ARTICLE
Upshots of Intrinsic Traits on Social Entrepreneurship Intentions among Young Business Graduates

In this study they deliberated some personality traits that boost the intentions towards social entrepreneurships. These personality traits were LKM (loving-kindness meditation), compassion, and entrepreneurship resilience. These personality traits interacted with each other in this study to enhance social entrepreneurship intentions. It was proven that LKM motivated the persons towards social entrepreneurship with the help of their compassion quality, and this motivation will be at a high level if such a person also has the trait of entrepreneurship resilience. The most important thing that appeared is resilience, especially the personality trait of a persons who is able to cope with difficulties and able to find some creative solution in the case of problems/ difficulties/ failures of social entrepreneurship.

On the notion of “ethics of care” theory, our study also expressed that only those persons having LKM and a compassionate feeling, which are purely based on ethics of care, could be turned towards social entrepreneurship. The persons in a particular community that have the emotions of LKM and compassion, also have a thrill of solving the economic and social problems of others, which can satisfy and fulfil their desire by commencing social entrepreneurship; through this social entrepreneurship undertaking they can solve particular social and economic issues of their society and satisfy their emotions.

This study specifically addressed one of the biggest problem, the unemployment problem, for the government, it is suggested by this study that some incentives, reliefs, and tax exemptions may be formulated in such type of undertakings that comes under the jurisdictions of social entrepreneurship in order to enhance motivation among the communities towards social entrepreneurships, so that communities may solve their economic, financial, and social problems on their own rather than looking for government or other employers for employment opportunities.

However, one grave problem remains, majority of the students belong to poor families, which hardly afford their academic expenses just on the hope that after completing their education, they will get a good job and they will provide financial assistance to their families, and the student and their families do not have such financial resources to invest in social entrepreneurship. So, in this scenario, although the students have the LKM, compassionate emotions, and resilience traits, they cannot have social entrepreneurship intentions due to financial resources/capital constraints.

The full article is available HERE or as a download below.

To cite this article: Sana, H. A., Alkhalaf, S., Zulfiqar, S., Al-Rahmi, W. M., Al-Adwan, A. S., & AlSoud, A. R. (2021). Upshots of Intrinsic Traits on Social Entrepreneurship Intentions among Young Business Graduates: An Investigation through Moderated-Mediation Model. Sustainability, 13(9), 5192.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095192

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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

Educational Materials | English

Social Protection & Cooperatives Spotlight – Mobilizing social and solidarity economy units towards universal social protection

This ILO Spotlight brief is jointly developed by the Social Protection Department and the Cooperatives Unit in the Enterprises Department. It focuses on mobilizing social and solidarity economy units towards universal social protection. The brief builds on the related section of the Office Report on “Decent Work and the social and solidarity economy” prepared for general discussion at the International Labour Conference 110th Session, 2022 (paras 73 et seq.).

Read the full text here: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_emp/—emp_ent/—coop/documents/publication/wcms_844037.pdf

This publication has been prepared within SENBS project No. 2020- 1-EE01-KA204-077999. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

the Social Economy Action Plan (SEAP) is now available in 23 EU official languages

The European Commission has today presented an Action Plan to help the European social economy thrive, tapping into its economic and job-creation potential, as well as its contribution to a fair and inclusive recovery, and the green and digital transitions.

Please see here the document in 23 languages:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0778&qid=1640075004787

And read below general info on SEAP.

Social economy organisations are entities which put social and environmental purposes first, reinvesting most of their profit back into the organisation. There are 2.8 million social economy entities in Europe that employ 13.6 million people and which offer solutions to key challenges in our societies. They span a diverse range of sectors and forms, from care services to recycling; from cooperatives to social enterprises.

Enhanced support to the social economy not only creates jobs, but also allows organisations to increase their social impact across the EU. Today’s Social Economy Action Plan smooths the way for social economy organisations to prosper and grow.

The Commission proposes to act in three areas:

1. Creating the right conditions for the social economy to thrive

Policy and legal frameworks are key in creating the right environment for the social economy to thrive. This includes taxation, public procurement and State aid frameworks that have to be adapted to the needs of the social economy.

To address these issues, the Commission will propose a Council Recommendation on developing the social economy framework conditions in 2023. It will also publish guidance for Member States on taxation frameworks for social economy organisations and facilitate easier access to guidance on State aid. The Action Plan also aims to improve good practice on socially responsible public procurement and promote the targeting of the social economy outside EU borders.

2. Opening opportunities for social economy organisations to start up and scale up

Social economy entities should benefit from business development support to start up and develop, as well as to reskill and upskill their workers. For 2021-2027, the Commission is aiming to increase its support beyond the estimated €2.5 billion allocated to the social economy previously (2014-2020).

Among other actions, the Commission will launch a new EU Social Economy Gateway in 2023 to ensure social economy actors can find all the information they need in one place on EU funding, policies, training and initiatives. It will also launch new financial products in 2022 under the InvestEU programme and improve access to funding. In 2022, the Commission will also set up a European Competence Centre for Social Innovation.

3. Making sure the social economy and its potential are recognised

The Action Plan aims to make the social economy more visible and improve the recognition of its work and potential. The Commission will carry out communication activities emphasising the role and specificities of the social economy.

Furthermore, the Commission will launch a study to collect qualitative and quantitative data to better understand the social economy across the EU. It will also organise training courses for public officials on various topics with relevance for the social economy, promote the social economy at regional and local levels by fostering cross-border exchanges, and much more.

With today’s Action Plan, the Commission is also launching a “transition pathway” to help the green and digital transitions of the social economy in dialogue with public authorities and interested parties.The Commission seeks public views on the transition pathway through an EU survey open until 28 February 2022.

Background

The social economy includes a variety of businesses, organisations and legal entities, such as social enterprises, cooperatives, mutual benefit societies (a specific type of collective insurance), non-profit associations and foundations. They put people and the environment at the centre of their mission and reinvest most of their profit back into the organisation or a specific social cause. They are governed in a participatory, bottom-up way.

Building on the Commission’s 2011 Social Business Initiative, the Action Plan is the result of an extensive consultation process with citizens and stakeholders. More information can be found in the Staff Working Document accompanying the Social Economy Action Plan and in the Staff Working Document on the transition pathway on social economy.

EC presented guidelines on Social Economy Action Plan in form of Q&A

Questions and answers: the Social Economy Action Plan

What is the social economy?

There are 2.8 million social economy entities in Europe that employ 13.6 million people and which offer solutions to key challenges in our societies. Social economy organisations are entities which put social and environmental purposes before profit (“people and planet first”). They reinvest most of their profit back into the organisation or a social cause, and have a democratic or participatory form of governance (“bottom-up”).

The social economy includes a variety of businesses, organisations and legal entities, such as social enterprises, cooperatives, mutual benefit societies (a specific type of collective insurance), non-profit associations and foundations. They operate in many economic sectors, such as social services, health care, social housing, affordable and renewable energy, circular economy, agriculture, financial and insurance activities, culture, media and recreation.

Here are some examples of social enterprises, supported by the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI):

In Austria, the social enterprise Sign Time is leading the SiMAX project for developing a digital technology which provides real-time sign language translation and removes communication barriers for people with hearing disabilities.
The HomeLab project developed and tested Social Rental Enterprise (SRE) models for integrated housing and labour services for marginalised groups in Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
In France, Makesense Seed is a fund to support early-stage social enterprises with investments of up to €500,000.

What is the Social Economy Action Plan and why do we need it?

The social economy has an important untapped economic and job creation potential. It can play a key role in a fair and inclusive recovery from the pandemic, as well as in the green and digital transitions.

Social economy organisations create and retain quality jobs, and contribute to social and labour market inclusion. They drive sustainable economic development, promote the active participation of citizens, and play an important role in Europe’s welfare systems.

To realise its full potential, it is important to raise the social economy’s visibility and create an environment that enables the social economy to thrive and grow.

The Action Plan focuses on three main areas:

Creating the right conditions for the social economy to thrive

The Action Plan proposes measures to help design regulations and policies that are better adapted to the social economy at all relevant levels, thereby creating an enabling framework for the social economy to thrive.

Opening opportunities for social economy organisations to start up and scale up

The Action Plan will open up new opportunities for the social economy, for example by facilitating access to funding, business support, and networks.

Making sure the social economy and its potential are recognised

The Action Plan aims to increase the recognition of the social economy and its potential, by making it more visible through research, evidence gathering and communication activities.

Who can benefit from the Social Economy Action Plan?

Social economy entities will benefit from the Action Plan as it aims to improve their visibility and recognition, support the development of enabling policy and legal environments, and make it easier to access funding and business support. The Action Plan will help make the social economy better known and understood, including among young people, investors and public authorities.

More generally, the social economy has a wider societal impact and potential, for instance by contributing to social and labour market inclusion. The social economy therefore contributes to implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, including its three 2030 EU headline targets, for instance the increase of the employment rate to 78% and the reduction of the number of people at risk of poverty and social exclusion by at least 15 million.

How will the Action Plan help make the economy work for people?

Paid employment in the social economy varies between 0.6% and 9.9% amongst Member States. Therefore, the social economy has a significant untapped potential for job creation in many countries. The Action Plan will help social economy entities to scale up their impact and activities, including across EU borders, for example, by facilitating access to business support and funding.

Boosting the social economy is also a way to create more jobs. The social economy employs some 13.6 million people in the EU and makes an important contribution to GDP in the countries where it is most developed. For this reason, it has been included in the “Proximity and Social Economy” ecosystem, one of the 14 industrial ecosystems identified in the update of the EU Industrial Strategy.

How will local communities benefit from the Social Economy Action Plan?

Social economy business models bring value to local economies and societies by contributing to their inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability. They have strong local roots and aim to serve the community where they are based, for instance by retaining economic activities and revenues locally. As such, they contribute to drive local economic development in sectors specifically relevant to the regions, for example in rural areas, in relation to agriculture and organic food production or in the blue economy (industries and sectors related to oceans, seas and coasts). They foster short value chains facilitating local production and consumption, and support the circular economy.

As part of the Action Plan, the Commission will support Member States and stakeholders to boost the social economy and social innovation in rural areas and will expand the European Social Economy Regions network to reinforce new regional and local partnerships. It will also work with cities to develop Local Green Deals or green citizenship actions.

How will the Action Plan contribute to fair green and digital transitions?

The social economy is an important driver of fair and inclusive green and digital transitions. It contributes to the development of sustainable practices, for instance in the fields of the circular economy, organic agriculture, renewable energy, housing and mobility. The social economy can also provide solutions for those impacted by the green and digital transitions, for example through training and reskilling workers, and by providing job opportunities.

It can also contribute to tackling the digital divide and ensuring that the digital transition leaves no one behind. Social economy actors working on “Tech4good” for example deploy digital technologies, (e.g. blockchain technology, big data, artificial intelligence) to achieve a green and social impact.

As part of the Action Plan, the Commission will help the social economy to adopt and develop green practices, products and services, and to improve its digital capacities.

A Commission Staff Working Document, coming along with the Action Plan, launches scenarios for a “transition pathway” to accelerate the green and digital transition of the social economy, as part of the Proximity and Social economy industrial ecosystem, involving engagement with public authorities and interested parties.

How will the Action Plan support social innovation?

By operating in a bottom-up way and being close to communities, citizens and the problems they face, social economy entities have the capacity to find and implement innovative solutions. With this Action Plan, the Commission wants to help successful ideas to be replicated across the EU. This is also the objective of the new European Competence Centre for Social Innovation, which will be set up in 2022. The Action Plan also aims to make it easier to pool resources for social innovation from the public sector, philanthropic and social investment actors.

How will the plan be implemented and by whom?

The Action Plan announces a set of actions by the Commission to strengthen the social economy. It also encourages Member States and other actors to put in place actions to support its implementation and to make the most of the opportunities it offers.

The Commission encourages Member States to adopt or update their social economy strategies and initiatives in cooperation with social economy stakeholders. It also calls on Member States to designate social economy coordinators. The Commission will take stock in 2025, looking at progress made and remaining barriers.

Where will the funding for the Action Plan come from?

The Commission’s ambition is to increase the level of support for the social economy under EU funds in the 2021-2027 period. It will for instance launch new financial products in 2022 under the InvestEU programme aimed at mobilising private financing. Other EU programmes that will offer dedicated or indirect support for the social economy include the Employment and Social Innovation strand of the European Social Fund Plus, Horizon Europe, the Single Market Programme, Erasmus+ and the LIFE Programme. At national level, EU funding will be available for example via the Cohesion Policy Funds and national recovery and resilience plans where applicable.

What is the transition pathway and how will it work?

Presented in the context of the updated EU Industrial Strategy, transition pathways for industrial ecosystems are created in partnership with stakeholders such as industry, public authorities and social economy stakeholders.

It will accompany the twin transition of the “Proximity and Social Economy” industrial ecosystem and contribute to the implementation of the Action Plan in this area. The Commission seeks public views on the transition pathway through an EU survey open until 28 February 2022.

For More Information

Press release: Commission presents Action Plan to boost the social economy and create jobs

Factsheet: Social Economy Action Plan

Communication: Social Economy Action Plan

Staff Working Document accompanying the Social Economy Action Plan

Staff Working Document on the transition pathway and related EU Survey

Social Economy Action Plan website

Subscribe to the European Commission’s free e-mail newsletter on employment, social affairs and inclusion

Questions_and_answers__the_Social_Economy_Action_Plan

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

Uncategorized

Inclusive Business Creation – Good Practice Compendium

Today we present to you a report from the OECD’s Local Economic and Employment Development Programme (LEED) provides innovative ideas and practical solutions for how to build inclusive and sustainable communities with quality jobs for all. This series explores how national and local governments can promote local development, leveraging the social economy, entrepreneurship, employment and skills, and specific sectors such as culture.

Inclusive Business Creation

Good Practice Compendium

This compendium contains 20 case studies of public programmes in European countries that are successfully supporting business creation by people from disadvantaged and under-represented groups in entrepreneurship. The populations targeted by these programmes include youth, women, seniors, the unemployed, immigrants, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. Each programme description details the programme’s activities and approach, assesses the challenges faced in development and implementation, and offers tips for successful transfer to other contexts.

Public policy actions at national, regional and local levels can make an important contribution to economic growth and social inclusion by promoting business creation and self-employment by people who otherwise could remain outside of the mainstream of entrepreneurship. This compendium demonstrates that workable approaches exist and can help policymakers learn from each other’s experiences to achieve widespread results.

https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264251496-en 9789264251496 (PDF) 9789264257504 (EPUB)

Authors: OECD and European Union

Access to the full reading material here: 9789264251496-en

erasmus_plus_logo-300x86

Blog | Learn | Youth

Young People and Social Innovation in Europe

By Ljupka Janevska.

“Social innovation is the process of developing creative ideas that will eventually ‘’grow’’ into practical solutions, which will improve the overall wellbeing of the community. The primary goal of implementing or designing a new social innovation is to solve different systemic issues that will hopefully contribute in increasing the enviorenment value. However, the basics of implementing a new social innovation can be found in the energy and passion of the young people, who are brave enough, not only to identify, but also to challenge and address global problems that are worthy of attention and investment.

In Europe, the process of youth social innovation is a growing challenge. Fortunately, there are a lot of successful social innovations in Europe that aim to raise awareness of the positive outcome that social innovations can have on young people and communities.

Student integration in employment

Young graduates often struggle to find their first employment experience. In Latvia, young people are almost twice as likely to be unemployed compared to the rest of the population, due to lack of a professional network and skills experience. The youth social innovation of ‘’The Demola platform’’, established in 2014 in Finland, connects companies with university students. The companies can submit a specific problem situation for students to address , and by participating in problem-solving workshops the students are developing their skills as potential problem-solvers instead of as young people in need of work experience.

Active youth participation in local decision-making

One of the priorities of the EU is to provide meaningful social, civic and political engagement opportunities for all young people. Young people prefer to support causes that are directly relevant to them, and they usually engage in them through alternative participation methods, such as volunteering or online support. ‘’The Youth Participatory Budgeting (YPB)’’ is a Portuguese youth social innovation that aims to foster an active participation of young people in the decision-making process, and thus promote a stronger sense of citizenship, through an online platform that serves young people’s need for democratic participation.

● European exchange programme for young Entrepreneurs

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a youth social innovation that provides ambitious young European entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to start or successfully run a small business in Europe. New entrepreneurs gather and exchange knowledge and business ideas with an experienced entrepreneur, with whom they stay and collaborate for a period of 1 to 6 months. ‘’Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’’ is financed by the European Commission and operates across the Participating Countries with the help of the local contact points, competent in business support.

Youth opportunities in the economy

‘’REvive Greece’’ is an interesting social innovation in Greece that helps young people from the most vulnerable groups (unemployed Greeks, refugees, migrants, etc.). ‘’REvive’’ is a registered non-profit mission that has the goal to integrate these vulnerable, social groups into the socioeconomic system by helping them to gain skills in the IT sector.

Conclusion

All over the world in the past decades, there has been an increased interest in social innovation as a way to achieve sustainable and economic growth. Today, social innovation as a valuable practice and worldwide movement is helping to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems with new solutions such as fair trade, distance learning, mobile money transfer, restorative justice, and zero-carbon housing. But, besides solving, social innovation by understanding and identifying a problem contributes in changing people’s beliefs , perceptions and practices about social enterprises, business engagement, and philanthropy. So, the rise of social entrepreneurs and social enterprises is not only encouraging the mobilization of people in the innovation process but also providing the’’force’’ for economic growth and social equality in the enviorenment.”

Source: https://digitalsocialinnovation.org/young-people-and-social-innovation-in-europe/

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

Blog | Educational Materials | Library | Project Outputs

eBOOK
Envisioning the Future of Learning for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

For two years consortium of Erasmus+ VISION project have been working on useful outcomes, and the project concluded in the last December. Proudly they are presenting an outcome of the project – a book that has just been released for broader audiences. ‘Envisioning the Future of Learning for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship will be available in e-Book format free of charge from March 7th, and in paperback format from March 21, 2022.

Download eBook here || Buy paperback version here

ABOUT THIS BOOK
Envisioning the Future of Learning for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship outlines the work and findings of the Erasmus+ VISION research project. The book is focused on the increasing importance of immersive learning and includes the findings of more than 130 detailed interviews and 9 workshops.

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Education is changing and teachers and students around the world are reshaping it. This book is designed to help educators, policy makers and stakeholders from industry and society at large navigate the changing landscape of education for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship (CIE). Built on insights from more than 250 experts, the book presents a learning landscape that captures today’s shifts within CIE education and proposes guidance and potential pathways for those involved in the field.

It shows that the landscape of education for CIE is influenced by:

Learning as an immersive experience driven by play and experimentation,
The rise in on the job education and learning by doing as part of life-long upskilling,
Teachers’ roles evolve to be coaches and mentors developing hard and soft skills,
Numerous images are included in the book using the technique of visual thinking, stimulating imagination, creativity and innovation.

If you are interested in finding out about the project research process and the findings’ report, visit the website of the project HERE.

Download eBook here || Buy paperback version here

ABOUT THE PROJECT

VISION was implemented by a consortium of 13 partner organizations from Europe and concluded in December 2021. Within this project, more than 120 international experts were asked to reflect on the future of CIE teaching and learning. Transversal skills and the Growth Mindset was the focus of discussions, considering CIE skills as keys to foster positive social impact. Take a look at the other outcomes to get to know the background and scope of the topic!

This publication has been prepared within SENBS project No. 2020- 1-EE01-KA204-077999. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

Educational Materials | English | European Union

Learn more about the latest #socialeconomy developments in Spain!

Blog | Learn | Library | Youth

How social entrepreneurship helps to educate the world?

How do social entrepreneurs and the projects they create impact the world at large?

Maximillian Goetz, founder of the non-profit organization Robotics for All, discusses his experiences with social entrepreneurship and the real-world impacts he has witnessed firsthand. Maximilian Goetz is a first-year student at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. In April 2017, he founded Robotics for All when he was a high school freshman at Henry. M Gunn High School in Palo Alto, CA. He built Robotics for All from the ground up, teaching its first classes and eventually expanding it into a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In addition to Robotics for All, Maximilian is a pro-bono nonprofit consultant for three student organizations, a tour guide for Georgetown’s Blue and Gray tour guide association, and an online English teacher to students in China. In the past, Maximilian served as a student advisor to Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, a lead legislative aide to Councilman Greg Tanaka, and was a member of the Palo Alto Youth Council. Maximilian has served over 3,000 community service hours since his freshman year of high school and is honored to be a two-time President’s Gold Community Service Award recipient. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cET6kV83tO8[/embedyt]

Source: https://www.ted.com/tedx

This publication has been prepared within INDIGISE project. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the project coordinator and may not always reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agency.

POKAŻ MNIEJ

Educational Materials | Estonian

Sotsiaalse ettevõtluse ja sotsiaalsete ettevõtete arengu stimuleerimine Eestis

Strateegia süvaanalüüs

Käesolev raport esitab Eesti sotsiaalse innovatsiooni, sotsiaalse ettevõtluse ja sotsiaalsete ettevõtete jaoks kindlaks määratud strateegilise ökosüsteemi süvaanalüüsi. See tuvastab riigi peamised tugevad ja probleemsed küljed ning esitab strateegilised soovitused tugevama strateegilise ökosüsteemi arengu toetamiseks sotsiaalseks ettevõtluseks ja sotsiaalsete ettevõtete jaoks. Peamised strateegilised probleemid, mida analüüsiti, hõlmavad: sotsiaalse innovatsiooni ja sotsiaalse ettevõtluse kultuuri loomist (osa 2); sotsiaalse ettevõtluse toetamist ametkondlike ja seadusandlike raamistike kaudu (osa 3); juurdepääsu parandamist finantseerimisele ja turgudele sotsiaalse ettevõtluse stimuleerimiseks (osad 4 ja 5) ja sotsiaalettevõtjale vajalike oskuste ja pädevuste arendamise toetamist (osa 6).

Loe veel siit

1. Creating the right conditions for the social economy to thrive

2. Opening opportunities for social economy organisations to start up and scale up

3. Making sure the social economy and its potential are recognised

Background

Related documents on the European Commissions’ website: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&furtherNews=yes&newsId=10117

Questions and answers: the Social Economy Action Plan

Inclusive Business Creation

Good Practice Compendium

By Ljupka Janevska.

We’d Love To Hear From You!