In between the public and private sectors lies a third sector: the so-called social economy. This is where the public and private sectors are supposed to meet to collaborate for social good, often via cooperatives, non-profit organisations, social enterprises and charities. But if the right systems are not in place, the social economy can fall far short of its potential.
- 13 October 2016
Having combined strategic support for a social economy sector on the regional level with the support for individuals not only allowed ASEDP to successfully increase the number of social economy entities in the Malopolska Region, it also helped improve the knowledge of residents about what the social economy is and how it benefits them.
To fill this gap and to enhance the impact that non-profits, charities and other social enterprises had on the Malopolska Region in Poland, the European Social Fund-supported Academy of Social Economy Development Project (ASEDP) helped centralise the cooperation between these private entities and the public sector.
Focus on the commonalities
As the Malopolska Region generally lacked a true social economy, ASEDP’s primary goal was to create one. Specifically, it focused its attention on building a social economy capable of supporting at risk individuals such as the unemployed, the disabled, homeless people, substance abusers and the mentally ill. Building from the recently enacted Malopolska Pact for Social Economy, the project provided the tools needed to implement the legislation.
A key challenge to creating a successful social economy is the fact that, by its very nature, it involves numerous actors and stakeholders. Not only does it require the cooperation of the public and private sectors – always a challenge in itself – within each of these sectors there are an array of different organisations, each with their own (sometimes competing) agendas. For this reason, ASEDP focused on the commonalities and, most importantly, ensuring that these common goals and complementary offerings were readily shared between sectors and amongst organisations.
Creating a hub
The result was the establishment of an Information & Consultation Point, a hub where social economy actors could meet for knowledge sharing, training, consultations and promotional activities. The hub served as the go-to-place for both existing and potentially new social economy entities, where they could learn about the most relevant statutes, share best practices and get help on such start-up steps as developing a business plan.
In total, 1711 individuals benefited from the programme, along with 245 social economy entities and 126 local partners. Altogether, 208 financial subsidies were transferred to newly-established social cooperatives – thanks to the project’s success in creating the support structure that was needed to help the region’s social economy reach its full potential.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Academy of Social Economy Development Project (ASEDP)” is EUR 3 421 060, with the EU’s European Social Fund contributing EUR 2 907 901 through the “Human Capital” Operational Programme for the 2007-2013 programming period.