Social Enterprises in Western Europe: Some Insights from the EMES Experience

1. UNDP – EMES Regional Workshop on Social Enterprises in CEE and the CIS (December 11-12, 2006 – Brussels) Social Enterprises in Western Europe:Some Insights from the EMES Experience Prof. Jacques DEFOURNY University of Liège (Belgium)and EMES European Research Network

2. Overview • Some conceptual backgrounds • The EMES research on "Work Integration Social Enterprises" • Policies supporting the development of social enterprises • Some prospective remarks

3. 1. Some conceptual backgrounds • SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR, SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SOCIAL ENTERPRISE • Appearance of these notions around 1990 (US and Western Europe) • Development of a whole literature since the mid-90's • United States: around business schools and pro-active foundations' strategies to support social change • Western Europe: in relation to new developments within the "third sector" or the "social economy" (voluntary organizations, cooperatives,…)

4. B. A WIDE DIVERSITY OF CONCEPTIONS OF SE • "Vocational" conceptions stressing the profile of individual entrepreneurs with a social mission (e.g. Ashoka) • "Funding-oriented" conceptions focusing on NPO's business strategy or activities to generate market income (in addition to or instead of grants and donations) • "Social value-oriented" conceptions underlining the social dimension or the social aim of activities carried out by any form of enterprise  may be close to CSR • "Co-operative" conceptions stressing the participatory dynamics and the "public benefit" orientation of new forms of cooperative enterprises

5. C. THE EMES APPROACH OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE • Starting point: in most countries, emergence of new types of enterprises within the third sector, mainly in three fields: • work integration of unemployed or marginalized persons, • personal services (e.g. childcare, health related services,…) • local development (community businesses, agro-tourist cooperatives,…). • 1996-2000: construction of a (Western) European approach of SE based on: • a "working definition" of SE made of 4 economic and 5 social criteria (methodological tool, not normative criteria) • country studies for all 15 EU member states, • building blocks for a theory of SE.

6. D. LOCATING SE IN THE WHOLE ECONOMY Redistribution Third sector State (public agencies) Not-for profit For-profit Public Private Community (households, families) Private companies Reciprocity Market Informal Formal

7. 2. 2001-2005: EMES RESEARCH PROJECT ON "WORK INTEGRATION SOCIAL ENTERPRISES" A. THE FIELD UNDER STUDY • Besides the main criteria of the « working definition », • a WISE is characterised by two major elements: • Goal : occupational and social integration of handicapped or marginalised people • Means : productive activity with guidance or training, with the view of achieving a lasting integration, be it within the social enterprise or within a traditional enterprise

8. B. MODELS OF WISEs IN THE EU Germany SBGa= Soziale Betriebe und Genossenschaften = social firms and co-operatives KBa = Kommunale Beschäftigungsgesellschaften = municipality-owned social enterprises BWa= Beschäftigungsgesellschaften von Wohlfahrtsverbänden = social enterprises organised by welfare organizations BLUIa = Beschäftigungsgesellschaften von Lokalen, Unabhängigen Initiativen = social enterprises organised by local initiatives

9. Belgium EIb = entreprises d’insertion = work integration enterprises ETAb = entreprises de travail adapté = sheltered work enterprises EFTb  = entreprises de formation par le travail = enterprises for training through work SOLIDRb= entreprises sociales d’insertion SOLID’R = SOLID’R work integration social enterprises ESRb  = entreprises sociales d’insertion actives dans la récupération et le recyclage = work integration social enterprises with recycling activities SWb  = sociale werkplaatsen = social workshops IBb  = invoegbedrijven = work integration enterprises BWb  = beschutte werkplaatsen = sheltered workshops AZCb= arbeidszorgcentra = work health centers

10. Spain CEEe = centros especiales de empleo = special employment centres COe= centros ocupationales = occupational centres ONCEe = empresas de la Organización Nacional de Ciegos de España = enterprises of the Spanish National Organisation for the Blind EIe = empresas de inserción = social integration enterprises (for people at risk of social exclusion) Finland LCOfin= labour co-operatives CSFfin = co-operatives and social firms for disabled people

11. France CAVAf =centres d’adaptation à la vie active = centres for adaptation to working life EIf = entreprises d’insertion = work integration enterprises AIf = associations intermédiaires = intermediate voluntary organisations RQf= régies de quartier = neighbourhood enterprises ETTIf = entreprises de travail temporaire d’insertion = temporary work integration enterprises GEIQf= groupements d’employeurs pour l’insertion et la qualification = employers organisations for work integration and training EINf= entreprises insérantes = long-term work integration enterprises

12. Italy COSOi= cooperative sociali di tipo b) = B-type social co-operatives Ireland SEIrl = sheltered employment LDIrl = local development work integration social enterprises SEWIrl = Social Economy (National Programme) work integration social enterprises Portugal EIp = empresas de inserção = integration companies EPp = emprego protegido = sheltered workshops

13. United Kingdom WCOuk= worker co-ops CBuk = community businesses SFuk = social firms ILMOuk = intermediate labour market organisations Ruk = Remploy (large quasi-state enterprise) Sweden SOCOsw = social co-operatives SHsw = Samhall (network of sheltered workshops)

14. C. TYPOLOGIES OF WISEs For each of these categories of WISE, spotting of the main characteristics: legal form, goals, types of jobs, importance of training, target group, resources… Identification sheet for each category of WISE

15. Main characteristic of target groups Women at risk Minorities Low- qualified young people «Social handicap» (alcohol, drug) «Hard-to-place» (long-term) Ruk PDLDuk CSFDPfin SOCOsw SHsw Aif RQf EIb SOLIDRb IBb AIf ETTIf EINf KBa BWa LDirl EIp SBGa UCSirl LCOfin CSFfin RQf GEIQf BLUIa SEWirl RQf SOLIDRb ESRb SWb AZCb WCOuk BWb COSOi EPp CEEe ONCEe COe SBGa BWa EFTb WCOuk CBuk LDirl CSFfin EIe RQf ETTIf GEIQf CBuk ILMOuk CSFfin SBGa BWa CBuk KBa SEWirl LDirl SEWirl Eip Eie CAVAf RQf SEWirl CSFfin SEWirl ETAb COSOi

16. Integration goals SBGa BLUIa EFTb EIf AIf ILMOuk LCOfin LDirl EIp EIe ETTIf GEIQf EIe EIb IBb EINf SOLIDRb WCOuk Ruk CSFfin ONCEe RQf COSOi COe ESRb Ruk SOCOsw CEEe AZCb ETAb BWb SWb SHsw EPp Transitional employment supported by short-term subsidies KBa Permanent self-financed jobs Socialisation through productive activity CAVAf CBuk SFuk SEirl Jobs supported by long-term subsidies

17. Resources used CBuk COe CEEe ILMOuk SEirl RQf SOCOsw EFTb BLUIa BWa CSFfin EPp SOLIDRb ESRb SFuk SHsw EINf ETTIf GEIQf SFuk Ruk COSOi BWb ETAb SEWirl EIe WCOuk EIb IBb AZCb EIp SWb Donations/Volunteering ONCEe LDirl KBa LCOfin Non-market resources A more elaborated typology is used in the book Market resources

18. D. TOWARDS A THEORY OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE • The social enterprise as a multiple-goal and multi-stakeholder organisation  first attempts of empirical testing with WISEs • The social enterprise as a specific system of « contracts » and « incentives » (new institutional economics) • The social enterprise as a structure which mobilises and reproduces « social capital » in specific forms

19. POLICIES SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SE • Public policies focusing explicitly on the promotion of SE (UK since 2002, EQUAL programme,…) • Creation of federative bodies providing various types of technical support (for instance, the Italian Consorzi) • Setting up of public or public-private funds providing seed capital, loans and other financial supports (France, Belgium,…) • Promoting access of SE to public procurement (e.g. local public goods) • New legal frameworks designed for SE (see comparative analysis published by CECOP, 2006).

20. New legal frameworks related to the "cooperative model": • Italy (1991): "social cooperative" • Portugal (1998): "social solidarity cooperative" • Spain (1999): "social initiative cooperative" • France (2001): "cooperative society of collective interest" • Poland (2001): "social cooperative" • New legal frameworks based on a more "open model": • Belgium (1995): "social purpose company" • United Kingdom (2004): "community interest company" • Finland (2004): "social enterprise" • Italy (2006): "social enterprise"

21. 4. PROSPECTIVE REMARKS A. ACHIEVEMENTS • Light shed on the potential of "civic" entrepreneurial initiatives for the public good • Microeconomic approach going beyond the specific forms of organisations and able to encompass many of them (NPOs, co-operatives, companies with social purpose,…) • Social enterprise : a concept which is probably easier to apprehend (and/or more relevant in non Western-style economies) than the broader concepts of « social economy » or « third sector », although it does not compete with them

22. B. CHALLENGES • Possible confusion originating in the diversity of approaches and definitions • More empirical research is needed beyond the field of "work integration" of vulnerable groups • Theoretical work is also needed to conceptualise relations of SE with all other economic actors. MUCH WORK REMAINS TO BE DONE