Social innovation and community ownership
As part of the EU priority to encourage growth and efficiency, Europe is exploring new and innovative ways to structure and provide key services across the continent. This section includes:
Social Business Initiative (SBI)
The Social Business Initiative’s main aim is to “create a favourable climate for social enterprises, key stakeholders in the social economy and innovation”.
This policy agenda is key to civil society as it indicates the European Union’s commitment to placing the social economy and social innovation at the heart of its concerns, as part of the wider Single Market agenda and the EU 2020 Strategy to meet the EU targets by aligning activity with ‘ethical’ and ‘social’ principles.
The action plan to support social entrepreneurship in Europe includes:
- Improving access to funding
- Increasing the visibility of social entrepreneurship
- Improving the legal environment
Opening the doors to social investment in the EU - an NCVO event
On 11 October 2011, NCVO members met to learn about NCVO’s key activities on social investment in Europe, hear from UK experts in the social investment field, and share their thoughts on NCVO’s future policy positions. Read the full event report (PDF, 67KB).
Promoting private social investment funds - a Commission consultation
We worked closely with partners in the UK Social Business Initiative working group to develop a response to the European Commission Consultation on social investment funds, as part of the Social Business Initiative.
- Read the Consultation document (PDF, 69.6KB), the UK SBI working group’s covering letter (PDF 2.14MB) and full response (PDF, 111.5KB).
EcoSoc's opinion on social entrepreneurship
Our Chief Executive Sir Stuart Etherington has contributed to a key report (DOC, 86.5KB) on Social Entrepreneurship to the European Commission, on the European Economic and Social Committee. This builds on several months of dialogue with partners across Europe to identify ways to open up EU rules to develop an enabling environment for civil society and generate opportunities for social enterprise.
The report, known as an Exploratory Opinion was approved at the Plenary Meeting of the Committee on 26 October.
Community ownership
It's our Community - a study looking at community ownership models across Europe
NCVO is actively involved in an exciting new study with the Big Society Network to idenitfy some of the most innovative forms of local community ownership of services from across Europe. Focusing on France, Germany, the UK and Portugal the 'It’s Our Community' project aims to develop knowledge and share expertise with partners across Europe.
It will showcase best practice and highlight methods of delivery from each of the key countries, building around a series of workshops in London, Paris and Lisbon.
Read the project's scoping study (DOC, 1.56MB).
