Our Outputs

• Urban N.O.S.E. Thematic Paper upon the state of art after the final meeting
• Urban N.O.S.E. Guidance Note upon the production of the project Final Report
• Urban N.O.S.E. NUMBERS Compendium
• Urban N.O.S.E. Case Studies Compendium
• Urban N.O.S.E. L.A.P.s Compendium
• LAP Format Guidance Note and Self-assessment Checklist
• LAP Timetable Format
• Urban N.O.S.E. Local Action Plans template
• Urban N.O.S.E. Management Template for LAP's Dissemination
• Urban N.O.S.E. ETHICONOMY
• Guidance note and Rules for UNOSE Award
• Urban N.O.S.E. Award Application Form Template
• Gela Final Conference Report
• Introductory Paper Urban N.O.S.E. Final Conference
• Gela Regional Conference Report
• Article "The cities of the Urban N.O.S.E. thematic network dealing with the multiple smart opportunities offered by the social economy ..."
• Article "Social Enterprise Incubators helping EU cities to simultaneously achieve innovative jobs, social inclusion and green growth"
• 5th Thematic Conference [Xativa]: Building a Model for Social Incubators Sustainability
• 4th Thematic Conference [Grenoble]: Animating and Sensitising the Territory  upon the Social Economy
• Agrinion Regional Conference Report on the regional strategic role of a social incubator
• Athienou Regional Conference Report on Creation, organisation and operation that aims to a viable local growth
• Pori Regional Conference Report on importance of solid support mechanisms and the political awareness
• 3rd Thematic Conference [Koropi]: The State of the Art about building a System of Tools & Methods for the Supply of Social Services
• 2nd Thematic Conference [Brighton and Hove]: The State of the Art about management of knowledge and learning processes in urban social economy
• 1st Thematic Conference [Alcobaça]: The state of the Art about the Governance system supporting the social economy
• Baseline Study

 

Read and deepen the state of art of the UNOSE thematic network through an updating on the social economy situation in the partner cities, a special focus on the added value generated by the project, a description of the LAPs’ contents and a series of recommendations from the partner cities to policy makers.

Download file

 

Here you can find guidelines and suggestions about the Final Report’s strategy and objectives, the recipients of the actions of communication, the advertising requirements, strategic chapters and format of this kind of planned document.

Download file

 

On 16th June 2011 were published the Urban N.O.S.E. NUMBERS Compendium

Here you will find all the numbers dealing with the implementation of the Urban NOSE thematic network: from stakeholders to case studies, from field visits to press articles and videos, from meetings to dissemination competitions gained, you will discover how many actors and actions have been involved and achieved by a three-years long transnational network.

Click on Download file for details.

Download file

 
The case studies here reported refer to practices, actions, experiences made at city scale to promote the vision of Social Economy Incubators going beyond the simply providing sheltered workspace. Indeed, an European network of Social Incubators would constitute a real innovation, in terms of methodology and policy tools, at all levels: it could gather smart new jobs and businesses mixing social, green, creative and knowledge economies‟ fresher ideas and their operational proposals. And each of the presented case studies reproduce differences, but also similarities, in the way to conceive actors, actions and resources implicated. But all of them creating tools for specialising urban areas in social economy; developing a “community of practices on social economy”; recognising municipalities their leading role; building up a new participatory governance model of social policies able to meet emerging urban needs, and strengthening and promoting the role of Social Enterprise Incubators as important part of a strategy to address cyclic crises.

The case studies here reported are subdivided in four main sections:

Section 1 - Supporting and accompanying social enterprises: examples of social economy incubators
Section 2 - Long-lasting social strategies for sustainable economic development of cities
Section 3 - Cities as motors of development feeding gardens: green and healthy social enterprises
Section 4 - Social enterprises favouring concrete help to integration and job insertion

Download file

  On 21st May 2011 were published the Urban N.O.S.E. L.A.P.s Compendium

The Local Action Plans here reported are the result of the three-years exchange of practices, actions, models, experiences made at city scale to promote the vision of Social Economy Incubators going beyond the simply providing sheltered workspace.

Indeed, an European network of Social Incubators would constitute a real innovation, in terms of methodology and policy tools, at all levels: it could gather smart new jobs and businesses mixing social, green, creative and knowledge economies‘ fresher ideas and their operational proposals. And each of the presented LAPs reproduce differences, but also similarities, in the way to conceive urban strategies, actions, timing, resources and outputs. However all of them conceived as strategic tools for specialising urban areas in social economy; developing a ―community of practices on social economy‖; recognising municipalities their leading role; building up a new participatory governance model of social policies able to meet emerging urban needs, and strengthening and promoting the role of Social Enterprise Incubators as important part of a strategy to address cyclic crises.

The LAPs you will see in the following pages are seven upon nine, as two of them, the one from Brighton & Hove (UK) and the one from Xativa (ES) are at the moment in the form of draft or still pending on translation services: you can find a very brief abstract of both into the appendix. Anyway, all the presented LAPs have, at their end page, a little table with references, contact persons, addresses and websites, that may be useful to those who have desire to deepen and learn more about the chosen LAP. Hoping that these LAPs may be forerunners of suggestion and stimulation for those who want to foster or design a city social strategy where the role and potential offered by the social economy incubators is conceived as the central pillar of the integrated and sustainable planning of the related cities.

Download file

 

Very important tool to draw up al Local Action Plan, with specifications on its purpose, precise format explications, and a final checklist for a self-assessment of the LAP.

Download file

 

To be considered as an annex to the LAP Format Guidance Note, puts in evidence a template of timetable useful for the redaction of a LAP.

Download file

 

This document gives a very first introduction on how to produce a Local Action Plan, with specifications on its purpose and methodology and a series of templates facilitating its redaction. Along with a logical framework table useful for action planning, there are also practical suggestions and tables on how to summarise a LAP.

Download file

 

Here you can find practical instructions on how to create a communication plan of your LAP, starting from the communication plan’s strategy and objectives, recipients and audience, advertising requirements, strategic issues of communication, expected quantity of communication actions and tools, timing and volume of communication and other useful tips for dissemination.

Download file

 
According to the Urban N.O.S.E. project contents, along with the Final Conference to be held in Gela on 8th April 2011 during the morning, a final event was also organised in Gela gathering actors of Social Economy from the territory, and from the other European cities. During this event called "Ethiconomy", each Urban NOSE partner has presented a total of five Social Enterprises, which have lead an exemplary activity in the Social Economy sector and which competed among them for conquering the Urban NOSE Award.

In order to assign the Urban NOSE Award, each partner had previously decided upon eligibility criteria, starting from the decisions taken in Steering Committee Meeting (SCM) during the fifth thematic conference of Xativa (December 2010), thus allowing to select best examples and the winners of the transnational competition.

After debating, the SCM decided:

• To put % of weight to each one of the eligibility criteria.
• Making the average calculation among each delegations‟ weight suggestions.
• The results of the average would have been common for all the partners, but each partner could evaluate the rest of questions in a free way, regarding the different local peculiarities and circumstances (economic issues, social problems, etc.) in each country and city. In any case, the social enterprises chosen by each delegation had to present a little report (max 2 pages) explaining the reasons of the election.

The results of the average process were finally the following ones:

• Social Impact: 27%
• Economic Impact: 22%
• Environmental Impact: 11%
• Governance: 08%
• Sustainability: 17%
• Development: 15%.

To win the Award, each partner city was asked to shortlist from 3 to 5 social enterprises, and then to choose from one up to two winners, according to the eligibility criteria shown here above, to represent each partner city at the Urban NOSE Award. At the end of this selection process, a total of five social enterprises was presented in Gela to the “Ethiconomy” event:

• TYKE Ltd (Pori, FI);
• The Big Lemon CIC (Brighton, UK)
• ARCI “Le Nuvole” Association (Gela, IT)
• Sataosaajat Work Coop (Pori, FI) 
• Gelambiente Social Coop (Gela, IT)

After that all the five social enterprises gave their presentation to the European judging panel, each one of the jury members gave a score to each one of the five businesses, having at disposal a total of 15 points, to be assigned in a decreasing order from 5 (the best) and then 4, 3, 2, up to 1 (the worst) points: by adding the total score collected by each social enterprise, the common jury duly picked the Big Lemon as the outright winner at the first place of the list, followed by Sataosaajat at the second place, Gelambiente at the third place, TYKE Ltd at the fourth place and ARCI “Le Nuvole” at the fifth place.

The announcement of the winners was given by Mr. Jean-Loup Drubigny and, during the night event, the Mayor of Gela, Mr. Angelo Fasulo, personally handed the award plaques to the top three social enterprise representatives.


The Big Lemon was chosen as first one, as it is a so well working model of a local social enterprise, has built up a high profile in its area in a short time and has both important social and environmental goals.

Sataosaajat was chosen as second one, as a concrete example of social enterprise able to face cyclic crises by favouring job inclusion and re-insertion at every age, along with a positive local networking.

Gelambiente was chosen as third one, due to the very good model of PPP (public-private partnership) implemented, the way to use sport activities to tackle social problems affecting children and teen-agers and, above all, the clever engagement towards the environment.

So, The Big Lemon, the Independent Bus Company from Brighton & Hove scooped a European Urban Network of Social Enterprises Award for Best Social Enterprise, resulted from an EU exchange and learning programme promoting sustainable urban development with 9 partner cities from 8 different parts of the EU (UK, Greece, Cyprus, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Finland).
Tom Druitt, the Managing Director of Big Lemon said, “We're all delighted The Big Lemon has won the EU’s award for Best Social Enterprise. It's a huge honour and gives us renewed energy to make this project work well. Over the last few months the level of support we have received from the public has been unprecedented, and with international recognition now too it's clear that this is something we must cherish and nurture for the future”.

Download file

 

Let’s have a special look at a so detailed document, explaining both the philosophy and the regulation at the base of the UNOSE Award and the related Ethiconomy event, dedicated to exemplary social businesses.

Download file

 

Specific tool useful to apply for the UNOSE Award competition, it allows applicants to make a self-evaluation of their total scoring by making reference to the reported and weighted criteria: social, economic and environmental impacts, system of governance, potential for sustainability and development capacity of a social enterprise.

Download file

 

Have an in-depth look to what the Urban NOSE partner cities have highlighted during the last event at their disposal to meet together: you will discover so inspiring proposals and recommendations for politicians emerging from the practice of cities daily tackling the social economy matters.

Download file

 

A very useful introduction to the five main macro-themes tackled by the UNOSE network with brief guidelines for the partner cities’ presentations at the conference.

Download file

 

Special focus on the UNOSE experience made by Gela and its will to spread it among its neighbouring cities, with the privileged opinions of experts and representatives from the Lead partner’s ULSG members.

Download file

 
In this section you can download the article entitled  "The cities of the Urban N.O.S.E. thematic network dealing with the multiple smart opportunities offered by the social economy; many of them, seriously contributing to the recovery against cyclic crises", written by Sergio Campanella.


In this article, you will see as the impact of the crisis has divided experts between optimists and pessimists: but, as ever, the truth lies in the middle! In the following pages you will see, along with the numerous and worthy contaminations between social, creative, innovative, green and soft economies’ principles, also how the cities belonging to the URBACT II thematic network named “Urban N.O.S.E.” are organising their territories in order to give concrete responses to a global problem affecting the heart of local development in so many and different urban contexts.

Download file

 
In this section you can download the article entitled  "Social Enterprise Incubators helping EU cities to simultaneously achieve innovative jobs, social inclusion and green growth", written by Sergio Campanella.

This article presents  the essential steps to be taken, along with barriers to be overcome, in order to reach ambitious but necessary goals able to combating poverty, protecting environment and favouring stronger inclusion in our cities.

Download file

 

The general subject of the Fifth Thematic Conference of URBAN N.O.S.E. is "Building a Model for Social Incubators Sustainability", presents two main sub-­themes:

Issue a)
Selecting and developing governance goals for social incubators, with the following cues for discussion:

• Promote a permanent participatory process
• Favour awareness and acquisition of new skills
• Creating tools to improve management of enterprise and access to credit
• To implement networks supporting social business and SME
• Promote the value of micro-credit
• Disseminate good practice at international level

Issue b)
Applying Management Systems to Social Incubators for Business Continuity and Social Enterprise Governance, with the following cues for discussion:

• Choosing the most appropriate management systems for social incubators
• Business continuity as the news quality for social incubators
• Implementing the management system which has been chosen for your social incubator
• The role of best practices for the management of social incubators
• Competitive advantage as a ‘full part’ of the social incubator management system
• Competitive ‘case analysis’ to updating your sustainability model
• Achievements, threats, and opportunities for experimentation

Download file

 

Attendance to the event

The Grenoble event has been attended by all the partner cities representatives, with the exception of the Portuguese delegation, as the city of Alcobaça justified its absence, as well as for the unique equivalent public body being project partner, the ASI Consortium (Industrial Development Area) of Gela.

Other participants were the Lead expert, the LSG spokesmen of Grenoble (France), Athienou (Cyprus), Pori (Finland), Xàtiva (Spain) and Brighton & Hove (United Kingdom), as well as the Deputy Mayor of Gela and Grenoble, the Mayor of Koropi and the Deputy Lady Mayor of Brighton & Hove as involved politicians, along with many other decision- makers, public officers, practitioners, university professors and other technicians of national, regional and municipal levels invited from different areas of Rhône-Alpes Region by the Grenoble city organisers.

The overall level of participation has been quite good, exception made for the number of MAs representatives, being present only the ones from Cyprus and Spain. In any case, the LSG spokesmen have directly taken part to the plenary thematic conference, which has benefited of a very fruitful and appropriated series of concrete interventions form their part.

Main theme of the event and thematic pathway followed by the 9 LSGs

Introduction of Mr Barbato, project officer in the URBACT office in Paris. Mr Barbato underlined the achievements since the beginning of the project, and the good job made in the elaboration of Local Action Plans. Mr Barbato also emphasised the issues encountered by project's members. There have indeed been general difficulties in managing the administrative and communication aspects, of which the Urbact administration is aware. There has been an underestimation of the importance and role of being a lead partner from the City of Gela, which now seems to have been solved with the formation of a new staff.

Mr Barbato also stressed that Local Action Plans have to take into account the general economic context. There are changes in our society which imply new demands, new needs, and thus new ways of providing social services, which governments cannot supply. In this context of economic crisis and budgetary cuts, Social Economy is highly relevant for growth and is, thus on top of agenda of many governments in European countries. Mr Barbato then reminded the aims of the Urban NOSE project of elaborating innovative Local Action Plans in order to find solutions to answer through concrete projects.

Minutes from the 4th Thematic Conference of 10th September 2010

LE gives all welcome at the fourth step of the project. The first step was looking at the governance models to help develop incubators of social enterprises. The second then was about knowledge and learning processes at the base of social economy systems. The third one dealt with tools and methods to support social economy and its incubators. Now, the fourth step aims to explore how cities can be animating and sensitising the territory upon the Social Economy and we would all have good case studies to share.

LE also gave a presentation of the Introductory guidance paper, on practical examples of animation and sensitisation upon social entrepreneurship as indicated by partners. As a conclusion, Mr Campanella stated that there is a potential and favourable combination for the entire network. Globally, the UNOSE cities are implementing a high range of activities in order to animate and sensitise on Social enterprises and Social Economy. Parallel to that, many cities are working on the building of physical social Incubators.

Following to the LE interventions, all the assisting cities (Alcobaça, Athienou, Agrinion, Brighton & Hove, Gela, Grenoble, Koropi and Pori) proceeded with presentations of the work made so far by their respective LSGs, giving, each one of them, a clear framework upon this 4th macro-theme, by specifying: recommendations for decision-makers; guidelines and practical tools for technicians; case studies for researchers and practitioners; best experiences and practices to exchange with other cities; main operational models of methods and tools useful to a social incubator; and direct or indirect implications for their respective LAP. The Thematic Conference has also been attended by some LSGs members (from Greece, Spain, United Kingdom and Finland) and by two MA representatives from Cyprus and Spain. In order to give an ice- breaking welcome, the delegation from Agrinion is invited to begin the series of interventions foreseen for the thematic conference.

Download file

 

On Wednesday, 29th of September 2010, at the Papastrateio Hall of Agrinion, in Panagopoulos Square, at 17:00 was successfully organised a Regional Conference with subject: “Creation & Development of a Social Enterprises Incubator at the City of Agrinion”. The conference was held in the framework of the EU funded Project URBACT II - URBAN N.O.S.E. "URBAN NETWORK OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISES".


Throughout this workshop, the Municipality of Agrinion was able to promote the European Project URBACT II-URBAN N.O.S.E. (Urban Network of Social Enterprises) and the Social Economy, to inform the citizens of Agrinion and the authorities of the city, along with representatives of other six surrounding cities of the region, and finally to cause extensive consultation about the Local Action Plan for the establishment of an Incubator of Social Enterprises – Science Park in Agrinion.

The regional conference was attended by representatives from several authorities of the Municipality and the whole region. There were representatives from the Region of Western Greece, the University of Patras, the University of Western Greece, from Patras Science Park, Chamber of Commerce of Etoloakarnania, from productive sectors of the region, associations, local training centres and students mostly from the University of Western Greece.

The conference was opened by the Mayor of Agrinion, Mr. Pavlos Moscholios, who welcomed and thanked for their presence all the stakeholders of the city. Furthermore, the Mayor praised the efforts that have already been made through the project Urban N.O.S.E. because via this project, is reinforced the opening of the city and the cooperation with other European Municipalities. Through Urban N.O.S.E. has been increased the experience and the knowledge of all the involved entities and it is a great chance for the development of strategic synergies, which in the future, will contribute to the growth of the city. The affiliation of the Municipality in the project Urban N.O.S.E. makes possible the support and creation of social enterprises and a Science Park of Social & Innovative Enterprises, mainly through the cooperation with the University of Western Greece, which has a critical mass of scientists and researchers. The incubator will create new jobs where can be absorbed a vast number of graduated from the local University. Mr. Moscholios emphasized that because of the current economic crisis, it is crucial the support of social enterprises which have not the profit as a direct objective, but to provide services to the wider society.

At the conference, among the speakers were:

• Mr. Dimosthenis Giagas from the Division of Planning, Organisation & Information, of Municipality of Agrinion,
• Mr. Dimitris Vagenas, Professor at the University of Western Greece,
• Mr. Panagiotis Tsihritzis, President of the Chamber of Commerce of Etoloakarnania,
• Prof. Petros Groumpos, President and CEO of Patras Science Park,
• Mr. Marios Heiras, Managing Authority of the Region of Western Greece
• Mr. Vagelis Papadakis, professor at the University of Western Greece

Download file

 

The session was opened by Mr Spyros Papouis, the mayor of Athienou Municipality welcomed all to the first National Conference of URBAN N.O.S.E. project. He also explained how Athienou participates in the URBAN N.O.S.E project.

Afterwards, the chairman of Larnaka District Development Agency, Mr. Spyros Elenodorou, addressed short greetings and pointed out the importance of attendance of the Municipality in such a programme.

Following, it was made the presentation of the Municipality of Athienou from the teacher and member of the Urban N.O.S.E. Local Support Group, Mrs. Despo Poygerasi. Mrs Despo Poygerasi in her presentation reported about the background of the Municipality of Athienou, the economic and cultural activity, the archaeological spaces, the works that have been manufactured but also the work that is still under study, as well as the European and co-financed programmes in the area.

Afterwards, the Lead Expert Mr. Sergio Campanella, made the presentation of the Urbact Programme 2007-2013 and of the Urban N.O.S.E. project and explained all the details about the project itself.

Mrs Anna Kosma from the Local Development Agency of Larnaca, made the presentation sent by Mr. Vangelis Papadakis from the University of Ioannina, in fact, due to personal difficulties, he could not attend the meeting. The title of his presentation was “Creation, organisation and operation that aims to a viable local growth”.

The meeting was continued with special laboratories in which were given chances to the attending persons not only in order to assisting, but also to actively participating to a rich, well-animated and interesting debate. The subjects dealt with in the laboratories were, above all, the way of managing the operation and attendance in the Local Support Group, as well as the way of better structuring a “tailor-made” Local Action Plan.

Download file

 

Deputy Mayor Aulis Laaksonen opened the seminar and reminded, that the City of Pori has just updated its city strategy till 2016.
In the vision, Pori will be a city with 120.000 inhabitants and a vibrant, growing centre.
The main power points and critical success factors have been identified to be competitiveness and ability to renewal, welfare, health and security and living environment.
The strategy points the lines and values that the city organization follows during the coming years.
The four main values are: work, care, courage and experience.

In the welfare sector, the services will be provided by following criteria: right time, right measurement, in partnership, productivity, by adapting new technology and the freedom of choice.
Pori wants to partnership for normal and social enterprises, associations and other actors in the welfare sector.

Managing Director Jaana Merenmies from SYFO Ltd reminded of the Finnish definition to the social enterprises: In Finland the social enterprises could be categorized into 3 groups: social firms that employ over 30% handicapped or long- term unemployed, social enterprises that employ (over or under 30%) or companies with other kind of social goal.
The social enterprises have social tasks, for example they increase social welfare, environmental welfare, involvement, employment, health or collectivity. Social enterprises work also as connector between different values: they could give added value to their owners, pubic sector, funders, clients or the third sector by giving a possibility to ethic investments, sustainable development or new innovations.

In Finland there are 154 social firms at the moment in the register of the social firms. Additionally, there are about 1600 small co-operatives and over 3000 non- profit enterprises. These numbers are estimated to the lower end and we can estimate, that there are about 5000 enterprises that act like social enterprises in Finland. The second biggest social firm in Finland, is TYKE Ltd from the Pori region.

To enhance the social enterprises, first of all, we should get a political understanding of the social enterprises and get them as a power point to the national politics. The social enterprises need solid support mechanisms (financial and advice) and launching of a “label” for the social enterprises.
As well it is important to create measure mechanisms to find out all the impacts that social enterprises have to their local and national economy. Social enterprises should be included to the training programs and integrate as a part of the entrepreneurship training. Also a research and innovation program for the social enterprises should be launched.

Download file

 

After a cross-cutting analysis of the partner cities condition concerning the building up of a system of tools and methods for the supply of services relating to the social economy, and also after a common reflection and peer review made in Koropi, generally speaking, we can assert that there is a generally positive attitude and smart potential of the partner cities towards this macro-theme, along with a satisfactorily positive assessment of the municipalities’ capacity to deal with the aim of ‘building a system of tools and methods for social services supplying’, with a huge number of cities keeping a positive attitude and some of them even a strongly optimistic position.

Moreover, there is an adequate service offer produced/provided by social businesses in the partner cities, with an average incorporation already being a reality for a vast majority of them, along with some points of excellence and also some feeble cases of weaker incorporation. The main sectors of service provision outlined by the partner cities deal with environmental (services and urban waste management; protection, recovery and emergence of the natural environment; “food mile”, “Km zero” or “short chain” production and distribution services for agricultural products; creation and maintenance of gardens and greenhouses), recycling (almost all: from wood to used cooking oil), social services (education, health and welfare, crèches, kindergarten, social assistance), creative industries (tourism and free-time activities, curricular enrichment through the learning of new skills, e.g. in music, sports, cooking, civil protection, visual arts, souvenirs and gadgeting, etc.) and catering fields (food supply for school, asylum, hospice, hospital and corporate canteens).

Nevertheless, the partnership is split into two main groups if we focus our attention on what is the number and kind of those services which are actually provided to local authorities in general: a first group of cities shows an average, sometimes high, service provision level, while the second one outlines a decisively weaker service provision level. The two groups, however, return to compact themselves when it comes to analysing the expectations that the Urban N.O.S.E. partner cities feed towards the concrete possibilities of a larger diversification of those economic sectors in which Social Enterprises should be engaged by their local authorities: in fact, they seem to show an average or soft level of expectations as far as it concerns real possibilities of diversification, with a majority of cities thinking not only that social enterprises should be engaged in all sectors (primary, secondary and third sector), but also that there is a generally huge number of services produced by social businesses, with a declared lack of further manufacturing options, for instance in the secondary sector, especially on agro-food or on recycling industry. With a smaller number of cities that prefer social businesses efforts be concentrating upon more traditional activities, in order to strictly specialise themselves, mainly in activities related with education, childcare, social care, housing maintenance and meals for canteens.

Finally, it is worth reflecting upon a last, sensible point: the current inexistence, for a huge majority of the partner cities, of local procurement/tendering specific processes in contracting with social enterprises for service delivery. Also the two only cities enjoying the best position on the subject, either merely indicate the equal treatment of social, rather than conventional, enterprises within the tenders for the provision of local services: “but the awarded contract shall be either the most financially advantageous for tender or the lowest price”; or simply admit that “there is much work going on to make commissioning more accessible to social enterprise, including national directives for commissioners to procure more services this way”. Generally speaking, from this third analysis level, it can be affirmed that currently exist very smart potential and good conditions for the Urban N.O.S.E. network in order to build in each one of the involved territories a wider, diversified and participated system of tools and methods for supplying social services concerning Social Enterprises and Social Economy. Accordingly, the Urban N.O.S.E. cities, jointly with their own LSGs and MAs, will have the subtle mission, through the management of this third thematic conference organisation, to defining the exact contents of their best tools and methods system, by suggesting and providing a series of recommendations for decision-makers; guidelines and practical tools for technicians; case studies for researchers and practitioners; best experiences and practices to exchange with other cities; but also local models of tools and methods complementary among them and fully useful to the best structuring of Social Incubators in their areas, to be shared by the network cities with their local, regional and national partners belonging to both the public and the private spheres; so contributing to facilitate the project partners one each other in choosing their local management model priorities to be finally inserted into their own related LAP.

Download file

After a cross-cutting analysis of the partner cities condition concerning the management of knowledge and learning processes in the social economy, and also after a common reflection and peer review made in Brighton, generally speaking, we can easily argue that there is a generally positive attitude of the network cities towards this argument, with a certain training offer related to the major training needs in some way linked to the social economy.
Nevertheless, there is a generally weak level of precise, specific training courses dedicated to the social entrepreneurship and/or social economy that took place in the partner cities: level which could be fostered through a more effective systematisation and optimisation of the local offer and a stronger use of the participatory method and a better involvement of Local Support Groups.Anyway, from this second analysis we can absolutely declare that currently exist very good conditions for the Urban N.O.S.E. network in order to build in each one of the involved territories a wider, diversified and participated offer of knowledge and learning instruments concerning Social Enterprises and Social Economy. Now, cities, together with their own LSGs and MAs, do have the opportunity to use their „critical mass‟, also by taking profit of the new common tool being put at disposal by this thematic network, the Urban N.O.S.E. Web Learning Platform, in order to share the delicate task of defining the exact contents of their systems of local offer, not only by suggesting and providing a series of recommendations for decision-makers; guidelines and practical tools for technicians; case studies for researchers and practitioners; best experiences and practices to exchange with other cities; but also local models of Management Systems of knowledge and learning activities to be shared by the networked cities with their local, regional and national partners belonging to both the public and the private spheres; so contributing to facilitate the project partners one each other in choosing their local management model priorities to be finally inserted into their own related LAP. This could engender the birth of new, common and networked „knowledge and learning standards‟, up to, for instance, a common „social business quality mark‟ or a common Urban N.O.S.E. LAPs marketing strategy defining a European quality franchising chain of social enterprises.
As to the starting point from which the network is moving, that regards both the local mapping analysis and the brief survey on the learning needs for social economy, we can easily assert the following:

• There is a generally positive attitude of the network cities towards knowledge and learning management
• The network presents an adequate training offer related to the major training needs linked to the social economy
• But there is still a generally weak level of specific training courses dedicated to the social entrepreneurship/social economy that took place in the partner cities
• An adequate incorporation of the principles of third sector mainstreaming into the cities’ employment and business start-up programmes does exist
• There is also a soft cooperation level in the fields of the integrated approach, the community involvement, networking and experience exchanging
• There exist variety and assortment of entities and organisms that could be involved, at all levels, in diffusing knowledge and learning on social entrepreneurship: we can note a very good and rich variety of those entities in each city
• Currently exist discreet conditions for the Urban N.O.S.E. network in order to manage and strengthen in each one of the involved territories knowledge and learning processes of urban social economy
  

Download file

 

After a cross-cutting analysis upon the state of the art of the UNOSE cities partnership that took place at the Alcobaça Thematic Conference: “The Governance System supporting Social Enterprises and 3rd Sector Incubators”, we can easily assert the following:

• social incubators are a precise aim of the network cities
• adequate incorporation of the principles of third sector mainstreaming into the cities’ employment and business start-up programmes does exist
• there is a generally soft level of cooperation town-region
• there is also a soft cooperation level in the fields of the integrated approach, the community involvement, networking and experience exchanging
• the partner cities have a very good capacity to involve strong local partnerships
• legal requirements needed for social enterprises: we have a mixed scenario, showing different and heterogeneous cases, but all placed between strongly or averagely defined legal requirements
• existing public policies supporting the social economy: there is an overall good level of public programmes and interventions, mainly concerning the National and the Regional levels, with sufficient links with EU funding and initiatives
• main obstacles to the promotion and creation of social enterprises in each city: there is an average level of barriers for the majority of them
• there exist variety and assortment of entities and organisms that could be involved, at all levels, in building a local partnership to support social entrepreneurship: we can note a very good and rich variety of those entities in each city
• currently exist very good conditions for the Urban N.O.S.E. network in order to build in each one of the involved territories a participated Support System for Social Enterprises and 3rd Sector Incubators

Download file

  The baseline Study was drawn up according to the following summary:

Summary
Urban Nose in the European context: Urban N.O.S.E project is conceptually placed within EU Policies in the field of urban development and understanding the future contribution of project activities for achieving European objectives on cohesion policy. The main topics highlighted by the European Commission, that refer to the COMMUNICATION OF THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT “Cohesion Policy and Towns: the Contribution of Town and Urban Settlements to Growth and Employment within the Regions”, will ensure two potentials that the project can use: 1) In the construction of Local Action Plans, which do not only concern the development of municipal project in the framework of social services, but have a broader scope, because these are public use services in the context of social economy (environment and public parks and gardens, urban mobility, services for access to labour market, sustainable building planning, ethical finance, responsible tourism, identity culture, fair trade, collection and disposal of solid waste, tutoring services, school services, etc.) 2) In participation and sharing of activities and outcomes of Thematic Poles, in relation to points of contact and integrations that may be transferred from and to Local Action plans of other Urbact projects.

Urban Nose in National contexts:
The consistency of Urban N.O.S.E. on the various contexts of Member States participating in the project is based on the project capability to recognise the role played by social enterprises in the context of welfare policies for development, to increase the effects of the various National Support Frameworks.
This vision actually originates from the analysis of National Reference Strategic Frameworks: basic documents of new planning, which consider the subject of social inclusion as part of national strategies for Structural Funds, according to a common organization, which includes actions dedicated to social inclusion, sometimes developed into specific objectives, such as:

• Develop integration processes and improve job (re)inclusion of disadvantaged people against any kind of discrimination in the labour market;

• Promote and strengthen social inclusion and services for life quality and local attractiveness.
  
  Urban N.O.S.E. in the Local context:
  The evolution process involving local development policies is increasingly characterized by actions, strategies, and practices based on models of “inclusive” networks and partnerships implemented by all parties involved or stakeholders. Public and private parties (profit and nonprofit), able to project relationships towards a joint project and project – at local level, in particular – consolidate multicentre systems and inter-institutional partnerships. The so desired welfare community consists of “new” actors, builders of practices and “enterprise initiatives”, able to provide opportunities and share needs. The impact of Baseline Study on project activities regarding the local aspect was essentially aimed at the three following aspects:
  - The connection between Local Authority and Third Sector;
  - The role played by social enterprise incubators in the partnership areas;
  - The role played by Local Action Plan for social economy in the partnership areas.

Download file