Transnational Co-operation Agreement

TCA Id code:
Language: IN
ETCIM extract: 26-04-2005

Name of the Transnational co-operation partnership

S.E.N.D. (Social Economy Network Development)

DP involved

CIP / DP Id. / Title / Responsible /
Phone
/ E-Mail
Italy
DP1 / IT-IT-G2-LAZ-100 / SITIS NET / SAIP sas di Bosco Maria Giuseppina & C. /
+39 06 9845916
/
Greece
DP2 / GR-232272 /

Social Amphictyony

/ KEKANAM /
+30 242 1071466
/
Greece
DP3 /
GR-232181
/

“KRIKOS”

“Incubator for the Development of Social Economy” / Heraklion Development Agency S.A / +302810752111 /
Poland
DP4 / PL-50 / PARTNERSTWO
MUFLON / Fundacja Merkury /
+ 48 74666 22 00
+48 509 857552
/

DP Secretary

CIP / DP Id. / Title / Responsible / Phone / E-Mail
Italy
DP5 / IT-IT-G2-ABR-002 / Pact for innovation in social economy / Soc. Cons. a r.l. Sangro-Aventino /
+39 0872 570417
/

A. Rationale and Objectives

1. Common interests/methodology/underlying problem

Common interests:
The main common interest of the DPs is the development of a common strategy for the support and empowering of social entrepreneurship. Additionally, the DPs will promote services and propose effective activities to facilitate social inclusion processes. The way of developing an institutional framework which will link social welfare and socioeconomic development will be examined at a European level.
Methodology:
The transfer of know how and good practices among the DPs, will be obtained through meetings, work group, study visits and exchange of homogenous groups and good practices. Additionally, in order to promote a common view the DPs will develop joint systems, products and processes. The results of the common actions will be documented and disseminated as part of the mainstreaming effort.
Underlying problem:
The underlying problem of the DPs is focused on the social and professional exclusion of disadvantaged groups of people and the need to improve the quality of services offered to them. Therefore, the aim is to provide the mentioned population groups with the essential supports and tools (training, professional skills, encouragement) and to create an effective support structure (information, public and private social actors’ support, advanced institutional framework) in order to facilitate their integration into the labour market.

2. Lessons learned from previous relevant actions

DP1 SITIS NET (Lazio, Italy)
The members of the DP have numerous experiences in previous EU programmes and initiatives as Adapt I and II, ESF national projects (objectives 3 and 4), ESF Article 6, Horizon I and II, Youthstart, Leonardo, Now and Equal I.
They have developed and/or managed transnational partnerships that have positively influenced the realisation of national activities; general speaking the lessons learned are mainly referred to:
-how to implement transnational projects that assure positive influences on national projects;
-how to utilise transnational activities to widen the experiences and the viewpoints of national operators
-how to optimise transnational comparisons and exchanges among different contexts dealing with similar problems.
The lessons learned have been capitalised and have provided the members of the DP with relevant experiences in the following areas:
-involvement and empowerment of final and intermediate beneficiaries
-training of disadvantaged/marginalised targets
-support and creation of enterprises
-social balance and social responsibility of companies
-professional training for employers and employees
-innovative training programmes for lifelong training
-engagement of wide range of stakeholders in territorial activities
-provision of consultancy and training courses for SMEs
DP2 “Social Amphictyony” (Magnesia, Greece)
The D. P. “Social Amphictyony”, coordinated by KEKANAM S. A. constitutes of partners with significant experience in designing and implementing interventions to support disadvantaged groups, providing orientation, re-orientation, training, counselling, entrepreneurial support and personal development services. The great majority of the partnership members were promoters / leaders and/or participated in several projects under E. C. Initiatives, like EMPLOYMENT, ADAPT and EQUAL and have also successfully implemented national projects funded by the ESF, under Operational Programmes administrated by Hellenic Ministries and in the framework of Regional Operational Programmes.
Supporting initiatives in the Social Economy, which now is a thematic axis in both Greek and European Employment Strategy, was a task for many of the partners, who form the Greek DP “Social Amphictyony” since the middle ‘90s, and specific actions were implemented in the framework of the Territorial Employment Pacts and under the strands NOW and HORIZON of the E. C. EMPLOYMENT Initiative. EQUAL first round project “Integrated Plan – Open Paths – for the support of Social Economy”, proved that social entrepreneurship can be a reasonable way to tackle the inequalities that the individuals of disadvantaged groups face regarding their accessibility to employment. It alsoprovided partners with significant knowledge and experience and insight has been gained concerning the critical factors, which influence social entrepreneurship. These include lack of basic entrepreneurial skills, lack of professional qualifications, but also inadequate support by specialised structures, and lack of entrepreneurial culture. Quality of services and products is a key factor that social enterprises should adapt themselves to and certification and accreditation of professional qualifications, support structures and social enterprises as well, is a way to achieve this goal. Apart form these, social skills seem to lack among social entrepreneurs and this affects social enterprises’ operation and financial achievements. Moreover, social enterprises seem weak in developing their socio-economic networks, which results to poorer entrepreneurial results.
On the other hand, social enterprises should not be regarded solely as for their financial achievements; they produce certain added social value to their community, contributing in social cost tackling. They deserve, therefore, some sort of reasonable reimbursement, not necessarily in strict financial terms.
Certain resources can be used in this context to assist and promote social entrepreneurship, like public sector assets, not yet exploited, like the public procurement framework and financial resources of the private sector, like thoseallocated for Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Awareness raising and motivation should be achieved for this purpose.
DP2 partners stress that new forms of “win – win” partnership schemes should be developed, shareholders of which are the private, the public and the social sector, which shape a Public Private Social Partnership – PPSP. This model promotes an innovative partnership culture to support social entrepreneurship.
In this context, it is quite clear that new policies must be designed and tested, new services and tools should be produced and social capital should be developed for the support of social entrepreneurship.
DP3 “KRIKOS” “Incubator for the Development of Social Economy”: Heraklion Development Agency S.A. In the region of Crete, the associations participating in the DP have undertaken several initiatives in favour of disadvavtaged groups of people and local SMEs. The implementation of European and National programmes (EQUAL I, LEADER+, LEADER II, EMPLOYMENT, “Local Social Capital-Art6 ESF”, Operational Programmes “Fight against exclusion from the labour market” and”Employment and Professional Training”) has provided DP “KRIKOS” with relevant experience on:
-the creation and support of social enterprises
-the creation of job places and the development of new professional skills
-the creation, support and expanding of innovative enterprises
-the constitution of a “Center of Ancillary Support Services” aiming at providing advisory support to unemployed people
-the creation of a network of NGOs aiming at the social and professional inclusion of vulnerable groups
-the production of learning tools and the creation of Protective Productive Laboratories aiming at facilitating the professional integration of People with Special Needs
-the creation of / participation in national and international networks of social actors aiming at the implementation of common actions towards unemployment and poverty (RETIS, EAPN) the promotion of internal cohesion in the region
DP4 “PARTNERSTWO MUFLON” (Poland)
DP partners were involved in some projects in the Wałbrzych region (financed by National Job Found, local government funds, Preventing Addiction Department, Tacis, Phare CBC, Polish-German Foundation). Through these projects we were working on social inclusion of different groups such as:
  • unemployed
  • temporary addicted
  • young graduates
  • homeless
  • disabled
We facilitate social inclusion processes such as helping disadvataged groups of people integrate into the labour market. We also work out educational strategies to support non-governmental organizations and to develop professional tools: trainings, advisory, consultancy.
DP5 “Pact for innovation of social economy”: Soc Cons. a r.l. Sangro-Aventino; Italy
Through managing European, national, regional projects (Equal Face 1, Adapt, Now, Integra), the DPs partners developed strategies for networking to face training, modernization, employment and integration into labour market of disadvantage people.
The implementation of these kind of projects in the Sangro-Aventino area gave the opportunities to arrange new tools and methodologies and to test new interventions, also through a large participations of all actors of network, for improving the access to social services and for experimenting more innovative ones. Improving and evaluating quality of delivered services was also achieved.

3. The common objectives of the DPs

Common objectives
The common objectives of the partnership is to improve local practices through sharing international models, experiences and visions. This means:
-to implement an effective transnational partnership which will facilitate good working relationships, increase mobility, understanding, knowledge and experience to support the key objectives of each Development Partnership in the Member States;
-to improve the national projects by using experience and knowledge gained throughout the transnational partnership;
-to consolidate and exchange innovative aspects accomplished in national projects and to disseminate good practice and experiences among beneficiaries, thematic networks, and relevant policy and decision-makers;
-to promote a continuous exchange of experiences, materials, training, information and support through ICT;
-to capitalize and disseminate the project achievements and highlight the learning from the transnational partnership.
Operational objectives
-to plan, develop and support a knowledge environment regarding social economy in the partners countries
-to develop the necessary mechanisms to collect, analyse, document and exchange information among the DPs and policy makers in order to develop the third sector of the economy.
-to form a collaborative environment, which will favour the exchange of good practices and the applications of pilot experiences and the common development of innovative approaches regarding the development of the social economy
-to ensure the dissemination of results / products of the national projects as well as the transnational action plan

4. The (common/complementary) products/deliverables foreseen

In the implementation of the activities planned in the Transnational Action Plan, the 5 DPs will work together and will produce and elaborate:
- Publication of Three hand books (including glossaries) on trends in local practices in social economy;
- Project and operational plan of three Transnational Learning Experiences;
- Methodological guide lines in running work groups and planning TLE;
- Works and material (reports) produced by groups in the framework of 3 transnational work-shop dealing on specific topics.
-Dissemination work plan of the results/products of the national projects as well the common transnational action plan.
- Project evaluation reports (methodologies, in itinere and final).

5. Added value on the strategy and intended results of each of the DPs involved

DP1 SITIS NET (Lazio, Italy)
The DP would like to optimise the participation on the planned transnational activities in order to:
-raise awareness of the strength and weaknesses of regional and national context, regulation and development strategies;
-offer European level experiences to the intermediate beneficiaries;
-exchange know-how on strategies to involve co-operatives and SMEs in lifelong learning experiences
-text approaches adopted in different contexts dealing with similar problems and profit of the success of previous/parallel implementation;
-develop joint innovative materials which can be easily adopted in other countries because of their European dimension;
-exchange/create tools and materials useful to perform national activities;
-widen and optimise the DP approach about the articulation of services offered to the final beneficiaries;
-exchange selected Best Practises;
-jointly define approaches for the networking and the integration in the social sector;
-jointly define mainstreaming activities
DP 2 “Social Amphictyony” (Magnesia, Greece)
DP2 seeks to select information, transfer innovation, identify and evaluate models of good practice and develop new knowledge, which can be capitalised in the national project.
Analysis of certain national / regional / local policies and the respected legal framework in participating countries as well as awareness of social entrepreneurship culture in different European countries shall result to clearer understanding on the trends on social enterprise development.
Identification, and transfer of models of involvement of Public and Private sector in supporting activities in Social Economy and assisting social entrepreneurship shall provide great added value to the national project.
Joint development of methodologies / tools enriches potential of national partners and enhances perceptions for social economy support and development.
Common work at a transnational level provides new opportunities for the beneficiaries of the national projects, widening social networks and introducing them to new social resources.
The DP3 “KRIKOS” (Crete, Greece) members will be availed of the transnational partnership as follows:
-Adoption of products and methodologies that have been already tried out in other regions. The adaptation of these products and methodologies in the Greek situation and their application will surely give added value in the national actions.
-Development of common products,/methodologies/systems that will help to the solution of common problems among the partners of the TCP
-Promotion and publicity of good practices implemented by the members of the DP
-Information of all the DP members about the latest developments on social economy in European level. Ability to make comparisons between the different policy measures on employment and social enterpreneurship.
-Creation of contacts between the members of the DP and other associations that act on the same field. Access to European Social Economy networks
-Development of the communication and professional skills of the individuals (e.g employess, final beneficiaries, policy makers) who will participate in the transnational activities.
DP4 “PARTNERSTWO MUFLON” (Poland)
There is not much experience in social enterprise development in Poland. We hope to use other countries’ experience due to transnational cooperation. This knowledge will help us to:
−develop local strategies for the support of social enterprises (sharing education models: training methodologies etc)
−identify models and best practices for social enterprises operating in different fields
−establish communication system for transnational cooperation as tools of exchanging experience
−develop links between single DPs members working in similar fields
−create various models and law regulations framework for social enterprises
- use social enterprises (i.e. social cooperatives, associations, foundations, co-ops, “non-profit” cooperatives) to activate job skills as well as to involve socially marginalized communities
- work out a social economy model based on the solutions from European countries, which will have impact on the revival and development of the region.
The DP5 “Pact for innovation in social economy” considers work with transnational partners as an occasion for identifying and sharing experiences with best practices at European level:
-to identify joint research methodologies identifying the needs of the communities, identifying issues of engagement, and motivation in involving beneficiaries in developing social capacity and social enterprises.
-to identify best practices for developing: social enterprises and community organisations; sharing training methodologies and content with transnational partners.
-to explore participative governance, sharing and adapting methods and involving beneficiaries in the work to enable a better understanding of how the European Union works, and the relationship between European, national and regional governments and laws and how cultural differences affect ways of working across communities.

6. Added value and financial viability of associated partner(s)

There are no associated partners involved in the transnational partnership

B. Work Programme & Working Methodology

1. Transnational activities foreseen

a. Overall transnational strategy

The transnational strategy aimes at enriching experiences and practices of partnerships on the specific issues presented in this project. The transnational strategy will be complementary and integrative respect the national projects contributing to improve national results.
The general idea is to connect all the activities in one process finalized to the above mentioned general objective that will be reached through three specific aims:
1) to involve local practicionners and researchers in a common research/study work on specific topics in order to develop: a common framework on problems and challenges to face; practices and methodologies to adopt;
2) to organize some advanced Transnational Learning Experience involving intermediate beneficiaries and based on analysis of concrete experiences and practices in European contexts;
3) to capitalize the learning path producing and diffusing hand books on practices evolution trends
The key element of the transnational strategy will be participation and cooperation. A participative approach of the national partners and the final beneficiaries of the activities will be assured at each level of activities.
The Steering and Evaluation Committee is the main decision body to develop the transnational work plan and to carry out the evaluation of the project. Transnational strategy is closely related to the Steering Committee activities.
The Transnational Technical Secretariat will support the steering committee in organisation and co-ordination of activities and internal communication. A fluent communication will be a key element in transnational activities. Continuous communication will be developed mainly via e-mail and direct telephonic access.
Joint work on line processes will be assured in this project by a “virtual communication tool” that will lead to more efficient cooperation and information sharing. One common language (English) will be used.
Specific procedures will be implemented in order to carry out the dissemination activities of this project:
-design and development a Communication Platform&Transnational website to support the implementation of the activities and communication among partners. It will be linked to a transnational section in the web sites of each project will inform about the progress made, products and results;
-organisation of specific contributions of the transnational project in small and big events organized by partners in each country with active participation of key economic, social and decision-making actors of the area related to the project objectives;
- implementation of a mainstreaming plan based on active communication towards European institutions, networks and projects;
-organization of a final mainstreaming event.
Both procedures will contribute to attain one of the most important goals of EQUAL projects, that is, the transfer of good practice into employment policies at local, regional, national or community level.
In order to ensure a transversal development of common themes among the transnational projects, 3 working groups, connected with territorial experimentation of national projects, will be created aimed at studying in deep the main themes of the projects and at designing Transnational Learning Experience and handbooks in order to transfer practices, tools and methodologies.

b. Typology of activities