European Social Economy Congress
San Sebastián / Donostia, 13 and 14 November 2023
SSE Workshop “Non-for-profit social service providers: a crucial social economy actor offering solutions and facing challenges”
The EC has recognised not-for-profit social service providers as being part of the social economy. However, in many cases, we still lack such recognition at national and local level and strive to strengthen our visibility and role in the social economy ecosystem. We also advocate ways that we can be more effectively supported by local and national public authorities and by the Commission, to address the challenges we face and so that we can fulfil our vital role in improving social inclusion and providing high-quality, rights-based, and person-centred care, support, guidance, education, and training services.
For social service providers to be better supported, it means addressing the specific challenges we face at national and local level regarding the:
• social services workforce, the attractiveness of the jobs and careers in the sector and the structures and functioning of social dialogue. Providers across Europe have to find and roll out solutions to ensure effective recruitment and retention policies, to reduce staff shortages and to improve or adapt professional qualifications as well as social and digital skills;
• access to sustainable funding to address increasing investment needs and needs for care, support, guidance, education, and training of vulnerable groups and disadvantaged individuals, including their own service users;
• models of service provision realising person-centred and community-based quality services which respect the human and social rights of their users and aim at increasing their well-being;
• models of trustful cooperation and partnership with governments and public authorities;
• EU-level and national framework conditions for the regulation, organisation, delivery, financing and assessment of social services of general interest, mainly in the fields of state aid, public procurement and taxation.
Objectives:
1) To demonstrate how not-for-profit social service providers are crucial yet humble social economy actors, and to highlight their innovative nature when it comes to responding to crises, and the green and digital transition.
2) To explore the challenges not-for-profit social service providers are facing, and how they are responding to those challenges
3) To discuss how not-for-profit social service providers can be better supported at local and national level, through both EU and national policies.
Consult here the Programme of the workshop and here the presentations:
Presentation Cruz Roja Española