„Danube4SEecosystem - Enhancing the development of Social Economy by engaging Local Public Authorities in the Social Enterprises supporting Ecosystem for a more inclusive Labor Market in the Danube Region is funded under Call I of the Danube Region Programme 2021–2027, Priority Axis III – A more social Danube Region, Specific Objective 3.1 – Accessible, inclusive, and effective labor markets.

Main objective

Danube4SEecosystem aims to develop local-level public policies by involving public authorities in the support ecosystem for social enterprises, in order to facilitate inclusive employment in the Danube region, while also supporting the sustainable operation of social enterprises.

Specific objectives

• Development of local-level public policies to support the social enterprise support ecosystem in the Danube Region
• Increasing the resilience, innovation management knowledge, and skills of the social enterprise ecosystem in the Danube Region
• Promoting transnational cooperation and coordination between social enterprises and their ecosystem

Implementing period: 01.01.2024 - 30.06.2026

Total project budget: € 1.883.344,50, of which the budget for Advanced Technology Systems is € 163.160. Advanced Technology Systems' contribution to the project is 2% – € 3.263

Consortium

• Coordinator: South Muntenia Regional Development Agency - Romania
• CDDA - Central Danube Development Agency Nonprofit Ltd - Hungary
• SBA - Slovak Business Agency - Slovakia
• REDEA - Public Institution for the Development of the Međimurje County - Croatia
• RERA - Regional Development Agency of South Bohemia - Czech Republic
• ZSI - Centre for Social Innovation - Austria
• CCIS - Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia - Serbia
• RARS - Development Аgency of the Republic of Srpska - Bosnia and Herţegovina, Republic of Srpska
• ATS – Advanced Technology Systems - Romania
• UM – University of Maribor - Slovenia

Strategic partners

• Civil Impact Nonprofit - Hungary
• The regional association to the national network of Local Action Groups in the South Bohemian Region - Czechia
• Ministry of Economy and Entrepreneurship of the Republic of Srpska - Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic - Slovakia
• Dambovita Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture - Romania
• Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Hungary
• Kemence Association - Hungary
• Social Impact Investors Associations - Hungary
• Association of Communes of Romania - Romania

The main results of the Danube4SEecosystem project

The Danube4SEecosystem project addresses challenges in the Danube Region by aiming to develop policies and legal frameworks that foster a thriving environment for the social economy. This includes the creation of the Inclusive Social Economy Ecosystem Strategy and an Action Plan, which will be tested in pilot centers across 5 countries, each focusing on 5 thematic areas.
The consortium will disseminate results and policy recommendations to decision-makers and EUSDR (EU Strategy for the Danube Region) representatives through three Policy Learning Dialogue (PLD) seminars, aimed at improving current and future policies in the Danube Region. These efforts will support municipalities in systematically enabling the operation and development of social enterprises, especially those involving disadvantaged individuals in the labor market.
The project will also enhance the resilience and regeneration of social enterprises by strengthening skills and capacities, improve cooperation with Local Public Authorities and stakeholders through training courses based on micro-credentialing and Support network creation and facilitate participation in co-creation workshops
Danube4SEecosystem (D4SEE) promotes cooperation between social enterprises and their ecosystems by establishing the Danube Social Economy Network, testing the Strategy through 5 pilot actions in 5 countries, resulting in 15 cooperation agreements, integrating pilot results into the D4SEE Social Economy Support Methodology, which will guide the application of solutions in collaborative models for social enterprises and sharing knowledge through three Transnational Knowledge Transfer Workshops and National Transfer Workshops. The Danube Social Economy Network, comprising 115 stakeholders from the region, will ensure the transferability of project results and strengthen ties with the regional social economy ecosystem.

As a result of the project implementation, the newly developed solutions addressing the needs and challenges of the partner countries are:

• Two tools for assessing the skills gap in the social economy sector in the Danube Region
• The D4SEE Capacity Building Program for sustainable and resilient social enterprises and local public authorities, based on micro-learning models
• An innovative and inclusive digital training platform for social enterprises (all resources are free and published as Open Educational Resources – OER)
• The Danube4SEecosystem Mentor Training Program
• The D4SEE Methodology for supporting the social economy through the application of solutions related to collaborative models of social enterprises
• The D4SEE Strategy for an Inclusive Social Economy Ecosystem
• The Social Economy Network for the Danube Region

Through the implementation of the Danube4SEecosystem (D4SEE) project, the consortium, associated strategic partners, and stakeholders aim to jointly develop innovative policies for social enterprises by involving local public authorities in the support ecosystem, in order to enhance inclusive employment in the Danube Region while also supporting the sustainable operation of these enterprises.