Edited by Torino Social Impact

Policy & Practice

The international debate and best practices from around the world

16 December 2022

Turn in European social procurement policies

torino social impact

Social procurement not only in the public sector, but also in the private sector. This is the new direction taken by the European Commission to more extensively support the growth of the third sector, the fourteenth key ecosystem for economic recovery.

In fact, a watershed call has just closed that defines a new perspective for social procurement, aimed at promoting collaboration between traditional businesses and social.

The objective of the call is to enable social enterprises to become suppliers of traditional enterprises in markets at the local, regional or national level.

The support will cover actions aimed at improving communication, mutual knowledge and prospects for collaboration between traditional and social economy enterprises.

The budget available for the call is 1,300,000 euros. The maximum contribution per project will be 325,000 euros. A small start for an area of action on which some countries have already tried their hand successfully, the British and Canadian experiences being the most prominent.

Among the actions eligible for funding under the call were branding activities, the creation of dedicated platforms, matchmaking events and plans, b2b, training and capacity building, mentoring and coaching.

A prerequisite for submitting projects was the presence of entities of European relevance, and within this framework Torino Social Impact joined an important string, dedicated to the circular economy, to aim to support the existing social procurement program. The winning projects will be announced in the spring.

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