Today, in the framework of the WP5 of the Net-Works project, partners learnt on the topic of EU Policy for networks for WISEs in Europe with two experts: Corine van de Burgt, director of Stichting de Omslag, and Victor Meseguer, Special Commissioner for Social Economy of the Spanish government.

The session was moderated by Chris Gordon, from the Irish Social Enterprise Network.

Corine van de Burgt introduced the Stichting de Omslag, a network of WISEs and social economy actors based in Amsterdam established in 1999, with the main goal to strengthen their voice. During the creation of the network, partners also reinforced the identity of what they were, given that in the Netherlands at that time the concepts of work integration social enterprises were not that clear. In this regard, the fact of having a common goal in advocacy is important for the network.

Regarding EU policies, the Directive of Social Procurement in 2014 was crucial, given that (public) procurement is the basis for the existence of WISEs and their networks.

Furthermore, she highlighted the fact that results for networks may not be immediate. In the case of de Omslag, for instance, it took more than 20 years to achieve some results in terms of advocacy.

Victor Meseguer, Special Commissioner for Social Economy of the Spanish government and former director of Social Economy Europe, agreed on the fact that advocacy takes time for networks.  He considered that recent events, such as the Covid crisis, have provoked a change of paradigm and reinforced social economy, eroding ideologies defending a low intervention of the State in industrial and economic policies. In this regard, social economy is essential for economic resilience, as WISEs engaged with local communities. Yet, networks are essential at all levels, since without advocacy from Social Economy Europe, for instance, the Social Economy Action Plan would not have been possible, or in Spain, Fundacion Once also managed to shape key policies regarding social economy, such as the PERTE (Proyectos Estrategicos para la Recuperacion y la Transformacion Economica). In this regard, he claimed there are two elements to be successful in advocacy: a solid membership and a consistent and convincing narrative.

Both experts also agreed on the fact that networks are excellent facilitators of dialogue, and can provide a better understanding of the sector to the public administration.

Today’s meeting complements the meeting with experts that took place in Budapest in December 2022, about networks creation, developments, and sustainability.