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation
the report on social innovation metrics (http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/social-innovation/strengthening-social-innovation en. pdf) and the report on systemic
innovation (http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/files/social-innovation/systemic-innovationreport en. pdf). Example of a social innovation research project to mitigate climate change A Decarbonisation Platform
experience and learning resources amongst enterprises and other stakeholders. It is also a practical source of information about why
Action 1 sets out to‘Create in 2013 multi-stakeholder CSR platforms in a number of relevant business sectors, for enterprises,
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
The platform will provide an opportunity for enterprises and other stakeholders to identify and discuss constructively the current
whereas creative societies engage citizens. 192 http://ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/innovation/policy/design-creativity/index en. htm. Innovation Matters to people facing
SEFORIS-Social Enterprise as Force for more Inclusive and Innovative Societies. The project seeks to understand the potential of social enterprise in the EU
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
and innovation, including organisation and governance, financing, innovation and behavioural change and b. investigation of formal and informal institutional context,
including political, cultural and economic environments and institutions directly and indirectly supporting social enterprises. Third Sector Impact-The Contribution of the Third Sector to Europe's Socioeconomic Development.
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