The conferences have shed light on the diverse national characteristics of social enterprise in each country, the opportunities for and challenges to development, and applicability of UK experience in continental Europe.
The first of these conferences was held Ljubljana, Slovenia on March 5. It brought together prominent political leaders, social entrepreneurs and representatives from the private sector, media and intermediary organisations from the UK and Slovenia.
The Ljubljana Conference was informed by a study commissioned by the British Council, a Vision of Social Enterprise in Europe in 2020, which projects that by decades' end social enterprise will achieve scale in Europe through networks, replication and franchising and will grow locally and spread geographically, influencing the practice of government, charities and for-profit businesses.
Participants shared their experiences and formulated recommendations for policy makers on national and European social enterprise strategies. They reflected on the new EU Procurement Rules, announced in Strasbourg in January, which mandate that social and environmental factors be considered when evaluating bids for public service contracts. If adopted, these rules could open a £450 bn per year market for social enterprises in the EU. Analogous to the UK's Social Value Act, these rules would complement the EU's Social Business Initiative (SBI), which aims to support social enterprises as way of boosting employment, tackling entrenched social issues and supporting sustainable economic growth.
In Slovenia, social enterprise is a relatively young concept: the first national forum for social entrepreneurs was only held in 2011. The next few years were quite challenging since there were – and still are – disagreements and misconceptions about the definition of social enterprise. Some Slovenes argue that social enterprises must not generate profits. Others believe that only co-ops are real social enterprises. The debate about definitions has limited public awareness. Meanwhile, the funding environment remains at a nascent stage.
One aim of the Ljubljana conference was to show how social enterprises provide an important, innovative approach to tackling Europe's current economic and social challenges, notably for unemployed youth and other disadvantaged people. The event featured plenary sessions led by government officials, including from Slovenia's ministry of economic development and from the european commission, and it was notable that for the first time, the ministry of economic development recognised that social enterprise can play a valuable role in Slovenia's economic regeneration.
The opening address was made by the UK's charge d'affaires James Hilton who spoke of the opportunities for synergy and partnership. "We know that Slovenia has a strong tradition as a social state, while the UK has experience in social enterprise. It's a winning combination."
The UK speakers also included Stephen Jones of the Scottish Government, Melanie Mills of Social Enterprise UK as well as social entrepreneurs Michael Pyner of Shoreditch Trust, Tommy Hutchinson of i-Genius, Lindsey Hall of the Real Ideas Organisation, and Ted Fowler who oversees economic development at the Bristol City Council. The UK social entrepreneurs emphasised that social enterprise is not only about a good cause, but also about excellence in business and delivery at the highest standards in order to compete with commercial competitors. They also suggested that Slovenia learn from the UK's rich experience while avoiding its mistakes.
Sandra Hlebš of the British Council in Slovenia opened a lively debate about trends and future developments in social enterprise, proposing main headlines of the 'Vision 2020' document. She noted that the plenary discussions and the workshops that followed it revealed a broad consensus on the important role social enterprises can play in local job creation. She added that "social entrepreneurs stress that it is essential to exchange experience and information, and form a system of mentorship which social entrepreneurs in other countries."
The main obstacles to growth in Slovenia, she noted, were lack of information and access to finance as well as the abundance of red tape. All workshop groups formulated recommendations on the further development of social enterprise, which will be submitted to the Slovene Government.
For more details on the conference, see British Council Slovenia's Twitter feed and Facebook event page.
Contact the British Council at social.enterprise@britishcouncil.org
More from the British Council partnerzone:
• Canada draws on UK experience to scale up social investment
• Social Investment in Germany: context and contestation
• Planting the seeds of a social economy in Myanmar
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