Community Initiative EQUAL – II Turn Project IT-G2-PUG- 038 “Per l’Impresa Sociale”

1. Community Initiative EQUAL – II Turn Project IT-G2-PUG-038 “Per l’Impresa Sociale”

2. PARTNERSHIP • Consortium of Social CooperativesElpendù – Leader of the TemporaryAssociation of Enterprises and DP Managing Organisation– Mola di Bari • Mosconi Consulting – Rome • L’APE – Agency for promoting Social Cooperation – Naple • Messapia Foundation of Commercial Law Experts – District of Lecce

3. Issues faced by the project • The project focuses on dysfunctionality and weackness inner factors that reduce the development of social enterprises in Apulia. • Social cooperation represents, in our region, a very important actor, not only for its contribution given to the creation of a welfare mix system, but also for the economic dymension it has achieved and for its capacity to face employment issues, also those concerning underprivileged people

4. Issues faced by the project - 2 • The growth of social Cooperation can increase in next years. Using the existing opportunities, would be possible, forSocial Cooperatives, if they became able to face complex managerial elements. Anyway, the social enterprises leaders, are not, at present, able to effectively face such challenges, because of a serious lack in managerial skills

5. Aim - Objectives The project has the following aims: 1) Improvement and empowerment of managerial and entrepreneurial skills of those working in cooperatives; 2) creation of a system for real and advisory services adapted to the peculiarities which characterize social cooperation

6. The objectives which the project aims to, are not in contrast with the values of cooperation; the achievement of ethical and social aims cannot prescind, indeed, from a constant focus on competition and payment. Only in this way, the creation of that “vicious cyrcle” where success in payment feeds success in social issues and vice versa, would be possible, thus allowing the achievement of the institutional aims of a social cooperative and ensuring a permanent functionality to social enterprises.The project aims to face the problems which affect social cooperation in Apulia, by the intervention on the causes which provoke them and creating the conditions to make the project results divulgence able to contribute to transfer the good practices acquired to the widest possible part of the sector.

7. Project Actions A – Reseacrh on “human and professional resources” existing in the social cooperation sector in Apulia. B – Initial and permanent training: b1 – of the administrative and leading cadres of cooperatives b2 – of external advisors of cooperatives b3 - Managerial training of leading groups. C - Design of a model for real services supply and experimentation in a pilot group of Social Cooperatives working in the five districts of Apulia region. D - Normative database that will be at disposal for consultation through the Web. E - Experimentation of a help desk for financial assistance to social cooperatives.

8. Transnationality Transnational partners : Italy: Project “Per l’impresa Sociale” – DP Managing Organisation: Consortium Elpendù Spain: Project EMPRENDEJOVEN DP Managing Organisation: Regional Councillorship for Social Welfare in Castilla La Mancha Finland: Project RAKET DP Managing Organisation: Association for the Social Economy of Sea-Lapland

9. Transnational Aims • Analysis of the European legislation on Cooperatives • Design and approval of the Statute of the European Social Cooperative that is going to be realized 3. Foundation and start-up of an European Social Cooperative