THE HAGUE, The Netherlands – Euclid Network (EN), in close collaboration with its partners, released the European Social Enterprise Monitor (ESEM) 2021-2022 Report at ImpactFest on 15 November, 2022.
The ESEM is the first social enterprise monitor on the European level, gathering survey data from social entrepreneurs from across Europe. 2,000 socially and environmentally minded entrepreneurs shared their experiences regarding social entrepreneurship in their respective countries. The ESEM Report provides key insights into national social enterprise ecosystems and into the wider European ecosystems, enabling better understanding of the needs and interests of enterprises in the social and solidarity economy. ESEM closes the gap in social enterprise data and enables evidence-based policy making and creation of tailored support programmes.
“ESEM 2022 meets its mission to “close the gap between social enterprises and EU decision-makers”. This remains a much-needed task to ensure that policy makers recognize social entrepreneurs as a part of the solution and remove the political and legal hurdles in building up a thriving ecosystem of social entrepreneurs.” – Dr. Stefan Empter, Senior Advisor at Bertelsmann Stiftung
The History of the Project
In September 2020, EN and partners launched the first ESEM Survey. Socially and environmentally minded entrepreneurs across Europe had the opportunity to share their experiences which allowed for in-depth insights into their social enterprise ecosystems and shed light on the challenges they face. By designing the ESEM Survey centrally at the European level, whilst always working with local and national partners, the possibility to gain a new perspective on the European social enterprise ecosystem in addition to detailed national insights was unlocked.
The ESEM builds upon the success of past social enterprise monitors in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Through learning from these good practices and working with leaders of social enterprise monitoring and leading academic authorities in its Academic Research Board, the ESEM survey was designed and rolled-out across eight European countries in its first year. Within one year the initiative has expanded significantly and has been adopted by leading SE support organisations (SESOs) and networks, universities and research centres across 21 countries.
Partners
The ESEM project is supported by the European Commission through the ESF+ programme and has received the personal political support of Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights. Our and this report are supported on the European level by Google.org, SAP, Bertelsmann Stiftung, ImpactCity, the World Economic Forum Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs and Schwab Foundation; all providing invaluable contributions to the project with advice, financial and non-financial support.
The project consortium is led by Euclid Network and consists of national social enterprise networks, universities and research centres in 21 European countries. Each country has lead partners: WU Vienna (Austria); Act Grupa (Croatia); Bcause (Bulgaria); Sociale Entreprenører i Danmark (Denmark); Social Enterprise Estonia (Estonia); ESSEC Business School (France); Social Entrepreneurship Network Germany (SEND) (Germany); Coalition of Hungarian Social Enterprises (Hungary); Politecnico di Milano (Italy); Irish Social Enterprise Network and Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland (Ireland); Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia (Latvia); University of Warsaw (Poland); Eslider (Portugal); Smart Kolektiv (Serbia); FUND2740 (Slovenia); ESADE (Spain); Forum for Social Innovation (Sweden); SENS Suisse (Switzerland); Social Enterprise UK (United Kingdom); Social Enterprise NL (The Netherlands); KUSIF, TED University and Turkish Social ENtrepreneurship Network Turkey (Turkey). Universities and research institutes provide invaluable academic support. The full overview of our partners can be seen on the ESEM webpage.
Decision-makers now have the opportunity to set the course for a successful transition into a sustainable economic paradigm. The ESEM provides insights into one of the most important organisational concepts, if not the most important one, that will enable this to be achieved: the social entrepreneurial model.” – Wieteke Dupain, Head of Knowledge, Research & Development and ESEM Lead, Euclid Network
The pool of partners and sponsors is already expanding. The European Social Enterprise Monitor 2023-2024 will be launched in September of 2023, with new countries and country partners expected to join the project. If you are interested in taking part in future ESEMs, you can express your interest by reaching out to the Head of Knowledge, Research and Development at Euclid Network, Wieteke Dupain.
