The Covid-19 crisis caused a 6.3% contraction in the EU economy in 2020, with the fall in jobs and investment being disproportionate and affecting many people who have historically experienced significant barriers to employment, including people with disabilities. By generating employment and promoting social and labor inclusion, social economy enterprises have played a key role in increasing community resilience.
However, many actors in the social economy suffered and continue to suffer from the consequences of the pandemic, putting their positive socio-economic impact at local level at risk. The project is based on three assumptions:
- Pandemic recovery – will require public authorities to take proactive steps to support people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in accessing the labor market.2. This should be done through purposeful actions aimed at creating a favorable business environment for the social development of the economy;3. Socially Responsible Public Procurement (SRPP) represents a significant driver for public participation, employment opportunities for people with disabilities, as it is a key tool to support the development of the social economy.
The CO-RESP project will thus seek to maximize the use of the SRPP by organizing a Social Economy Mission (WP2) bringing together all relevant stakeholders, promoting the exchange of good practices and strengthening interregional cooperation between social economy actors and regional/local authorities. Based on the experience of peer learning, local authorities participating in the project will prepare local action plans (WP3) to maximize the use of SRPP at local level. Finally, a recommendation document for replications (WP4) will be prepared to facilitate and ensure the repeatability of project results.
The opening meeting of the project is expected to be held on October 6, 2022, hosted by the NASO team.
