Workshop The role of non-profit organisations in the social economy Sanjin Plakalo, Pour la Solidarité P2P study tour 48861, Brussels, 21 June 2012

Plan 1. Presentation of Pour la Solidarité 2. Brainstorming session with the participants

1. Presentation European think tank Pour la Solidarité

Presentation, mission and goal  PLS: a European non-profit organisation founded in 2002, registered in Brussels, constituted as a think tank, dedicated to promoting solidarity in Europe  Philosophy: understand in order to act, within a context of enhanced mutual cooperation  Mission: giving stakeholders the tools needed to understand the European environment in which they operate  Goal: Provide our partners with the tools needed to anticipate and react effectively to European issues.

5 Topics  Social cohesion: social inclusion, solidarity-based employment policies,…  Social and solidarity economy: social entrepreneurship, liberalisation of SSGI in Europe, household services…  Diversity / CSR: gender equality, youth employment…  Citizenship and participative democracy: organised civil society, citizens’ participation, the role of associations…  Sustainable territorial development: sustainable housing, urban policy, mobility, sustainable health,…

3 areas of activity  Resources Publications: Cahiers de la Solidarité, Working Papers, Newsletter, Blogs Studies / Research  Expertise – Consultancy Training Consultancy  Networking European networking Event organisation

Sources of financing:  EU  Belgium (state, regional and local level)  Private companies  Combined financing Some recent and ongoing projects/activities:  ORA project (ORienter Autrement)  Access to Rights and Civil Dialogue for All  European Observatory of Social Entrepreneurship and of SSE  EC’s consultation on household services in Europe  Working On Reinclusion Know-how in European train stations

2. Brainstorming session with the participants

Objective and tool  Objective: identification of ways to increase the NPO capacities, and to improve the quality of their activities  Tool: brainstorming and SWOT

Analytical elements Social economy, one definition  SE refers to economic activities which produce goods or services, performed mainly by cooperatives and/or for social purposes, by associations, mutual funds or foundations, and whose ethics reflect the following principles:  purpose of service provision to the community or members, rather than purpose of profit  autonomous management  democratic and participatory management  primacy of people and labour over capital in the income distribution.

Analytical elements Principles shared by the SE organisations:  The primacy of the individual and the social objective over capital  Voluntary and open membership  Democratic control through membership  The combination of the interests of members/users and/or the general interest  The defence and application of the principle of solidarity and responsibility  Autonomous management and independence from public authorities  Most of the surpluses are used in pursuit of sustainable development objectives, services of interest to members or to the general interest.

Analytical elements Why does the SE develop?  Need to find new and innovative solutions to social, economical or environmental issues of our societies  Citizens’ needs which have been ignored or inadequately fulfilled by the private or public sectors Impact of the SE organisations:  10% of the EU’s GDP and employment Sectors of the SE:  Cooperatives  Mutual societies  Voluntary / Non-profit organisations (VO/NPO)  Foundations

Analytical elements NPO play an important role in the social economy :  Increasingly numerous  Essential role in almost all fields of social activity (human rights, development policy, environment protection, marginalised groups, cultural activities, youth, sports,..) ⇨ impact in improving the lives of citizens  Jobs creation, GDP, innovation and training (social innovators = tool for active employment policies)  Demonstration of active citizenship and exercise of democracy (contribution in bridging the legitimacy gap between decision makers and citizens)  Help in delivering many key governmental policy objectives (new ways to deliver public services, help in development of inclusive society, help in development of active citizenship,..)  Contribution to the local development social cohesion  Contribution in achieving a more just and equitable society for all

Analytical elements 4 dimensions of NPO organisational capacity:  Leadership capacity: the capacity of organisational leaders to inspire, prioritise, make decisions, provide direction, and innovate  Adaptive capacity: the capacity of a NPO to monitor, assess and respond to internal and external changes  Management capacity: the capacity of a NPO to ensure the effective and efficient use of organisational resources  Operational/Technical capacity: the capacity of a NPO to implement key organisational and programmatic functions.

Analytical elements Organisational capacity assessment elements:  Governance: legal status, board, executive team, mission and goals, beneficiary group, leadership  Human resources: staff, HRD, internal work style, supervision, salaries and benefits  Financial management: accounting, budget, financial control, financial reports  Programmes: programme development, sectoral expertise, beneficiary group involvement, programme monitoring and evaluation, reports  External relations and partnerships: relationship with beneficiary groups / NGO partners / government partners / donors and private sector, public relations, press relations  Sustainability: programme sustainability, institutional sustainability, financial sustainability

Assessment tool SWOT analysis Helpful to achieving the objective Harmful to achieving the objective Internal factors (attributes of the organisation) External factors (attributes of the environment = can have an effect on your organisation and/or on your projects)

SWOT analysis Strengths: -How can I leverage my strengths to benefit my goals? -What are my organisation’s advantages? -What does my org. do better than others? -What makes my org. unique? -What makes our project unique? -What low-cost resources can be used? -Are there any people that bring strengths? Weaknesses: -What factors are seen as weaknesses in your area? -What necessary expertise/ skills do we currently lack? -How can I minimise or eliminate the potential for these to harm me? -What could be improved? -What could be avoided slightly and altogether? Opportunities: -Where are the good opportunities and what are they? -Are there currently any trends in your field that could be built-on or included? -Are there any potential opportunities you know of but are unable to capitalise on due to lack of resources? How could you overcome them and use them to your advantage? -Potential opportunities can notably come from : changes in technology, local or governmental policies, alterations in social patterns, population profiles, lifestyle changes, local growth and development.. Threats: -Evaluate prospective threats and identify potential solutions as well as your ability to overcome them. -What obstacles are evident on a daily basis? On a yearly basis? -What are other org. working in your field doing? -Are any specific areas in your field changing? Will this changes affect us in any way? Or could possibly be changing in the future? Will new developments seriously affect the current plan? -Could any of your weaknesses harm or completely incapacitate your abilities?

Conclusions and recommendations

Thank you ! European Think tank POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ Rue Coenraets Brussels - Belgium