How can social economy contribute to local development

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How can social economy contribute to local
development? Tivoli 4-5 December 2006 The
little community that could Barka Foundation

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Background information

• SWOT analysis
• WEAK SIDES Poland has to deal with the legacy
  left by communist economic and social policies
• Weak societys preparation to the free market
  economy and democracy, lack of financial support
  and lack of citizens societys structures
• Societal stagnancy and lack of co-operation at
  administrative, private and individual levels,
  lack of entrepreneurial activities traditions
• Passive welfare approaches, lack of
  re-socialization programs
• Unbeneficial changes in the situation of many
  people, who were not prepared to the political
  and economic transformation (homelessness as
  result of evictions and liquidation of workers
  hotels, long term unemployment, closure of
  unprofitable companies, addictions as result of
  worsening life conditions, increase of
  violence)
• Lack of educational programmes for staff
  education in the area of social economy, etc.

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Background information

• SWOT analysis

• STRONG SIDES
• Entry into a free market economy created
  possibilities for search of new solutions
• Lack of legal regulations influenced leaders
  determination to shape a new social policy in
  Poland and create an alternative system of
  support
• Relief for the financial strain on the national
  system of social welfare can be found through the
  social economy
• The EU enlargement process emphasizes the
  strengthening of citizens society initiatives and
  development of active forms of support to
  socially excluded people, as well as the
  development of human resources through financial
  instruments, mainly the EFS.

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Background information
HOMELESSNESS, ADDICTIONS, DELINQUENCY, PASSIVITY
1st step - communities creation LACK OF SKILLS
2nd step - socio-educational programme, which
gave the basis for the creation of the act on
social employment LACK OF LEGAL REGULATIONS
3rd step - work places creation programme and
social entrepreneurship - Barka prepared a
proposal of a new legislation to obtain legal
recognition of social cooperatives law on
social cooperatives SHORTAGE, OVERCROWDED AND
DAMP HOUSING 4th step - housing programme -
an example of public-social and public-private
partnerships - act on activities of public
benefit and volunteerism (in which the Barka
Foundation participated as consultant) and act on
financial support for creation of social housing,
shelters and hostels for the homeless in the
period 2004-2005
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Background information

• existing support structures
• Civil societys involvement and volunteerism -
  Act on Activities of Public Benefit and
  Volunteerism
• Social Integration Centres trade training and
  general education for long term unemployed people
  (about 30 centres) - Law on Social Employment
• Clubs of Social Integration groups of support
  and education
• Emerging social cooperatives (56) and social
  enterprises - Law on Social Cooperatives

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PARTNERSHIP STRUCTURE

• 1. Barka Foundation for Mutual Help (project
  coordinator international cooperationpromotion)
  
• 2. Barka-Kofoed School Association - Social
  Integration Centre (training programs)
• 3. Social Emergency Association (selection of
  final beneficiaries and their involvement)
• 4. Association for Social Cooperatives (CES
  Poznan - big city)
• 5. Polish Alliance for Social Integration
  (support for local partnerships building)
• 6. Barka Sport Association for Social
  Integration (social integration of final
  beneficiaries)
• 7. WIELKOPOMOC Association for Integration of
  Local Communities (work with participants)
• 8. Barka Association for Social Integration -
  SIW Barka (work with participants)
• 9. Barka Community House Foundation in
  Drezdenko (CES Drezdenko small town)
• 10. Regional Socio-Educational Centre Association
  For the People and the Environment
• (CES Kwilcz countryside province)
• 11. Publishing Association (project romotion and
  social integration activities in Clubs)
• 12. The rural Kwilcz Commune (promotion of
  activities undertaken by CES Kwilcz)
• 13. Institute of Political Studies PAN-Polish
  Academy of Sciences (monitoring and evaluation)
• 14. MaroonPoint Poland (projects website and
  IT training to final beneficiaries)

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Networks relationships

• analysis of needs for support
• Two main results
• A model structure of support to social economy
  bodies SOCIAL ECONOMY CENTRES (SEC)
• Mechanism for local partnerships building. The
  tool is the education of leaders in the framework
  of social economy.

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Networks relationships
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES Objective 1
Implementation of diverse forms of local
cooperation and programmes of socio-professional
integration through building of six local
partnerships. Objective 2 Preparation of
social economy leaders staff (workers of social
economy bodies and people experienced by poverty)
through elaboration and implementation of a
program of continuous education in the framework
of self-educational groups. Objective 3
Creation and development of effective mechanisms
of support to persons entering the work market
through creation of three model Social Economy
Centres and support to creation of social
cooperatives and social enterprises. Objective
4 Promotion of an efficient understanding
between the partners and creation of a mechanism
for the promotion of the project through
construction of an efficient IT system.
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Networks relationships

• analysis of needs for support
• MAIN OBJECTIVE
• Elaboration of a system of support to social
  economy initiatives to promote changes of the
  social status of socially excluded persons in
  three diverse local environments
• . Big city (CES Poznan),
• . Small town (CES Drezdenko Lubuskie region)
  and
• . Rural district (CES Kwilcz Wielkopolska
  region)

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Background information

• existing support structures (internal)

Social Economy Centre
Recruitment and information agency
DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
JOB AGENCY
AID FUND
Vocational counseling and training agency
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Networks relationships

• legal and fiscal information for the
• constitution of SEC

Earlier creation of a legislative environment
enabling the social economy development
(foundations, associations, social cooperatives,
social enterprises, non-governmental
organisations, social integration centres)
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Background information

• existing support structures (local level)

HOUSING
Open labour market
Long term unemployed people (over 36 months)
Social cooperatives
Social Economy Centre
Social Integration Centre
People not qualified to participate in
the Social Integration Centre
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Networks relationships

• target population

1st GROUP socially excluded people or
threatened by exclusion unemployed people,
homeless, released from prisons, leaving
orphanages and correctional houses, addicted and
people without any income 2nd GROUP workers of
institutions of social support, local
admnistration, NGOs, social animators,
representatives of housing settlements councils,
parishes, educational institutions, housing
cooperatives, trade unions, entrepreneurs, social
enterprises staff, media representatives and
leaders of partner organizations.
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Networks relationships

• analysis of labour market

• OFFER
• Services in gastronomy, gardening, commerce,
  hotelarly, preserves produce, recreation
  (management of a public beach space, rent of
  aquatic equipment), recykling (second hand
  clothing, furnitures, scrap metals), public and
  green spaces cleaning, rickshaws, etc.
• DEMAND
• Care for the handicapped and the elderly
• Childrens care
• Cleaning, gardening and building services
• Small printing office
• Ecologic food
• Cemeteries/graves cleaning
• Recykling and sale of second hand goods

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Networks relationships
LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS
Local authority welfare office
District work offices
NGOs
Businesses
Social Economy Centre
Educational institutions
Inhabitants councils
Social cooperatives
Housing cooperatives
Parishes
SOCIAL ECONOMY LEADERS EDUCATION
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Networks relationships

• Organisations in charge of local development
  development-oriented NGOs (partnerships, civil
  societys development) social entrepreneurs
  social innovators networking lobbying
  organizations promotion
• Transnational learning transfer of best
  practices standards improvement cooperation
  agreements

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Networks relationships

• Networking and international cooperation

Social Economy in Practice
SETEN
IFIPO
BARKA FOUNDATION
FEANTSA
EAPN
EuroMI European Network for Migrants Integration
Schwab Foundation For Outstanding Social
Entrepreneurs
ASHOKA Innovators for the Public
GDN Global Development Network
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Resources

• Human resources (key staff)
• development agents 5
• trainers 50
• guidance and counselling 20
• information officers 20
• financial and legal experts 20
• Financial resources
• public national financial resources
• EU resources
• Own resources
• in-kind donations
• Private resources
• Physical premises
• BUILDINGS (hostels, communities)
• EDUCATIONAL Social Integration Centres, Social
  Economy Centres, conference centres
• ECONOMIC BUILDINGS (rural and urban areas)

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DP Social Economy in Practice

• THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
• Barbara Sadowska
• WE WARMLY INVITE YOU TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE
• www.barka.org.pl
• www.ces.net.pl