BFSE - A Better Future for the Social Economy Lepsza przyszłość ekonomii społecznej Warsaw, 16 March 2011 Consolidation, mainstreaming & evaluation Toby Johnson AEIDL, Brussels 1

Consolidation 2  Reminder of objectives (LfC call): facilitate mutual learning by identifying good practice contribute to policy development at EU level identify and engage with stakeholders  We have both: a time-limited objective – must be project-managed a permanent capacity-building objective – the process is important  Communities of practice: groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly – Etienne Wenger Ruth Santos, Ecotec, 2005

The value of transnational co-operation according to EQUAL projects 3  better understanding of legal & institutional contexts  better dissemination of innovative results  ability to transfer social innovations  develop true European mindset  establish formal & informal networks Ruth Santos, Ecotec, 2005

BFSE contribution 4  share information, knowledge & skills & bring discussion to broader European level  create new tool to measure added value  validate good practice to implement in OPs  make recommendations on social economy development to Commission, MSs, regions, local authorities Learning networks questionnaire, Mar 11

The process Learning Networks Seminar, June 2010, Brussels 5  Is not command-and-control – relies on shared objectives  Financial procedures should obscure the collaboration on the content  Means peer-to-peer communication – equal status  This requires channels  personal contact and exchange, build up shared understanding, enthusiasm, teamwork  social networking technology was invented for this Socialeconomy.pl + Wikipreneurship

Making meetings interesting Learning Networks Seminar, June 2010, Brussels 6  Inclusive environment (seating patterns etc.)  Break the ice  Use informality – coffee breaks…  Bring in different viewpoints (not only experts!)  Use drama: debate, simulations…  vary the techniques: European Café, Open Space, buzz groups, hot seat discussions, voting on the agenda priority, one-minute pitches…  Get out into the real world – site visits  Document in different formats (photos, video…)

Learning activities in Communities of Practice (Etienne Wenger) Learning Networks Seminar, June 2010, Brussels 7

Policy demand Learning Networks Seminar, June 2010, Brussels 8  Member States  Employment DG  social innovation  CSR  ESF  poverty flagship  Enterprise DG – statutes  Competition – state aid & SSGIs  Internal Market DG  Public procurement  Single Market Act – financial instruments  Social Business Initiative

Mainstreaming Learning Networks Seminar, June 2010, Brussels 9  Reports  Policy briefs  Website  Learning seminar  Final conference

Presenting arguments Policy brief contents  title  problem  relevance – to policy and to people  the solutions that have been tested what made the difference what underlying principles are proven hard facts & figures  lessons learned  policy recommendation 10 Learning Networks Seminar, June 2010, Brussels

Presenting arguments Policy brief 11 Learning Networks Seminar, June 2010, Brussels

Self-evaluation  check funder requirements  allocate time & resources  agree what to evaluate:  relevance – the right objectives?  effectiveness – the right activities?  efficiency – budget well spent?  consider both products & processes  collect evidence  time for mid-term & final cycles? 12 Learning Networks Seminar, June 2010, Brussels

Collecting evidence Types of indicators 13  input or activity indicators costs  output indicators direct effects  result or output indicators consequent changes in behaviour  impact indicators wider socio-economic effects (usually too early to say)

Collecting evidence Collection methods 14  hard evidence = statistics labour market & social statistics on Eurostat press articles previous policy & evaluations number of trainees, hours etc. immediate results  soft evidence = opinion surveys structured interview / call centre / focus group card exercise / exit questionnaire / vox populi online questionnaire omnibus survey

Collecting evidence Relationship among levels of indicators 15