Social Economy System in Emilia-Romagna regionSocial Economy System

in Emilia-Romagna region

European Union, Territorial and International Cooperation

Unit ERVET Emilia Romagna Region Development Agency

December 2012

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SOCIAL ECONOMY ROLE AND TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIFIC IDENTITY

DEFINITION/VISIONGroup of socio-economic actors which do not simply look for mere profit (they are therefore non-profit) but their actions are motivated by principles such as reciprocity and democracy.

In particular, in Italy and other EU countries "social economy" includes organizations of the third sector producing social values/externalities.

SE is one of the most valuable "products" of the Emilia-Romagna Region. It has played and continues to play a key role both in terms of social cohesion and leverage for local development. SE organizations are also a point of excellence of the local community: the presence and activity of associations, social co-operatives and voluntary organizations help create and strengthen the social and economic development of our territory.

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SOCIAL ECONOMY ROLE AND TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC DRIVERS AND ACTORS

DRIVERSHuman capitalSocial inclusionProfit and No profit market integrationPublic Administration RoleNew indicators for development evaluation

ACTORSSocial cooperatives Social EnterprisesFoundationsAssociationsVolunteering AssociationsNGOsActive citizenship/communityPublic Administration

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The added value of Social Economy

Involvement of SE actors is strategic because it produces benefits on a triple front:

1. Reinforces and qualifies the offer by a pluralism of forms of enterprise capable of delivering public services (economic democracy).

2.Acts as aggregating demand (composed of increasingly fragmented and diverse needs) necessary to organize effective and sustainable responses.

3.Helps to increase equity conditions ensuring wider and better access to services for individuals.

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SOCIAL ECONOMY ROLE AND TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT – EU OVERIVIEW

Res. n. 2250 EU Parliament approved on 19th of february 2009• SE represents 10 % of all European businesses, with 2 million undertakings or 6 % of total

employment (more stable than European average), active population involved in Social Enterprises is 4.1% in Belgium-7.5% in Finland -3.1% in France - 3.3% in Italy and 5.7% in UK. (CIRIEC)

• The EU Parliament position breaks up with a long tradition of thinking that fostered a dichotomy between social and economic spheres assigning purely distributive-compensating tasks at the social one.

• “…it is recognised the role of "a different approach to entrepreneurship", which is driven primarily not by a profit but by social benefit motive” (enterpreneur not only who maximizes its utility through the profit ... but also through the creation of social value).

Europe 2020 - 3rd March 2010 Smart growth (developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation);

Sustainable growth (promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy); Inclusive growth (fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion, encouraging participation in the labor market and the acquisition of skills as well as fighting poverty).

Single Market Act (adopted by EU Commission on the 13th of April 2011) integrare

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SOCIAL ECONOMY Why?

Crisis: of economic development models and consequently Societal Welfare Models

Societal changes: ageing, immigration, climate change, risk of labour exclusion, non-inclusion,

New needs as drivers of new potential answers, new actors, new policies, new ways, new markets

Good reaction of “social economy” to crisis

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SOCIAL ECONOMY What do we do?

With the aim of studying and supporting Social Innovation and Social Economy experiences promoted by local communities and regional stakeholders, Emilia-Romagna Regional Government created a Social Economy Working Group.

WHO ARE THE ACTORS INVOLVED?Coordination: RER Planning and Development Unit of the Social Services System Regional Third Sector stakeholders (Centrali Co-operative Regionali and Forum del Terzo Settore) Regional officers from different departments (Vice Presidency of the Regional Government, Project Planning and Evaluation Service, European Policies and International Relations ServiceTechnical assistance of ERVET - Regional Development Agency

With the aim of studying and supporting Social Innovation and Social Economy experiences promoted by local communities and regional stakeholders, Emilia-Romagna Regional Government created a Social Economy Working Group.

WHO ARE THE ACTORS INVOLVED?Coordination: RER Planning and Development Unit of the Social Services System Regional Third Sector stakeholders (Centrali Co-operative Regionali and Forum del Terzo Settore) Regional officers from different departments (Vice Presidency of the Regional Government, Project Planning and Evaluation Service, European Policies and International Relations ServiceTechnical assistance of ERVET - Regional Development Agency

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SOCIAL ECONOMY What do we do?

MAIN ACTIVITIESHighlight the contribution of the third sector to promote social cohesion and its impact in economic terms;Design, develop and transfer innovative processes among local communities and/or within different organizations of the third sector;Support the already existing experiences on SE and disseminate knowledge, by facilitating the creation of stable relationships at a European or international level;Involve the stakeholders system in the design of innovative regional projects;Coach and support the central co-operatives and other social economy stakeholders in submitting projects in the framework of EU programs.

MAIN ACTIVITIESHighlight the contribution of the third sector to promote social cohesion and its impact in economic terms;Design, develop and transfer innovative processes among local communities and/or within different organizations of the third sector;Support the already existing experiences on SE and disseminate knowledge, by facilitating the creation of stable relationships at a European or international level;Involve the stakeholders system in the design of innovative regional projects;Coach and support the central co-operatives and other social economy stakeholders in submitting projects in the framework of EU programs.

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SOCIAL ECONOMY What do we look for in the future?

As Public Administration and as Local Development Agency:

Deepening knowledge on Social Economy/Innovation phenomena through the identification of alternatives indicators (qualitative and quantitative)

Identifying innovative financing instruments

Developing new services involving different stakeholders (training, management services, etc) and collaboration and exchange profit-no profit

Strengthening networks at EU and international/Working at EU projects

As Public Administration and as Local Development Agency:

Deepening knowledge on Social Economy/Innovation phenomena through the identification of alternatives indicators (qualitative and quantitative)

Identifying innovative financing instruments

Developing new services involving different stakeholders (training, management services, etc) and collaboration and exchange profit-no profit

Strengthening networks at EU and international/Working at EU projects

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SOCIAL INNOVATION and Emilia-Romagna Monitoring and Evaluation

Another welfare generating experiences

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The research objectives

To give prominence to the contribution made by social economy to the local development, expressed in terms of social cohesion and social innovation;

To better understand the mechanisms through which these organizations are able to provide innovative and flexible solutions to meet the needs of new disadvantaged social groups (contribution to local development);

To understand how these responses are part of the reorganization process of the whole regional and local welfare system.

Include the issue of the social economy in the regional evaluation plan.

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The research questions

a) What is the contribution that can be provided by social economy to the local development expressed in terms of social cohesion and social innovation and how can such a contribution be enhanced?

b) What are the mechanisms whereby these organizations are able to respond quickly, innovatively and flexibly to new emerging categories of needs?

c) How public policies can effectively support social innovation and social cohesion produced by social economy organizations?

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The innovative approach

Qualitative and integrated approach Competences/expertise integration Participative process Relevance of projects innovation (needs, processes,

products, users)

For the case studies, the selection criteria have focused on exemplarity rather than on statistical representation, in order to highlight the richness and variety of experiences that have been made.

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Sectors/domains

Elderly people domainActive elderly people sub-domain:promotion of wellbeing and socialization processes (loneliness, new cultural needs, etc.); enhancement and reuse of skills

Dependent elderly people sub-domain:family support;care-givers;social mobility;relational support.

Children/Adolescents domainintegration of immigrant minors;drop-outs;enhancement of talent, creativity and socialization.

Social Inclusion domaindisadvantaged people categories (convicts, drug addicts, disabled, immigrants);new forms of poverty (loss of jobs, single-parent families, relational goods, home …).

Elderly people domainActive elderly people sub-domain:promotion of wellbeing and socialization processes (loneliness, new cultural needs, etc.); enhancement and reuse of skills

Dependent elderly people sub-domain:family support;care-givers;social mobility;relational support.

Children/Adolescents domainintegration of immigrant minors;drop-outs;enhancement of talent, creativity and socialization.

Social Inclusion domaindisadvantaged people categories (convicts, drug addicts, disabled, immigrants);new forms of poverty (loss of jobs, single-parent families, relational goods, home …).

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The added values (1)

It is necessary to identify the specific quality (or added value) that the action performed by these organizations brings to a welfare

systemThe added values could be ascribed to one or more of the

following categories:

Economic value: it is given by the contribution in terms of increase (or non consumption) of material, economic and financial wealth (investment, savings), that an organization produces through its own activity.

Social value: it is the specific contribution by an organization in terms of production of relational goods (internal relational dimension) and creation of social capital (external relational dimension).

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The added values (2)

Cultural value: it results from the contribution that a specific organization helps to create in terms of distribution of values (fairness, tolerance, solidarity, mutual aid), in accordance with its mission, in the surrounding community.

Institutional value: the contribution given in terms of in terms of horizontal subsidiarity, intrainstitutional and inter-institutional relations.

Environmental value: the contribution given in terms of development of the local area, savingenvironmental resources and reducing environmental impact, especially at local level.

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Generative mechanisms (1)

The generative mechanism concept, defined as a causal process, through which a particular outcome is generated

as well as policy innovation is generated.

In principle, each generative mechanism involves three distinct conditions:

the social conditions that influence the situation; the ways in which the stakeholders act in a given situation

and produce individual and collective effects; the set of actions undertaken by individual (or even

collective) entities is pooled together and gives rise to a broader process.

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Generative mechanisms (2)

The generative mechanisms identified were as follows:

1. Identity and motivation

2. Civic entrepreneurship

3. Vision, knowledge and learning systems

4. Subsidiary approach in public administration

5. Participation and governance

6. Network quality and generation of interpersonal tools.

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An interpretative model

The contribution by the public sector appears to be essential: to further support and nurture the social innovation that has been generated to transfer it to a broader level (municipal, provincial, regional) to enable it to assume the character of universalistic public utility services

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Research indications

1. Public policies are the fruit of the combined contribution by public authorities and social economy organizations in the provision of public utility services, in which the joint participation of both players is an essential requirement to ensure quality.2. Community FocusThe prerequisite for the promotion of effective policies and initiatives for social innovation is an investment in people and in community common goods. 3. Government InvolvementThe involvement of public institutions is essential in order not to make the intervention localized and residual and to increase its social impact.4. PartnershipPublic Private Partnership is a tool to deliver more effective and efficient primary social services, which have so far been historically provided by the Welfare State.

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where

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