European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises
Euricse
Euricse’s mission is to promote knowledge development and innovation for the field of cooperatives, social enterprises and other nonprofit organizations engaged in the production of goods and services.
ID: 931682314565-55
Lobbying Activity
Response to Social Economy Action Plan
30 Mar 2021
THE SOCIAL ECONOMY AS A PARADIGM FOR THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE OF EUROPE. ELEMENTS FOR AN ACTION PLAN
The Covid pandemic has been an exceptional training ground for grasping the importance of an approach that is not solely oriented towards profit nor based exclusively on the exercise of public authority. After the pandemic and the related economic and social crisis have further exposed all the pitfalls of the free market approach that has dominated the past three decades, the recipe for recovery cannot be simply a return to public management of the economy. For this reason, the approach of the Social Economy, i.e. the universe of organisations that place at the core of their activities not the distribution of profits but rather meeting the needs of their members and communities, today becomes even more promising and far-sighted. Indeed, this period has made it clear that all of the actors that inhabit the space between the State and the Market are not purely marginal but play an essential function. When the effect of public subsidies comes to an end, the role of the social economy in countering the loss of jobs will be decisive, as it was after the 2008 crisis. Moreover, the need to enhance health, social care and education services will offer great opportunities for further development of the social economy, as many of these services are produced primarily by
social economy organisations.
For over a decade Diesis Network and Euricse have been working on, with and for the European social economy. As the European Commission prepares to launch a new Action Plan for the Social Economy, this document presents a short summary of our contribution to the Roadmap
published on March 1st, 2021 and outlines the key elements that in our opinion should be taken into account.
1. THE SOCIAL ECONOMY AS AN EMPLOYER → The Action Plan should include measures for a structured interaction between the SE community and all the other key stakeholders: policy-makers, trade unions, forprofit enterprise associations, etc.
2. THE SOCIAL ECONOMY IS OLDER AND BROADER THAN MANY PEOPLE THINK → The Action Plan should include a commitment to promoting a unified representation of SE organisations as a prerequisite for their participation in the Social Dialogue, as well as for making dialogue between SE representatives and public institutions more effective.
3. THE SOCIAL ECONOMY IS GROWING IN EMERGING SECTORS (OR RESHAPING EXISTING ONES) FOR A FAIR AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT → The Action Plan should include an investment in training and education on the specificities of SE business models.
4. THE SOCIAL ECONOMY PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN OPEN AND SOCIAL INNOVATION → The Action Plan should include a series of initiatives to create greater awareness of the role that the SE has played, and still plays, in social innovation – and of its role in producing and disseminating innovation.
5. THE SOCIAL ECONOMY’S COLLECTIVE BUSINESS MODELS ARE AN ASSET IN TODAY’S DIGITAL ECONOMY → The Action Plan should include measures aiming to promote digital social economy more actively and support their scaling challenges.
6. TOWARDS A GLOBAL SOCIAL ECONOMY, FROM FUTURE TO PRESENT TENSE → The Action Plan should provide political and institutional structures and a support plan, including financial support, for international connections between social economy actors from different continents.
7. GREEN SOCIAL ECONOMY IN A JUST TRANSITION → The Action Plan should recognise the SE as a key player for a green economy.
8. SUPPORTING THE CULTURAL AND ETHICAL FACTORS AT THE ROOTS OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY →The Action Plan should include a support to SE cultural and ethical dimension as one of the means for the regeneration of the european social capital
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