Roadmap for Establishment of Collaboration

Today’s social challenges make us rethink the way we commonly address a problem or a need. Solutions should be sustainable, realistic and, more than ever, a joint effort and a collaboration. This is where this roadmap in specific concentrates its efforts – in simplifying and encouraging partnerships in order to make better use of resources, experience and human resources to achieve a more resilient society through their local communities.

‘’Roadmap for Establishment of Collaboration/Partnership between Municipalities and Youth Organizations/Social Enterprises’’ aims to offer supporting documents and instruments to be used in the daily work and to contribute to successful cooperation. It is an action plan in form of a checklist that any organization, municipality or any other stakeholder interested in the topic can use to easily adapt and implement to their situation and support the establishment of partnerships.  

The roadmap comprises the Guidebook that acts as an instruction manual to its use, and 2 templates in the form of checklists. These shall promote and ease the implementation of partnerships from/with Municipalities as well as from Youth Organizations/Enterprises in order to create a more coherent and regular process of collaboration on the local level.

The checklists for establishment of collaboration/partnerships are divided in 3 main steps that essentially highlight: 

  • Step 1: the preparation and analysis process
  • Step 2: the actual establishment of contact with the other party
  • Step 3: the implementation of the agreed partnership and its follow-up

Every step of the checklist includes checkpoints that guide the process. We recommend, for every checkpoint, the user to be as detailed as possible in order to come up with the most accurate partnership proposal.

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

Policy Recommendations for Enhancing Cooperation

The communities of tomorrow are those based on the cooperation among local stakeholders and the people forming them. For communities to thrive, they need to ensure that their people thrive as well and that social welfare is high on their agendas and priorities. Young people are an intrinsic part in this process and through them communities set the foundations for their future and their prosperity. To strengthen this cooperation,  Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia, in cooperation with international partners from four European countries, developed policy recommendations that will help to improve the current situation and achieve mutually successful, sustainable cooperation between municipalities and youth community organisations and social enterprises.

This report summarizes experiences gained and lessons learnt in working with target groups in five countries – Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Portugal and Cyprus. The results show that a number of mechanisms are in place in local communities to ensure successful cooperation and good relations between local authorities, young people, community organisations and social enterprises.

The policy recommendations developed provide guidance that can be used to strengthen and sustain cooperation despite the challenges faced by each local community:

  • An appointed person or group of people within the municipality can oversee all communication with youth organisations and social enterprises and help them prepare necessary information, documentation and other legal obligations in tendering procedures. That person or group of people can also be responsible for clarifying and explaining legal terms and clauses within tendering documents to ensure that all interested parties can fully comprehend the tendering procedures.
  • Granting and funding procedures involving youth organisations and social enterprises could be simplified to avoid unnecessary bureaucracy. This might entail less paperwork to be filled, fewer guarantees to be provided, and minimization of information required.
  • The participation of youth organisations and social enterprises in local decision bodies and high-level discussions, as well as non formal groups for exchange of ideas and opinions, can be safeguarded and sought after, when the issues under discussion concern the youth or the community’s social welfare. Local authorities can provide a series of incentives to youth organisations and social enterprises for ensuring their participation with one of them being providing them with evidence that their voices are heard and their ideas are taken into consideration.
  • Policies can be created to set a number of official Key Performance Indicators to be employed by local authorities in order to account for the impact of projects undertaken by youth organisations and social enterprises. This will lead to the building up of trust to successful projects, services provided by youth organisations and social enterprises and pave the way for future cooperation. These indicators can be the number of young people involved, the overall impact of the project or service, the degree of satisfaction among end users, the number of young people benefiting from the project/service etc. These indicators will also serve for safeguarding the impartiality of the tendering procedures.
  • Municipalities can have an allocated budget for capacity building and informal learning workshops for both municipality employees and young people for exchange of knowledge, good practices, and ideas. Other informal learning events and workshops like hackathons, forums etc can be organised with that budget to ensure that numerous young people and potential entrepreneurs can benefit from them.
  • Municipalities can dedicate an amount of money in their budget for supporting social enterprises or young people in their effort to start their own entrepreneurial ventures. Municipalities can create a competition where the most innovative ideas will be funded based on the available budget.
  • Frequent meetings can be planned between municipalities, youth organizations and/or social enterprises for exchanging ideas, and share their visions for the future, their needs and current problems. This channel of communication could be maintained and scheduled on a regular basis. In this way municipalities will be able to witness the work done by the organizations and have a prove of the quality of their work and understand their real problems and needs.

The report also highlights a number of good practice examples where young people, community organisations and social enterprises are working with local authorities to deliver great initiatives and positive results. These examples for each of the partner countries, as well as a summary of examples, is available in the report.

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

Regional Think Tanks for social entrepreneurship development

REGIONAL THINK TANKS
The social entrepreneurship ecosystem comprises a variety of stakeholders who together create a strong and supportive environment for the development of social enterprises. Strengthening this ecosystem is important as it fosters sustainable and socially impactful entrepreneurship that generates positive impacts for both society and the environment. In order to promote understanding and involvement of all stakeholders in strengthening the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, we bring together in regional think tanks opinion leaders, entrepreneurs, representatives of different organisations and municipalities with the will, opportunity and resources to strengthen and develop social entrepreneurship in the region, as well as social entrepreneurs themselves. The aim of the Think Tanks is to understand the role of each stakeholder and to prepare concrete action plans (actions here and now, not visions of the future) to strengthen and develop social entrepreneurship in each region.

AN ACTION PLAN FOR STAKEHOLDERS
During the workshop, each stakeholder - policy makers, support organisations and social enterprises - developed an action plan for themselves and for other stakeholders for the development of social entrepreneurship with concrete actions. We summarised what was said in the regional think tanks in a common way.

FOR POLICY MAKERS

  • Include social entrepreneurship in current planning documents and follow up their implementation; Prioritise social entrepreneurship in planning documents
  • Smart" financial resources to motivate social enterprises (grants, etc.)
  • Implement socially responsible public procurement
  • Delegation of national/municipal functions and services to social enterprises
  • Information support (campaigns, etc.), Implement marketing activities, Provide information support; Information campaigns on social entrepreneurship in general and on social enterprises.
  • Reducing administrative barriers; Reducing bureaucracy
  • Educating national/municipal staff on social entrepreneurship
  • Allow social enterprises to share part of their profits
  • Encourage changes in legislation - tax policy (reduction of social security contributions); Improvement of tax policy (GST; labour taxes; generally tax rigid); Additional state support - tax incentives and reduction of red tape;
  • Support for employment of target groups; Reduction of labour costs
  • Improving the definition of a social enterprise - could reconsider whether social enterprises can only be LLCs; complicated process and no consensus; Allow associations to be granted social enterprise status.
  • Implement business support programmes
  • Political will

FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

  • Identify the social needs and problems in their territories, define the needs that can be delegated to social enterprises.
  • Identify existing resources to address social problems; Identify available vacant real estate in municipalities and inform about the possibility of using it for social enterprises, Identify infrastructure(s) that can be offered to social enterprises for use; Ensure availability of infrastructure
  • Delegate / transfer municipal functions to social enterprises
  • Inform the public about social entrepreneurship opportunities, organise training
  • Provide social enterprises with funding, tax breaks and various resources for free use
  • Include points on social entrepreneurship in municipal funding competitions;
  • Support programmes in municipalities or grant programmes for social enterprises.
  • Promote social entrepreneurship on municipal channels - websites, social networks, etc.; Promote support and
  • good stories of social enterprises on municipal communication channels
  • Organise training for different social entrepreneurship organisations (both LLCs and associations)
  • Financial support - tax incentives, grants, socially responsible public procurement
  • Organise networking events
  • Practice socially responsible procurement
  • Proactively provide support and necessary information to social enterprises

FOR SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS

  • Include specific support for social enterprises in organisations' strategies
  • Develop closer cooperation with the Latvian Social Entrepreneurship Association and social enterprises - meetings, events; promotion of the LSUA annual pitch competition "TAM LABAM BŪS AUGT"
  • Promote social enterprises and encourage knowledge exchange; Promote good practice examples; Promote social entrepreneurship and social enterprise products on own channels
  • Inviting social enterprises to guest lectures at universities to share experience stories; Organising meetings at LIAA business incubators on social entrepreneurship; ALTUM consultations for social enterprises; Cooperation with business associations - LIAA business incubators, LLKC, Kurzeme NGO Centre
  • Information campaign on social entrepreneurship in a particular region / city by local authorities and partners
  • Promotion of social entrepreneurship - idea creation workshops; Seminar series on opportunities in social entrepreneurship (cross-sectoral cooperation); Educational, informative events for citizens, entrepreneurs, students; Success, experience stories "Social entrepreneurs compass", Social entrepreneurship festival; ZUK; Social entrepreneurship ideas competition; Creation of idea bank; Creation of educational offer package on social entrepreneurshipProvide new knowledge and consultations to social entrepreneurs; Provide consultations, mentors; Organise trainings for social entrepreneurs; Mentor a social entrepreneur for at least 1 year (if there is funding for such activity); Quick consultations by phone - LIAA business incubators, LLKC, Kurzeme NGO Centre;
    Legal advice (if there is funding for this activity); Mentoring sessions
  • Establish/facilitate dialogue between social entrepreneurs and clients
  • Networking - promote exchange of experience of social entrepreneurs abroad; Organise various networking events, e.g. business breakfasts for social entrepreneurs in cooperation with entrepreneurs, local action groups and ALTUM; Organise networking events - partnerships, LIAA business incubators, NGOs; social entrepreneurs matchmaking
  • Take responsibility for the commitments/targets written in the project applications (net turnover growth, job creation, etc.)
  • Support existing enterprises to develop a new social service (by giving these enterprises a separate NACE code in addition to the social activity)
  • Funding for projects to promote and support social entrepreneurship - partnerships, LLKC, ALTUM; project opportunities; Promote the development of social entrepreneurship in project competitions, prioritise it - include it in evaluation criteria, higher intensity of support
  • Implementation of studies

 

FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

  • Cooperation with local authorities; Develop cooperation with local authorities and NGOs
  • Knowledge development; Educate the public and yourself about social entrepreneurship; Encourage others
  • Share experiences; Share your experience and knowledge
  • Build and strengthen community, promote participation; Visit villages; Networking
  • Promote your visibility (need support for marketing activities); Speak up; Use the social enterprise brand (logo "Social Entrepreneur" developed by the Ministry of Welfare)
  • Clearly define your product and service offering; Highlight and communicate your social impact; Achieve and highlight social objectives (more support needed);
  • Develop social entrepreneur DNA - identify societal wellbeing needs; strengthen business model / how to monetize; develop and maintain external image; promote successful businesses and collaboration models; value choices - promote socially responsible choices in society; long-term strategic support needed
  • Develop and promote industry lobbying
  • Be very specific about your needs to both policy makers and support organisations
  • Establish a regional advisory board for social enterprises to facilitate cooperation with local authorities; Continue to pursue its objectives through mutual cooperation in the region
  • Maintain and improve the work skills of people with disabilities
  • Don't forget about profit! 🙂
  • STRUGGLE while resources are not "burnt out"; Continue to be these "amazing people"; KEEP DOING! 🙂
    Pay workers salaries; Raise the prestige of professions (e.g. carer)

BENEFITS & NEXT STEPS

After each of the Think Tanks, we invited the stakeholders to give their assessment of the experience, as well as concrete actions that the participants plan to implement to develop social entrepreneurship in their daily lives, as well as future actions needed.

  • New insights and ideas; Get a feel for the current situation in the sector to draw conclusions on the acute situation; Gain more knowledge on the topic of social entrepreneurship, get ideas for future work and get to know different interest organisations; Become clearer what social entrepreneurship is and what it can bring to society and to the entrepreneur himself; Opportunity to understand how other municipalities are doing in this field
  • Meet people from other sectors than social entrepreneurs; Meet other social entrepreneurs and associations; New contacts, knowledge; Opportunity to meet and talk about topical issues
  • New contacts, concrete plans for future cooperation; Mutual contacts and meetings; Getting to know colleagues in other municipalities; Finding a cooperation partner; Getting to know new social enterprises, discussing cooperation opportunities
  • Overview of stakeholders, perception of the attitude, understanding of state and municipal representatives; what kind of support is available, vision of social entrepreneurs themselves, expectations
  • I realised that I am not the only "crazy one" who is not really making money from social entrepreneurship with the existing conditions to run and develop the organisation
  • I have gained the point of view and perspective of the entrepreneurs themselves, which helps me to better understand what they expect from support institutions and how we can help them; Clearer understanding of what we can do as an institution for the development of social entrepreneurship; I have learned more about what support institutions still provide
  • My benefit was definitely the informal atmosphere on a Friday, on a working weekend, super positive atmosphere, bright, good, determined people! The presentations of the SU tables themselves were very impressive, big, big malachi! So the benefit is that I really learnt a lot of new things, got inspired by the SUs themselves and hats off to you, LSUA, as organisers! You did it, I felt like I was amongst my own people, thank you very, very much and have a great rest of the year!
  • I have a clear task that I plan to implement in the coming year to improve the social enterprise ecosystem.
  • Practical lessons from partners and recommendations for improving social entrepreneurship policy and developing support instruments.
How will you use the action plan developed in the Think Tank?
  • More cooperation with other social enterprises in your region
  • For work purposes, in conversations with entrepreneurs; In our daily work; We will try to incorporate the guidelines into our daily work
  • Where possible, include actions supporting social entrepreneurship in the strategy of the Local Action Group; Evaluate and incorporate into near or distant objectives.
  • Always take into account the actions and proposals developed by the different working groups and plans; Take into account when planning actions to promote social entrepreneurship; Use the action plan in future work, when developing the development strategy; When planning work; Include the action plan in the activities planned by the organisation; Use within the organisation and with the municipality
  • In our own municipality we will continue the 1st step we have just started - meeting our social entrepreneurs, the 2nd step will be visiting them and getting to know each other
  • I will share the information with my colleagues and stimulate a discussion on how to improve the support measures for social entrepreneurship.
  • Activities for implementation, ideas for projects
  • Work in the Interreg Europe project; new project ideas, linking with the RPR Development Programme Action Plan 2021-2027
  • Negotiation with the municipality
  • I will definitely use in the future to strengthen links with business and support institutions.
  • The Action Plan is more useful for broadening the horizon, so to speak, for understanding the SU ecosystem, and that is not a small thing.
What kind of further social entrepreneurship activities would be most useful to you?
  • Outreach to entrepreneurs who would like to follow this path; Outreach on support opportunities - I understand that social entrepreneurs are concerned about a fairly near future in their field; Outreach, practical training
  • Statistics on existing social enterprises, dynamics of registration/ dissolution, use of financial instruments (from Altum) and fulfilment/non-fulfilment of project commitments
  • Regional meetings for social entrepreneurs and stakeholders to strengthen them; Stories from social entrepreneurs' own experiences (positive and negative) to inspire and learn from mistakes
  • Camp
  • Events to educate entrepreneurs in the territory of the Society's activities, organised in cooperation with the Latvian Social Entrepreneurship Association.
  • Stories of social enterprises' experiences and different municipalities' views on the role of social enterprises (support or not and if not, what is missing?)
  • Shadowing events
  • Networking, exchange of experience; Information exchange, networking
  • Meetings with experts who can help with concrete recommendations for the implementation of the action plans of the following think tanks
  • Continue with this format of cross-sectoral think-tanks, as I think that very important issues were raised, it was important to hear the perspectives of the stakeholders, so it is worth continuing with these events in the future
    It is important to exchange experiences beyond the borders of the LV as well, for the representatives of the
  • Ministry, support organisations and social enterprises, in order to understand that we need to spend less resources on standing out and more on investing in the people who do the work
  • All is well and will be well, good luck to you!

 

Regional Think Tanks were held as part of the Ministry of Welfare's Social Entrepreneurship Activity Series "Developing Social Entrepreneurship Together!" funded by the European Social Fund. The diverse activities of the cycle, planned to strengthen and develop the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Latvia, will run until November 2023. They are implemented in cooperation with sector organisations - the Latvian Social Entrepreneurship Association, the associations "New Door", "Reach for Change Latvia" and the social enterprise "Visas Iespējas".

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

The "Constellation of Social Entrepreneurs" stage at LAMPA conversation festival

On 9 and 10 June, we invite you to Cēsis, where the 9th LAMPA Conversation Festival will take place, dedicating for the first time a two-day stage the "Constellation of Social Entrepreneurs" to social entrepreneurship!

"The Constellation of Social Entrepreneurs" offers a diverse and exciting programme with more than 10 different events throughout the festival that will inspire, inform and provide practical knowledge not only about the daily life of social entrepreneurs, but also focus on 3 main themes - social entrepreneurship, inclusive society and innovation in education. The Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia, by involving its members - social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship support organisations - offers an engaging platform to stimulate discussion on the changes social entrepreneurs are making in promoting an inclusive society and innovations in education. In between the events, everyone will have the opportunity to participate in the creative and musical activities of the social enterprise "Zvaigznāja komanda", experiencing the creative platform "Zvaigznāja kubs" (Constellation Cube)*!

We invite you to take a look at the programme of the "Constellation of Social Entrepreneurs" stage and attend the events of your interest:

"Zvaigznājs kubs" is a creative platform for the social enterprise "Zvaigznājs", which will give everyone the opportunity to try out their talents all day long - it is an interesting, intriguing physical place that allows you to explore musical instruments, the process of writing music and bring your creative potential to life. Through the platform, the company is pursuing a social goal of empowering children and young people in the regions - 23 free music education events were held across Latvia in the summer of 2022.

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

ESI Student Innovation Program invites you to participate in a webinar about women in tech hosted by FIXAR

ESI Student Innovation Program invites you to participate in a webinar about women in tech hosted by FIXAR ESI Student Innovation Program of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga invites you to participate in an online webinar on June 8 at 17.00. The seminar will be led by Karina Limora, Senior Demo Engineer at FIXAR, a Latvian team member of FAI Drone Racing (F9U) and a Latvian team member for FAI Space Model. 

Webinar topic: Women in Tech: From Pastry Chef to UAV Demo-engineer.

Karina Limora, a Senior Demo Engineer at FIXAR, will share her inspiring story. Karina finished school as a pastry chef, while her hobby was teaching kids aero modeling and building spaceships. Now, working with UAVs is her full-time job. Karina’s story shows that, with passion, it is possible to achieve any goal. Now she wants to encourage other women to dream big and work in the tech industry.

FIXAR is a leading software and aircraft design developer, powering commercial autonomous UAVs for industrial applications. Karina will share the daily challenges of working in a fast-paced deep-tech startup. FIXAR was founded in 2018 by Vasilijs Fainveits in Latvia, the company was established in 2019 using a startup visa. Currently, a little over 30 people work in Latvia. FIXAR sells its products in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Japan, Brazil, Canada and the US. One of the most well-known products is FIXAR 007– a drone that is autonomous and can fly up to 1 hour without additional battery charging.

The webinar will be held in English and take place online (a link will be shared with each participant shortly before the event). This seminar will be inspiring for anyone who wants to start a career in a deep-tech startup and gain new professional connections. Join this webinar to learn the full story.
You have to register here: https://forms.gle/JW6egawDEiS3GdSw5.

The ESI program is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, SEB and RIMI. Project number: 1.1.1.3/21/A/008.a.

ESI is supported by: The ESI program is jointly implemented by several representatives of education and industry – Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvian Academy of Arts, Riga Graduate School of Law, Rezekne Academy of Technology, consulting company Civitta Latvia and industry partners (Latvian Social Entrepreneurship Association, Zero Waste Latvia, Techhub, Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia, Rezekne Business Association, Latvian Electrical and Electronics Industry Association). More information about the ESI Student Innovation Program and application for other events:

Website: https://esi-startup.lv/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ESIdrosmigs
LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/esidrosmigs
E-mail:

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

5 useful steps to create cooperations between local governments and community organisations

Successful cooperation and the creation of meaningful synergies between local authorities and community organisations is an effective way to improve the quality of life and well-being of local people, while creating new opportunities in the area.

By exploring good practices in several European countries – Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Portugal and Cyprus – and examining examples that should be avoided, various actions and steps for developing an effective approach to cooperation are summarised in the report “Tools for enhancing cooperation between local governments and community-based youth organisations“. Benefits of strong collaborative practices between local government municipalities and non-governmental organisations are manyfold and well-recognised, and should benefit all involved parties, including community organisations, municipalities, and intermediate organisations.

The report starts by describing the results of a needs analysis to help understand the challenges and needs related to building cooperation between community-based organisations working with young people or aiming to improve young people’s lives and local authorities. Next, the steps to develop a shared vision when forming a partnership are identified. 

Five steps to help build meaningful and sustainable cooperations:

  1. Define and articulate a common outcome
  2. Establish mutually reinforcing or joint strategies
  3. Agree on roles and responsibilities 
  4. Establish compatible policies, procedures and other means to operate across organisational boundaries
  5. Develop mechanisms to monitor, evaluate, and report on results.

Furthermore, local authorities can support NGOs and local social enterprises through financial relationships: funding, grants and subsidies or even through service contracts (public procurement), but also by providing government resources, consulting and other creative ways of cooperation. The report examines the following legal forms of cooperation:

  1. Public procurement of services 
  2. The municipality provides space and resources
  3. Project funding 

For each of these steps and types of cooperation explanations, suggestions and useful resources to help to prepare for cooperation, as well as examples of partnerships between different organisations are offered.

At the end of the report, potential issues in forming a partnership are discussed, and how to avoid them so that the experience of working together is a positive one for all parties involved.

Read more about cooperation between local authorities and community-based organisations HERE.

 

The above mentioned outputs were created in the context of the project “Enhancing youth capacity in municipalities and encouraging mutual cooperation using social entrepreneurship as a tool, LOCAL-Y-MPACT” The objective of the project “LOCAL-Y-MPACT” is to strengthen the cooperation between community based youth organisations and social enterprises and local municipalities, and promoting social entrepreneurship as an effective tool for reducing economic inequality, promoting social inclusion and integration, creating resilient society and fostering active participation within local communities.

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

Four Latvians make it to Europe's Top 100 Women in Social Entrepreneurship!

For the third time, Euclid Network (the European Social Entrepreneurship Network), which brings together 100 000 organisations in 21 countries, has created a European-wide top list of women in social entrepreneurship. This year, four women from Latvia are among the 100 European leaders in social entrepreneurship!

From over 900 nominations, the jury selected 100 women with outstanding leadership skills and a commitment to do more, inspiring other women to reach their potential in social entrepreneurship by their example. The women nominated have successfully implemented social projects with a positive social impact on a wide range of scales, contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The prestigious list from Latvia includes Regita Zeiļa, Director of Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia, Agnese Frīdenberga, Main Researcher at the Centre for Public Policy "PROVIDUS", Diāna Lapkis, founder and CEO of social entrepreneurship accelerator NEW DOOR, and Inga Muižniece, founder and CEO of social enterprise - call centre "Sonido", who has been included in the list repeatedly.

Regita Zeiļa, Director of Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia, has been working in the social entrepreneurship sector since 2017, since then she has established a network of social entrepreneurship ambassadors, conducted research in 2019 that resulted in a database of potential social entrepreneurs in 10 Latvian municipalities, and in 2020, at just 24 years of age, she became the director of association. In 2022, her active work in advocacy for social enterprises resulted in the inclusion of social entrepreneurship development in the government declaration, making it a national priority.

Agnese Frīdenberga, together with the PROVIDUS team, initiated research on social entrepreneurship by conducting the study "Latvia on the Road to Social Entrepreneurship" in 2012. In the following years, she was involved in the founding of the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia, the development of the Social Enterprise Law, and is currently active in the Council of the Latvian Social Entrepreneurship Association, the Social Enterprise Commission of the Ministry of Welfare, researching the role of socially responsible public procurement and informing about its opportunities.

Diana Lapkis is co-founder and CEO of the international social entrepreneurship and innovation platform New Door and the first social entrepreneurship accelerator in the Baltic States. She is also an active consultant in the fields of social entrepreneurship, social innovation and corporate social responsibility, as well as a mentor for social entrepreneurs and a member of the Social Enterprise Commission of the Ministry of Welfare.

Inga Muižniece is the owner of work integration social enterprise "Sonido" and creates job opportunities for people with disabilities. In addition to her commercial activities, Inga Muižniece has also launched an unusual social project "Let's Talk" - a telephone line for people suffering from loneliness. It is a story of a step closer to an inclusive society and work integration, which has also been recognised with the "Disabled People of the Year Award 2020" in the category "Promoter of Employment". Sonido's social project "Let's Talk" was created in autumn 2018 to give people who feel lonely the opportunity to call someone and be listened to. Since then, the 26564564 line has received almost 21 000 calls.

The European Top 100 is designed to celebrate women in social entrepreneurship. These are challenging times, not only in Latvia but also around the world, and it is often women who offer innovative approaches to solving societal problems, including and not forgetting the interests of different groups in society.

See the full list here: https://euclidnetwork.eu/2022/03/top-100-women-in-social-enterprise-2022/

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

Social Economy Actors for New European Bauhaus (SEA4NEB)

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is an environmental, economic, and cultural project, launched by the European Commission in October 2020, that aims to combine design, sustainability, accessibility, affordability, and investment in order to help deliver the European Green Deal and connect it to our living spaces. The NEB then proposes to be an interdisciplinary project, acting as a bridge between the world of science and technology and the world of art and culture, and re-thinking the opportunities green and digital challenges could bring to our lives.

Partners from three European countries have collaborated to create a project ‘SEA4NEB’ that addresses the specific theme: Social transformation through New European Bauhaus. Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs) can play a crucial role within the New Bauhaus Initiative, since they seem to be appropriate for regenerating abandoned spaces, with an inclusive, green and local community development approach. SEEs have already proven to be resilient and capable to play a crucial role in recovering from economic crises, especially when they operate in an enabling ecosystem driven by supportive public authorities. 

The project ‘SEA4NEB’ aims at promoting social economy models to contribute to the New EU Bauhaus and at how they can foster spatial and sectorial clusters, taking an ecological approach to cultural cooperation and territorial development with local authorities. It focuses on good practices of “SE NEBs”, which are territories regenerated according to NEB principles by or with a strong intervention of SE actors and local authorities. The whole methodology of the project is based on a strong partnership at local level between the local authority and the SE actor, while Diesis Network will act as transnational facilitator and coordinator. The social economy missions will be organised using the methodology of the peer review.

The partnership: 

The outputs of the project will be:

  • 6 case studies and 3 peer reviews background paper and final reports
  • 3 local action plans
  • 1 set of strategic recommendations for replication
  • 1 set of EU level recommendation
  • 1 on-line platform

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

Ministry of Welfare announces applications for social entrepreneurship support programmes

From 5 to 30 January, the Ministry of Welfare is announcing applications for social entrepreneurship acceleration and incubation programmes. Both programmes are free and open to social enterprises and social entrepreneurship idea authors.

The acceleration programme is run by New Door and is aimed at social entrepreneurship idea authors - individuals and legal persons who have an idea for social entrepreneurship or are currently implementing a social project and would like to turn it into a sustainable, profitable business. The Social Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme will provide knowledge and personalised expert support to aspiring social entrepreneurs on their journey from idea to sustainable business plan, while fostering participants' personal growth and understanding of entrepreneurship. Three months of intensive training from February to May will help to take you from an idea to a real business development plan and its implementation. The programme will accommodate 10 to 15 participants and is open to individuals or teams of up to three.

Anyone interested can find out more about the acceleration programme at an open day on 17 January at 18.00 in person at the Oracule Tang co-working space, Doma laukums 2, Riga, and online at the Ministry of Welfare's Facebook account.

The incubation programme is implemented by "Reach for Change Latvia" and is intended for existing social enterprises that have obtained the status of a social enterprise and wish to strengthen their capacity and receive support for business development. The eight-month programme will run from March to October and will be an opportunity to improve your skills and increase your knowledge in areas such as effective solution development, financial sustainability, leadership, team building, learn how to increase your income and find new opportunities and contacts for business development under the guidance of various experts. The incubation programme will welcome five to eight participants and the selection process will take place in three rounds.

More information about each ativity and application forms can be found here: www.sua.lv/kopa

The acceleration and incubation programmes are part of the Ministry of Welfare's Social Entrepreneurship Activity Series "Developing Social Entrepreneurship Together!", funded by the European Social Fund. The cycle's diverse activities, planned to strengthen and develop the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Latvia, will run until November 2023. They are implemented in cooperation with sector organisations - the Latvian Social Entrepreneurship Association, the associations "New Door", "Reach for Change Latvia" and the social enterprise "Visas Iespējas".

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija

Touristic catalogue of social enterprises in Georgia

Social entrepreneurs are very diverse and their involvement in the tourism sector is a step towards a more inclusive environment and accessibility. Recent tourism trends also show that tourists prefer to experience local culture, traditions, seek interesting offers, sustainable solutions and buy products and services that have a positive social impact, as well as support local businesses and communities.

Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia in cooperation with the Social Enterprise Alliance (SEA) and the Regional Sustainable Development Institute (RSDI) of Georgia created a touristic catalogue of social enterprises in Georgia.

The Catalogue presents a number of tourist itineraries with the destination of various social enterprises in Georgia. The catalogue uncovers more than ten social enterprises in Georgia, explains their work and social purpose, and explores the services and products they offer. It is designed in such a way that when planning a trip to Georgia, you can plan to visit social enterprises in different regions of Georgia. The social enterprises included in the catalogue are the ones offering their products, various workshops and delicious meals:

  • Ikorta, a social enterprise, makes jewellery and provides job opportunities for women who had to leave their homes and relocate as a result of the war.
  • Tsnuli, a social enterprise, employs and integrates people with disabilities in a woodworking and design weaving workshop. 
  • Nukriani Workshops, a social enterprise, offers various workshops, gifts and corporate souvenirs and provides training and job opportunities for local women to promote employment and economic development in the region.  
  • Temi is an organisation that works with organic farming, offers wine tasting, aims to provide shelter for socially vulnerable people, create a family environment, employment opportunities and improve their job skills.
  • Alaverdi Blue, a social enterprise, develops sustainable rural tourism, offering accommodation, cheese tasting and traditional dishes. The social objective of the company is to provide opportunities for economic activity for socially disadvantaged people.
  • Social Enterprise Babale creates decorative and functional objects from wood, ceramics and textiles, each of which is a distinctive, unique handcraft. The mission of the social enterprise is to provide independent living for people with Down syndrome through employment and vocational skills development.
  • Social enterprise Potteria preserves and promotes traditional Georgian craft working methods, contributing to the reintegration of women with criminal backgrounds into society.
  • Social enterprise Kodala creates wooden toys and souvenirs and employs people with disabilities. 
  • Social cafes Mziuri, Cafune, Knowledge Cafe, Eight +1, Mego Bar and
  • ESKI social entrepreneurship concept store selling goods from social enterprises.

The opportunities for social entrepreneurs to get involved in the tourism sector were studied within the project “Social Entrepreneurs in Tourism”, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia. The project looked at social entrepreneurs in Latvia and Georgia who are already active in the tourism sector and those who would like to get involved. During the project social entrepreneurs received various consultations to develop and communicate attractive offers. Partner organisation in Georgia developed a tourist itinerary targeting social enterprises, while Latvian social enterprises visited Georgia, tested the itineraries and made suggestions and recommendations to their colleagues on how to improve their offers.

by Latvijas Sociālās uzņēmējdarbības asociācija