INTERNAL MARKET, INDUSTRY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMES - Organise a regional event as part of "European Social Economy Regions 2018" pilot

The European Commission Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Directorate General is launching a European Social Economy Regions 2018 pilot aiming at building effective networks of the social economy and social innovation stakeholders and raising awareness about the social economy at regional and local level. The pilot will bring together regional and local stakeholders, social economy enterprises, social innovators and policy-makers in order to promote added value and benefits of the social economy on the ground. Any public regional entity with links to social economy is invited to submit a proposal for organising a local event in close collaboration with regional stakeholders.

Why should you apply?

Social economy sector in Europe and activities it covers needs a targeted awareness-raising campaign and support. There are plenty of social economy stakeholders active at regional level, however, lack of collaboration between them is significant and their voice is not adequately heard. The European Social Economy Regions 2018 pilot will allow creating effective partnerships and networks among regional social economy stakeholders and provide a unique opportunity to have their voice heard towards the European Commission. The outcomes of the regional pilots will be presented at October's Global Social Economy Forum in Bilbao and at the Committee of the Regions Open Days in Brussels.

How will the Commission support the local events?

By offering the organisers

a Commission expert for discussion depending on a selected topic/discussion language;
providing a joint visual identity of the European Social Economy Regions 2018 pilot;
promoting the local events through a dedicated website and collaborative platform;
invitation to present the regional pilots' outcomes and share the best practices at the October's Global Economy Forum (Bilbao) and the Committee of the Regions Open Days.

The European Commission will not provide any financial support to regional/local events.

The selection criteria

wide participation of regional/local social economy stakeholders;
ability to cover all the financial costs linked to the organisation of regional/local events;
obligation to use the European Social Economy Regions 2018 joint visual identity to promote the event;
an adequate follow-up of the pilot (not one-shot event);
an adequate local media coverage of the event.

Format of the event

Organisers are free to structure the local events in their preferred format, duration and venue (for example a half-day workshop, panel discussion etc.).

How will proposals be selected?

The selection of the local events will be done by an ad-hoc selection committee within the Commission and it will be based on the selection criteria and the geographical balance of the event organisers.

The Commission has sole and absolute discretion to select the local events based on the criteria above. All the applicants will be informed by email about results of the selection procedure.

How to apply?

A short concept paper of the regional/local event (max 1 A4 page) must be submitted to GROW-SOCIAL-ENTERPRISE@ec.europa.eu by 15 March 2018.

Organise a regional event as part of "European Social Economy Regions 2018" pilot