The project aims at establishing and testing a strategy for cooperation between public and private funding for the development of specific local/regional financial tools supporting social enterprises. A model/guideline for cooperation at EU level will be elaborated, involving ethical financing players, representatives of the beneficiaries and public authorities, and it will then be tested at local level in two regions, Puglia in Italy and Västra Götaland in Sweden.

The project will last from September 2014 to September 2015, and it will be developed in 4 phases:

1. Survey phase on existing financial tools for social enterprises

2. Elaboration of EU level memorandum/guideline

3. Two local tests in Italy (Puglia) and Sweden (Västra Götaland)

4. Drafting conclusions and policy recommendations

Expected Results

The project will identify:

• appropriate legal tools and governance models for managing partnership funds;

• technical assistance mechanisms to support the use and functioning of partnership funds;

• appropriate techniques to match the specificity of social enterprises;

• untapped resources at the local/regional level.

• The project will also foster the creation of alliances between potential investors, social enterprises, business development services and public authorities at local/regional level.

The creation of an EU level memorandum/guideline will also allow the replication of the experience (thus creation of other local/regional funds based on the same kind of European framework and same terms of reference) in other regions and cities in different EU member States.

Partners

European level partners

• SEFEA - European Company of Ethical and Alternative Finance (IT)

• FEBEA - European Federation of Ethical and Alternative Banks (BE)

• REVES - European Network of Cities and Regions for the Social Economy (BE)

• DIESIS COOP (BE)

• SOFICATRA (BE)

• ENSIE - European Network of Social Integration Enterprises (BE)

• FAEDEI (ES)

Swedish local partners

• COOMPANION

• CITY OF GOTHENBURG

• BRG -Business Region Göteborg

• Västra Götalandsregionen

• Mikrofonden Vast

• Ekobanken

Italian local partners

• Banca Poplare Etica

• Confcooperative - Unione Regionale di Puglia