BREED, Building   community   REsiliencE   and   sustainable Development through social economy, is a two years Single Market Programme project which is composed of a transnational consortium of local public administrations, social economy organisations and stakeholders from Italy (Alcamo), Spain (Alzira), Greece (Katerini), Portugal (Paredes), Belgium (Brussels). The project targets internal urban contexts that are currently facing social, economic and health challenges as consequences of the COVID-19 crisis.

The project aims to develop and increase sustainable and social local development based on the principles of the social economy. BREED will support the creation and the development of local social economy eco-systems and also social economy strategies, actions plans and recommendations.  

Objectives:

• To increase the capacity of local communities to foster social change and sustainable development through social economy
• To strengthen the capacity and resilience of local public administration, social organisations and civil society in order to boost innovative community development models based on social economy

Target groups:

• Representatives and managers from social cooperatives, social SMEs, NGOs, not for profit associations, other social economy stakeholders from both public and private sector engaged in social inclusion, education, culture, arts, sports & community development in general
• Policy makers and managers from local public administrations engaged in the field of social economy and community development in general

The final beneficiaries are vulnerable individuals and group in the local communities.

Outputs:

• Mapping of social community challenges, needs and characteristics of the social eco-system in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain
• Transnational and inter-regional peer-learning to improve business environment and to support sustainable business models
• Development of innovative community social action plans with the cooperation of local public authorities, social economy stakeholders, etc.
• Key recommendations including guidelines on how to develop a generative community social action plan and highlighting community best practices

ENSIE  is  responsible  for  leading  WP2 Identification, transnational peer learning and  capacity-building on community practices based on social economy.

BREED will last 24 months from May 2022 to April 2024.

This is a project co-funded by the European Union through the Single Market Programme.

Find more information on BREED's social media accounts:

• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Instagram

The project consortium is composed of  6 partners based in 5 EU countries representing mainly local public authorities (municipalities):

• ENSIE
• Foundation Comunitaria di Agrigento e Trapani
• Municipality of Katerini (EL)
• Commonwealth of municipalities of Ribera Alta (ES)
• Municipality of Paredes (PT)
• Municipality of Alcamo (IT)

In the framework of the WP2 "Identification, transnational peer learning and capacity building on community practices based on social economy", a report entitled "Data collection & analysis for preliminary reference contexts analysis" has recently been published. This report mainly aims to provide a context of communities with a specific focus on their needs, challenges and obstacles that the public and private sector may face in promoting and developing the social economy in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. In this report, you will find an overview of the situation at local and regional level for key issues such as knowledge of the social economy, the sector of activity, networking, human and financial resources, public support, and partnership of the private and public sectors. 

Here you will find the whole process of the organisation of the transnational social missions but also the output from them.

The "Compendium of Guidelines for the Development of Social Action Plans" offers a unified framework for crafting social action plans tailored to each community's context. It serves as the foundation for the "Development of Social Economy Local Action Plans" in target communities. These guidelines facilitate collaboration among public administrations, social enterprises, SMEs, and stakeholders, fostering robust public-private governance and multi-stakeholder engagement. The document outlines various initiatives to enhance networking, partnership development, human resources, public support, awareness raising, and sustainability within local communities. Each community will use these guidelines to create its own social action plan, addressing local contexts, issues, needs, and challenges. These plans will align stakeholders around a common vision and strategies to bolster the social economy, promoting resilience, inclusivity, environmental sustainability, and green development within BREED project communities.

These guidelines provide practical guidance and best practices for leveraging social economy principles to address social challenges and promote inclusive, sustainable development. These guidelines are designed for local authorities, community organisations, civil society actors and other stakeholders interested in driving positive change at the grassroots level.

These translational social missions, made in the framework of the WP2, involve social economy stakeholders and local authorities to share community practices on policies, regulatory framework, governance, success stories and strategies. The final objective is to develop regenerated community business models, strategies and plans based on social economy, public-private governance, and multi-stakeholders’ engagement to strengthen the collaboration capacity and resilience of local public administrations, social economy organisations and civil society.

You can find the minutes and the Powerpoint presentations of the five transnational social missions here below. 

BREED periodically issues a newsletter to inform about the project's progresses and upcoming activities, both at the European level and in the partners' regions and municipalities.