Position Paper: SEAP mid-term review

Euclid Network (EN) is the European network for social enterprise (SE) intermediary organisations. This includes national associations for social entrepreneurship, incubators and accelerators – all of whom are working to support social entrepreneurs to start and scale their SEs to create positive impacts for communities across Europe. These SE support organisations (SESOs) face many challenges in the provision and delivery of their services, building upon the challenges faced by SEs themselves. 

What have been the most significant achievements in the implementation of the SEAP since it was adopted in 2021?

1. The Council Recommendation on Social Economy Framework Conditions 
   1. This has spurred momentum to develop and implement national strategies 
   2. There is still limited (or no) action in some Member States
2. The Transition Pathway 
   1. This identified 14 key action areas, providing vital funding for upskilling and reskilling programmes
   2. It positioned the social economy in industrial policy and the Single Market 
   3. It supported social procurement (through research, advice to public officials and funding for intermediary organisations)
   4. It tackled key topics around data sharing, governance and maturity
   5. These areas of work now seem lost from the SEAP following DG GROW’s restructuring 
3. The momentum created by the SEAP itself as a uniting European framework 
   1. This has helped intermediary organisations, highlighting the economic and social value created by SEs
   2. This has helped further actions with policy makers and politicians at subsidiary levels of governance 

What new developments have you observed in the social economy ecosystem since the action plan was adopted?

1. A reduction of interest in topics such as sustainability and inclusion
2. A turning back by EU legislators on topics of corporate sustainability and reporting (i.a. CSRD and CS3D)
3. A greater engagement by SEs in the topic of impact measurement, linking the SEAP with the CSRD and CS3D
4. An increase in interest in the topic of social procurement 
5. A greater engagement in topics related to the digital transition 

Which sectors could be most effectively supported by social economy business models and approaches in the coming years?

1. The re-industrialisation of Europe should explicitly focus on supporting and utilising SE business models 
2. The sharing economy, facilitated through platforms 
3. The energy sector, utilising social economy business models to promote decentralised production and energy sovereignty 
4. The circular economy 
5. Community wealth building
6. A stronger focus could be made on the promising intersection of SE and job security against AI replacement and its contribution to the European competitiveness agenda

What measures should be prioritised in 2026-2030 to help the social economy achieve its full potential?

1. The complete implementation of the Council Recommendation as well as a follow-up review
2. Funding for national SESOs 
3. Boosting social procurement 
4. Gathering better data on the social economy and SEs
5. Mapping the path for social economy policy post 2030
6. More pressure on Member States to prioritise SEAP and implement it
7. The Transition Pathway’s Action Areas including topics such as procurement, statistics, digitalisation and the green transition must not be lost 

Are there any specific initiatives or examples of best practices that you believe should be highlighted or replicated across the EU?

1. Local ecosystemic approaches e.g. Torino Social Impact, ImpactCity (The Hague) and Amsterdam Impact. These leading ecosystems will be brought together in the Impact Cities Network in the coming years
2. Verification and certification of SEs through offering access to finance and procurement opportunities (e.g. the Verified SE scheme in Austria or the People and Planet First verification by the SE World Forum)
3. The Finnish strategy for social entrepreneurship, in particular the bottom-up stakeholder led Competence Centre for Social Entrepreneurship
4. Engaging national stakeholders into the programming and development of funding for SEs, e.g. in France (with Avise) and Portugal (with Portugal Social Innovation). 
5. The establishment of National Competence Centres for Social Innovation. This initiative could be broadened or replicated to support the social economy and social entrepreneurship more explicitly as areas intertwined with the social innovation 
6. The use of dormant accounts to fund SEs and social innovation, implemented in the UK and now under consideration in Germany
7. The integrated approach in Scotland to supporting community wealth building through SEs

Disclaimer – “Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission [granting authority]. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”