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Social Enterprises in Western Europe:Some Insights from the EMES

Experience

UNDP – EMES Regional Workshop on Social Enterprises in CEE and the CIS

(December 11-12, 2006 – Brussels)

Prof. Jacques DEFOURNY University of Liège (Belgium)

and EMES European Research Network

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Overview

1. Some conceptual backgrounds

2. The EMES research on "Work Integration Social Enterprises"

3. Policies supporting the development of social enterprises

4. Some prospective remarks

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• 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,…)

1. Some conceptual backgroundsA. SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR, SOCIAL

ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

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• "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

B. A WIDE DIVERSITY OF CONCEPTIONS OF SE

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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.

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Redistribution

State(public agencies)

Not-for profit For-profit

Market

Privatecompanies

Reciprocity

Community(households, families)

Public

Private

Informal Formal

D. LOCATING SE IN THE WHOLE ECONOMYThird sector

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2. 2001-2005: EMES RESEARCH PROJECT ON "WORK INTEGRATION SOCIAL ENTERPRISES"

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

Goal : occupational and social integration of handicapped or marginalised people

Besides the main criteria of the « working definition », a WISE is characterised by two major elements:

A. THE FIELD UNDER STUDY

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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

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Belgium

EIb = entreprises d’insertion

= work integration enterprisesETAb = entreprises de travail adapté

= sheltered work enterprisesEFTb  = entreprises de formation par le travail

= enterprises for training through workSOLIDRb  = entreprises sociales d’insertion SOLID’R 

= SOLID’R work integration social enterprisesESRb  = entreprises sociales d’insertion actives dans la récupération et le

recyclage = work integration social enterprises with recycling activities

SWb  = sociale werkplaatsen

= social workshopsIBb  = invoegbedrijven

= work integration enterprisesBWb  = beschutte werkplaatsen

= sheltered workshopsAZCb  = arbeidszorgcentra

= work health centers

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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

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France

CAVAf = centres d’adaptation à la vie active 

= centres for adaptation to working life EIf = entreprises d’insertion

= work integration enterprisesAIf = associations intermédiaires

= intermediate voluntary organisationsRQf  = 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  

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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

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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)

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Identification sheet for each category of WISE

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…

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Main characteristic of target groups

Persons with mental or physical

disabilities

« Abled » unemployed workers

WCOuk

WCOuk

ETAb

Women at risk

Minorities Low-qualified

young people

«Social handicap»

(alcohol, drug)

«Hard-to-place»

(long-term)

BWb

COSOi

EPp

CEEe

ONCEe

COe

SBGa

BWa

Aif

RQf

CBuk

KBa

SEWirl

LDirl

CBuk

LDirl

CSFfin

RQf

EFTb

EIe

RQf

ETTIf

GEIQf

CBuk

ILMOuk

CSFfin

SBGa

BWa

Eip

Eie

CAVAf

RQf

SEWirl

CSFfin

Ruk

PDLDuk

CSFDPfin

SOCOsw

SHsw

EIb

SOLIDRb

IBb AIf

ETTIf EINf

KBa BWa

LDirl

EIp SBGa

UCSirl LCOfin

CSFfin RQf

GEIQf BLUIa

SOLIDRb

ESRb

SWb

AZCbCOSOi

SEWirl

SEWirl

SEWirl

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Integration goals

Socialisation through productive activity

Transitional employment supported by short-term subsidies

Permanent self-financed jobs

CAVAf

KBa

RQf

COSOi

SWb

ESRb

SOCOsw

AZCb ETAb

BWb

SHsw

EPp

CEEe

COe Ruk

CSFfin

ONCEe

EIb

IBb

EINf

SOLIDRb

WCOuk

ILMOuk

LCOfin

LDirl

SBGa

BLUIa

EFTb

EIf

AIf

EIp

EIe

ETTIf

GEIQf

EIe

Ruk

SFuk

SEirl

CBuk

Jobs supported by long-term subsidies

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Resources used

Non-marketresources

Marketresources

Donations/Volunteering

ONCEe

KBa

LCOfin

LDirl

CBuk

BLUIa

BWa

EIb

IBb

EIe

SOCOsw

EFTb

ILMOuk

SFuk

AZCb

EIp

COe CEEe

SOLIDRb

ESRb

SFuk

SHsw

SWb

Ruk

COSOi

BWb

ETAb

CSFfin

EPp

SEWirl

SEirl RQf

EINf

ETTIf

GEIQf

WCOuk

A more elaborated typologyis used in the book

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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

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3. 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).

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• 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"

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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

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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