Squares

Work Areas

1. A working group will be established, which will work through emails and hold three meetings. It will use the analyses carried on at local level to make a comparison between them and with other practices all over the E.C. Product: a transnational guide.

2. SEP members will undertake local analyses. Along with national experts they will participate in the European Forum on Social Auditing. Product: a review of existing social auditing and social accounting tools.

3. SEP will set up a working group which will use local analyses from each member state to make a comparison between them, identifying best and innovative practices. The working group will work through three meetings and ICT to make the most of existing experiences. Product: a report summarising the support to social enterprises, and existing evaluations. The paper will also present some suggestions for networking and also for dissemination and awareness-raising activities.

4. The UK will only take part in this work area on a small scale. We will participate in a round table of interested financial institutions and local actors to develop common proposals. Products: a report on the financial situation for social/self-help enterprises and common proposal for better solutions for financing social/self-help enterprises.

5. Partners will submit material for a web database containing information on innovative services provided by social enterprises. This will include new social enterprises and existing enterprises that want to create new services or outsource activities from the private sector. Product: a database on the Internet of innovative business practices.

Exchanges

As part of these five work areas there will be a programme of practitioner exchanges. Social enterprises and their support bodies will benefit greatly from the individual and shared learning that will result. All products will be put on the project's website. A European Conference will take place in May 2004 in Berlin. The conference will be the occasion for SQUARES to disseminate the results of its activities and present it products.