ExpectedOutcome:
Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:
- Address challenges of the policy and legal frameworks that hinder the thriving of social economy and the scaling up of its successful activities.
- Better integrate the role and weight of social economy organisations in addressing social exclusion and providing quality jobs in multilevel policymaking.
- Contribute to improve the working conditions in social economy organisations, including in the care sector.
Scope:
Almost 3 million social economy entities in Europe offer concrete and innovative solutions to key challenges EU society faces e.g. they create quality jobs, contribute to equal opportunities and socioeconomic inclusion of disadvantaged groups (including people with disabilities), they also play an important role in Europe’s welfare systems and help revitalise Europe’s rural and depopulated areas, therefore contributing to the Long-term vision for the EU’s rural areas.
The social economy can also help implement the principles of the European Pillar for Social Rights and deliver on its 2021 Action Plan and the 2030 headline targets e.g. by increasing the employment rate and the reduction of the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion.
There is an uneven development of the social economy within the EU and a major untapped economic and job creation potential for the social economy in several Member States and regions. The Social Economy Action Plan[1], adopted in December 2021 puts forward measures to help further mobilise the potential of the Social Economy.
The proposals should provide a comprehensive analysis of the extent to which social economy contributes to countering social exclusion in the EU, in Associated Countries and in Third Countries, what services it provides, and compare efficiency, cost and quality aspects of services provided by the social economy with those of other providers. The proposals can tackle (one or more) different angles of socioeconomic exclusion. For instance, the role of social economy as an important player in innovative practices in care provision is often highlighted. Research could identify best innovative practices, including in new and emerging areas in the field of care provisions.
As the availability and use of formal care services differ significantly between Member States and regions, research should investigate the role of social economy between different countries and the drivers of these differences in order to design effective long-term care and social economy policies. Residents in rural areas in particular can suffer with limited access to long-term care services, while social economy organisations are often motivated to provide services based on local needs and can play a revitalising role in the economies of rural regions.
Research should also investigate what are the working conditions in social economy organisations, including in the care sector.
Proposals should aim to provide policymakers with recommendations in the field of social economy support.
Clustering and cooperation with other selected projects under this call and other relevant projects (such as HORIZON-CL6-2023-COMMUNITIES-01-1: Enhancing social inclusion in rural areas: focus on people in a vulnerable situation and social economy) are strongly encouraged. International cooperation is encouraged, especially with EU Neighbourhood and candidate countries.
[1]COM(2021) 778 final https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021DC07…
