9 July 2008, Barcelona - Kyiv
– Social
enterprises play an important role in easing hardships for some of the poorest people
in Ukraine, but their potential to boost economic growth remains largely untapped
– according to a new report released today by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the EMES European Research Network.
The
report is entitled Social Enterprise: A new model
for poverty reduction and employment generation. An examination of the concept
and practice in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
It
finds that traditional development initiatives in Ukraine often focus on bolstering
the private sector or the state, while ignoring organizations that combine for-profit
activities with social aims.
“Bridges
must be established among organizations aiming to support social enterprises in
Ukraine,”
said Ben Slay, Director of UNDP’s
Bratislava Regional Centre.
Central Europe and the ex-Soviet states contain severe
pockets of poverty (including among Roma communities, people with disabilities,
and the elderly), characterized by inequality and exclusion from the political
and economic mainstream.
“Social enterprises provide an ideal
framework for addressing unemployment and exclusion from the labour market,” said Professor Jacques Defourny, President of
EMES. In Western Europe social enterprises
have emerged over the last 30 years to play a central role in increasing
employment and bolstering social services, he said.
Social enterprises are private,
autonomous, entrepreneurial organizations providing goods or services with an
explicit aim to benefit the community. They are owned or managed by a group of
citizens, and the material interest of capital investors is subject to limits.
Social enterprises are either prohibited from distributing profits, or are structured
in order to exclude profit as the main goal.
The
report covers 12 post-communist countries and includes an in-depth section devoted
to the social enterprise phenomenon in Ukraine. It finds that social
enterprises in Ukraine
are inadequately regulated, poorly financed, and insufficiently recognized and
appreciated – despite high unemployment, particularly among marginalized
groups.
Barriers
inhibiting social enterprises are numerous. Many people don’t know they exist,
or mistrust them because they are seen as dependent on foreign donors. Legal
systems are underdeveloped – particularly tax regimes that don’t give adequate breaks
to social enterprises. Some donor organizations even overlook them as credible poverty
reduction tools, considering them as relics of the Soviet system.
The
report suggests a number of ways to promote social enterprises in transition
countries. It recommends working to make the legal and political environments
more favourable, holding outreach and advocacy initiatives that engage decision
makers, setting up agencies specifically designed to support social
enterprises, and providing ‘seed money’ and small grants aiming to sustain social
enterprises.
“The
added value of social enterprises stems from their capacity to deal with
crucial economic and social problems at the local level,” the report says.
“Social enterprises are essential in advancing post-communist states towards a
more modern structure in which public agencies and social enterprises carry out
welfare functions in an inclusive and innovate way.”
The
report will be launched in Barcelona
on 9 July at the international conference, “The Third
Sector and Sustainable Social Change: New Frontiers of Research” organized by
the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) and EMES. The event will gather 600 academics,
Ph.D. students, researchers, and practitioners from 58 countries during four
days to discuss some of the most relevant themes pertaining to the third sector
and civil society in general.
UNDP is the UN’s global development network,
advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and
resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166
countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national
development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people
of UNDP and our wide range of partners.
For more info on UNDP: http://www.undp.org
The EMES European Network (www.emes.net) owes its name to its first
research programme, on "the emergence of social enterprises in Europe." The aim of the EMES Network – through its various research programmes –
is to build a theoretical and empirical corpus underlining the unique features
of the European ‘third sector’. Ten established university research centres and nine
individual researchers working in this field have combined their efforts to
gradually build up a European corpus of theoretical and empirical knowledge. For
more information on EMES: http://www.emes.net
To view full version of the report.
For more information, please, contact
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, 254.00.35
09.07.08
