EU Policy Seminar on the Usage of Data for Driving Social Entrepreneurship

EU Policy Seminar on the Usage of Data for Driving Social Entrepreneurship

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EU Policy Seminar on the Usage of Data for Driving Social Entrepreneurship
1:30 pm to 5:30 pm
7th July 2015

La Tricoterie, Rue Theodore Verhaegen 158, 1060 Saint Gilles, Brussels
(close to Gare de Midi)

Web-COSI consortium partner, i-genius, will be hosting a European Union Seminar with social entrepreneurs and EU policy makers to explore the findings of Web-COSI data and consultations in order to explore implications for policy.

Web-COSI’s deliverable report on “Better Practice Models for Social Entrepreneurship” will be a key talking point during this seminar.

Attendance by invitation only. Please e-mail to register your interest: team@i-genius.org

 “Social enterprises contribute to smart growth by responding with social innovation to needs that have not yet been met; they create sustainable growth by taking into account their environmental impact and by their long-term vision; they are at the heart of inclusive growth due to their emphasis on people and social cohesion. In other words, their key aim is to effect social and economic transformation which contributes to the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy.”

EU Social Business Initiative (25.10.2011)

Europe2020 strategy is pushing to create a favorable climate for social enterprises recognized as key stakeholders in the social economy and innovation. Social enterprises seek to serve the community’s interest (social, societal, environmental objectives) rather than profit maximization. They often have an innovative nature, through the goods or services they offer, and through the organization or production methods they resort to. As many affect some of society’s most fragile members (socially excluded persons), they contribute to social cohesion, employment and the reduction of inequalities. Two cornerstones of social entrepreneurship are: i) the ever-increasing need for social services, for example in the health and nursing sectors — due not least to the demographic changes arising as a consequence of an increasingly ageing society; ii) the potential of social ventures to increase global competitiveness with new jobs, which are mainly to be found in the ‘green’ and ‘white’ economy.

The seminar – organized within the activities of the EU FP7 Web-COSI project – aims to explore the policy implications that have arisen thus far in the context of data usage for driving social entrepreneurship. Data needs for social entrepreneurs can be considered in different perspectives: i) data on the citizens’ problems and needs to drive the start of the social venture; ii) data to foster the venture on-going; iii) data to evaluate and measure the impact of social ventures; iv) data to measure the overall phenomenon of social entrepreneurship. Web2.0 offers great potential to collect and use data among stakeholders and in giving individuals a voice. Technology lowers the cost of and barriers to listening to individuals and disadvantaged communities. It assists responding to their needs, and aggregating large amounts of data to measure overall effectiveness and shape policy interventions. The seminar aims at exploring digital initiatives set up to foster the interaction between citizens and social entrepreneurs. It will draw from work already undertaken by the Web-COSI project, including the outcomes of a Workshop in London, a Report and mapping exercise, a online survey and preparations being made for a series of focus groups.

Attendance by invitation only. Please e-mail to register your interest: team@i-genius.org

 

DRAFT AGENDA

13.30 – 13.50  Registration

13.50 – 14.00  Welcome and opening address

Dr. Loretta Anania, EC Programme Officer, DG CONNECT

14.00 – 14.20  Web-COSI overview

Donatella Fazio, Web-COSI scientific co-ordinator, Istat

14.20 – 15.00  Needs of social entrepreneurs

Kelly Hutchinson, University of Melbourne
Oswin Baker, Rockpool

15.00 – 15.30  Findings from Web-COSI study

1)     London workshop
2)     Report and mapping exercise
3)     Survey
4)     Focus groups (work in progress)

Tommy Hutchinson Founder & CEO, i-genius

15.30 – 15.50  Break

15.50 – 16.50  Implications for policy makers (round table discussion)

Dr. Loretta Anania, EC Programme Officer, DG CONNECT
Theodoros Karapiperis, STOA – TBC
Kelly Hutchinson, University of Melbourne
Oswin Baker, Rockpool
James Craven, PNO Consultants (representing CHEST project)
Facilitator: Tommy Hutchinson, i-genius

16.50 – 17.00 Conclusions and Closing remarks

17.00  Refreshments

 

Web Communities for Statistics for Social Innovation is a two-year FP7 co-ordination action (Jan 2014 –Dec 2015), funded by the European Commission DG Connect -CAPS projects (https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/caps-projects) which stand at the forefront on  how to measure social innovation and on how to improve its indices. Web-COSI  is coordinated by Istat (the Italian National Institute for Statistics) with the partnership of OECD, Lunaria, and i-Genius. The project  aims to foster the engagement of stake holders and society at large with new measures of societal progress, well-being and sustainability  through online initiatives and public webinar with the participation of Institutional actors (such as National Statistical Institutes, Eurostat, and the JRC) alongside civil society organizations, social entrepreneurs, and society at large.  To massively engage citizens and young people in beyond GDP analytics, Web-COSI has set up a  crowd sourced map of digital initiatives in Europe and in the World, released  a Wiki progress data portal, a youth portal, and a European Wikiprogress University Programme on the global platform  www.wikiprogress.org. Web-COSI envisages the organization of workshops, focus groups, seminars and conferences in Europe and abroad. Web-COSI is showcased at the 5th OECD World Forum on Statistics, Knowledge and Policy in Mexico in October 2015.

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