For European social economy actors, digitalisation emerges as a major structural force. If done well, impact deepens and sustainability is secured. Fail to digitalise, and turning purpose into real impact becomes increasingly difficult. But how should digital capacity building programmes be designed to guide social enterprises and their support organisations on their digital transformation journey?
DiGi-SEII’s compendium of best practices provides a starting point. As a collection of the lessons, tools and approaches developed through the project, it is addressed to social enterprises seeking to deepen their digital maturity, to support organisations seeking to strengthen their capacity-building offer, and to policymakers and funders looking to design more effective support ecosystems.
As a starting point, the compendium points out one major challenge participants have faced: To navigate Europe’s digital transformation successfully, a coherent digital strategy is necessary. However, creating such a strategy is the main pain point of many organisations.
Specifically, DiGi-SEII’s participants commonly faced these issues:
- Fragmented tools
- Imposed digitalisation by donors and public authorities
- Impact measurement as an unmet imperative
- Heavy administrative burdens
- Digital skills gaps within teams
Based on these challenges and the trainings provided, the compendium identifies eight best practices. These form an interdependent framework for digital capacity building:
- Content must be relevant (Best Practice 1) and accessible (Best Practice 8)
- It must be delivered through practice, not just theory (Best Practice 3)
- Lessons should be grounded in real examples from comparable organisations (Best Practice 5)
- Content should be framed around needs rather than tools (Best Practice 4)
- Sessions should engage participants in peer exchange (Best Practice 2) and vary in format (Best Practice 6)
- Sessions should close in a way that builds confidence to act (Best Practice 7)
The compendium is both a response to a lived reality and a contribution to EU policy, as the needs articulated by DiGi-SEII’s participants map onto the action areas the Commission has identified as priorities. Key topics include:
- Impact measurement and data-driven decision making
- Hybrid capacity-building models and innovation in support infrastructures
- A fair and inclusive digital transition
The best practices defined in the compendium provide answers to needs that the European Commission has formally recognised, specifically geared towards social economy actors. Applied together, they constitute a coherent, evidence-based approach to digital capacity building.
