Technologies for WISEs : INNO-WISEs

SMEs in Central Europe, particularly Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs), currently face shortages mainly related to the requirements posed by technological progress and economic innovation. The technological gaps are mainly due to low investment or/and lack of skills for the digital era. INNO-WISEs represents a ground-breaking project for the social economy sector since it moved WISEs - whose main objective is the work integration of vulnerable groups, to get closer to technologies, digital innovation and development, making them able to use technologies and skills which were out of their reach, and which will represent a turning point for their development. If the solution was scaled globally, worldwide Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) could benefit from the platform (which is free), the training materials, MOOC and good practices and apply them in their region no matter where they operate.

Digitalisation creates new risks of discrimination as not everyone is digitally literate or has equal possibilities to cope with the threats and opportunities that arise in a digital society. As such, the social impact of digitalisation produces changes in participation to the labour market of vulnerable groups, and creates differences in development and learning opportunities, health, (healthy) housing, civil democracy ... Therefore, and even though they represent a significant economic actor in Europe, engaging over 14.5 million employees, (Work Integration) Social Enterprises (WISEs) are disadvantaged compared to traditional SMEs. They often suffer from technological gaps, mainly due to low investment levels and lack of skills. In order to keep up with changing business and market requirements, WISEs need new or modified business processes culture and customer experiences. To be able to do this, they need to embark on digital transformation first. INNO-WISEs tackled these weaknesses by improving the digital skills of WISEs and social enterprises, resulting in a better capacity to offer qualified jobs to disadvantaged groups, hence contributing to greater social cohesion. The project expected also to change significantly the entrepreneurial mind-set, skills and attitude of the sector by building a stronger entrepreneurship culture and greater social innovation capacities. 

1. Improving the technological, technical, ITC and managerial competences of WISEs: the project used an integrated approach, by looking simultaneously at their needs in the technological and the managerial fields, and by addressing their top managing roles and their specific areas of competence, such as HR, marketing, business, sales, finance and more.

2. Reducing the technological gap currently affecting WISEs:  Providing WISEs with tailor-made technologies, instruments and actions supported their process of digitalisation and digital transformation. The testing phase, implemented together with the WISEs’ leaders, has already become part of a new approach to reduce the technological gap in some European countries (Italy, Croatia, Poland...). 

3. Improving WISEs competitiveness through the promotion of a stronger entrepreneurial mind-set: WISEs have a rather small and informal way of handing business, which limits their competitiveness. By promoting the use of key technologies in their daily activities (the platform and its tools), by implementing innovative training models (at a local and transnational level, and with the MOOC), and by offering occasions to exchange among WISEs, the project has boosted a change towards a more business-oriented approach.

WISE is a type of social enterprise that focuses on improving employment prospects for those furthest from the labour market though a wider range of work-based opportunities. They share these common denominators:

• they are private and autonomous social enterprises operating on the market
• where the disadvantaged workers have employee rights under national labour law
• and whose core mission is the integration through work of disadvantaged people (older people, people from ethnic minorities, low-skilled, long-term unemployed, disabled individuals, migrants, refugees, women, ...)

The project takes an integrated approach looking at common WISEs
development needs (e.g. technology shortages, technical skills, managerial competences), working simultaneously on those sectors where WISEs operate. As example of impact, around 100 WISEs already participated in the initial analysis phase and the project reached the target of 200 testers of the project tools (actual number: 41 persons in Poland; 50 in Italy; 37 in Croatia; 20 in Sovenia). The platform and its tools have also been tested during meetings in Austria and Hungary (Slovakia and Czech Republic as well - online) where WISEs representatives from around Europe were present and welcomed the next platform with enthusiasm. 

Digitalisation - Continuous attention should be paid to people that are/have a risk of future vulnerability. In the short term (during the transition phase of the digital revolution), it is likely that labour will adapt only partially and that mismatches between supply and demand will occur. Presumably, frictional unemployment will be the result because not every individual is capable of moving smoothly into new activities, jobs-tasks. Enhancement of inclusion into the labour market is needed to accommodate the impact of digitalisation on it and society (vulnerable groups) which has influence on education, employment, integration, health, poverty, equal opportunities, etc. 

The INNO-WISEs project intends to activate a process of change in the entrepreneurial approach of Work Integration Social Enterprises with the aim of improving their competitiveness. WISEs (particularly in Europe) are characterised by a rather small and informal way of making business which by limiting their access to capital (which, in turn hinders investment in the sector) affects their competitiveness. By elaborating, adapting and introducing in the daily activities of WISEs key technologies currently out of their reach and by elaborating and implementing innovative training models (e.g. through open access technologies), the INNO-WISEs project will promote a change in WISEs’ entrepreneurial mind-set towards a more business oriented approach.

Technological innovation - Technologies established the starting point of the project. The digital transformation has become necessary to allow WISEs to grow and to remain on the business market. New tools, new opportunities, new developments: the technologies, the collaborative platforms and the use of these tools were fundamental to propose a Business Continuity Plan necessary also for survival. 

The project innovative aspects mostly relate to the application (through adaptation and transfer) of key technologies as well as managerial models
which will represent for the sector (extremely underdeveloped from a high-tech point of view) a ground-breaking development.

The project develops a general framework for WISEs empowerment, which evaluated country-, sector- and context- specific issues to define guidelines for localized actions. This framework is supported by a modular and flexible ICT platform (https://wisebusiness.eu/) delivering key tools in the fields of management support, operational utilities, process/service delivery support by building on tools and services that already exist but that are not adequate for WISEs needs (e.g. not thought for WISEs targets e.g. low-skilled workers, disabled etc.; requiring investments out of WISEs reach etc). Such tools will enable WISEs to work more effectively and efficiently, expand their activities and markets and improve internal management practices.

A key aspect of the approach is the involvement of all necessary expertise and competences to effectively tackle the common challenges identified. Main competence area are: technical and technological competences, including ICT professionals and non-user competence; managerial competences including, entrepreneurial competence and process, people and service management competences. 

The model addresses better configuration of ICT tools starting from
pre-defined variables relevant for WISE environment. Results provided during the firt tests were useful both for the ICT platform and tools selection in order to define set-up of the pilots and to enable transferability on a trans-national scenario. 

Essential to this framework is a competence management and learning programme addressing technological, sector-specific and managerial skills to support the introduction of new tools with adequate competences to understand them and support growth on the technical side. 

- The partners have been able to attract a strong group of WISEs that followed with interest and great emotional involvement the activities since the project begin: around 100 WISEs participated in the initial analysis phase and the project is about to reach the target of 200 testers of the project tools (Italy, Slovenia, Poland and Croatia). The training path, mainly for the face-to-face classes, was also a great success of the project in each country and reached the 80% of the target.

- The strengthening of the network between the public administration and the WISEs; this is especially happing in the Goriška region, Slovenia, where the partners worked with the local stakeholders to draw a set of guidelines on social economy development for policy makers. But it is also true for Poland or Trentino, where already existing collaborations have been reinforced thanks to the project-related events or the policy makers’ participation to the project meeting, as for the Ministry of Labour of Croatia. Plus, by the end of the project at least 4 Public Administration would adopt an action to implement the project strategies in their territories. 

- The Reinforcement of the presence of WISEs networks in the EU Institution, thanks to the speeches and presentations held in a large number of international conferences or committees such as the EESC - European Economic and Social Committee.

- The development of new partnerships between the WISEs themselves and with other stakeholders, such as the research institutes or the training centers

In Europe, Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) are suffering from technological gaps, due to low investment levels and the lack of necessary skills. WISEs are social enterprises that work for the integration of the most disadvantaged people, they are crucial as they ensure that no one is left behind. The INNO-WISEs project aims to tackle those weaknesses and to improve the capacity of WISEs to be more competitive on their market sector through the promotion of a stronger entrepreneurial mindset thanks to the use of digitalization. According to our study, the main obstacles for the digitalization in WISEs are: the need of investments WISEs cannot deal with; the lack of people with specific know-how and skills, unawareness of technological tools or of their usefulness and the lack of widespread skills within the WISEs that allow the daily use of technological tools adopted by the enterprise. To overcome those obstacles, we are implementing an integrated approach, tackling all development needs of the sector from technology gaps to skills shortages. We created two main tools, a MOOC, on “Business for WISEs” which aims to help WISEs to develop, teaching more about skills and marketing. And, more importantly, a platform, designed as a toolkit for WISEs. In the first section, you can find on this platform lessons specially prepared for WISEs on various topics such as “Design thinking, “Business Finance” as well as a variety of materials to go further. In the second section, you will find a list of tools that can help WISEs to implement in six areas such as marketing, human resources, project management, sales. We have tested the platform with numerous WISEs from all over Europe and they all find it essential for their digital transition. WISEs digital transition is crucial so they can keep it up with regular enterprises and grow. And if WISEs grow, the territory grows, the community grows and the economy grows. 

Partners have been able to attract a strong group of WISEs that followed with interest and great emotional involvement the activities since the project begin: around 100 WISEs participate in the initial analysis phase and the project reached about 200 testers of the project tools (actual number: 41 persons in PL – 50 in IT – 37 in HR and 20 in SI). The training path, mainly for the face-to-face classes, was also a great success of the project in each country and reached the 80% of the target. For the upcoming year and years, the target has not yet been set up and depends on the sustainability strategy that will be produced within this month. 

The ICT platform together with the content and tools will however serve a wider public in Europe and possibly wider thank to divers events that will take place and where the platform will be promoted. 

The project is sustainable for the future and of great importance for the members involved. The consortia of Social Enterprises involved from Belgium, Italy and Croatia are willing to invest in technological activities to allow their members to grow.

The partners of WISEs, in particular ENSIE (leader of the new team), CGM and ACT will create a consortium (they are in the process of defining the European legal form) to manage the results of the project, the platform and trainings that will take on a shared European character of business growth and development.

The partners have planned their own investments and the possibility of involving new partnership who can sponsor (Microsoft, Google Techsoup) the activities by expanding the project results and possible future developments.

The entire partnership will collaborate in the sustainability of the activities and it will sign a protocol to share all the results and technological projects.

Sustainability is an important result of the project, there are the conditions and the will to make it sustainable over time. INNO - WISEs was deemed useful by the WISEs and Social Enterprises involved and for this reason the project obligation (sustainability for the future) has become a real opportunity for partners who are studying a Business Plan for the future, with specific roles and tasks.

The fact that these outputs can be implemented in at least 4 countries of the Central Europe means that they can apply also to any other country.

The main barrier is related to finance and grants in order to continue with the development of the platform. The project had been financed for the last three years by the Interreg Central Europe Programme and is cming to its end this month. Therefore, finding new sources of financial support reamins challenging, in particular during the COVID-19 crisis. It has been calculated that around 50.000 EUR would be necessary yearly to keep the platform alive and to continue to provide the necessary services as well as furhter to develop the platform. 

Moreover, another obstacle of the project is cultural. It is not easy for enterprises that deal with vulnerable groups and whose main objective is the work integration of fragile people, to get even closer to technologies. Cultural obstacles are the most difficult to overcome because the tools are there, they can be improved, adapted but to be successful they must be used and must combine social and entrepreneurial objectives with the skills and social needs of social enterprises.

In regards to the funding, active research is on going, in particular with technological companies in order to support the project and to contribute to its development. So far we do not have any confirmation, but we intend to find grants at the European/International level or to make synergies with other projects related to digitalisation to keep the platform alive. 

Regarding the cultural aspect, it will be tackled throughout a divers number of events/workshops/exchanges on the topic in order to raise awareness. Moreover, trainings will also be organised in order facilitate the transition towards a more digitalised social entrpreneurship.

Linking the platform with other projects related to digitalisation in order to raise awareness will also be taken in consideration.

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1. Patrizia Bussi, Director of ENSIE, full-time

2. Pauline Bonino - Communication officer, full-time

1. Patrizia Bussi, Director of ENSIE, full-time, member of the European Commission expert group on social business (GECES). She was also member of the GECES’s Social Impact Measurement sub-group and member of the Italian GECES group, Gruppo Multilaterale sull’imprenditoria sociale. She is  representing ENSIE in the Structured Dialogue with European Structural and Investment Funds' partners group of experts (ESIF SD) of the European Commission and she is Vice-President of Social Economy Europe.

2. Pauline Bonino - Communication officer, full-time, she holds a PhD in History from the University of Cergy-Pontoise and taught history and EU politics and policies in various universities. She has broad experience in managing teams and projects with different target groups through the management of the EaSI programme of the European Commission and other EU projects. She gained more than five years of experience working in human rights domain through her voluntary involvement in Amnesty International’s activities and local groups.

We are working wth Grupo Cooperativo CGM and ACT Grupa.

Grupo Cooperativo CGM: It represents the biggest Italian network of social enterprises. Its aim is the promote communities welfare by designing and promoting quality services at an affordable price. CGM membership is composed of 77 consortia which gather more than 1.000 social cooperatives. http://cgm.coop/ 

ACT Grupa (AG): is 1st and only Croatian consortium of work integration social enterprises and supporting organisations. AG and members employ 50+ permanent workers and actively involve socially disadvantaged people (persons with disabilities, Roma, older people with lower education) in programs/operations. https://act-grupa.hr/en/

Key resources that will be used refer to the utilisation of the new ICT platform and human resources to develop it further. In case we succeed to find a donor, these resources will be allocated to technical aspect and support of the platform. In regards to key activities, these are mainly related to updating the platform with new and updated tools, lessons and MOOCS that will be used by WISEs, newsletters, projects and more. Channels such as social media will be used together with ENSIE members (around Europe) that would spread a word. Segments will be related to social entrepreneurs and WISEs, in particular their staff and beneficiaries. Value proposition in this context is in line with digitalisation processes that will enable WISE to foster their digital transition, together with upskilling of their staff and beneficiaries. The aim is to promote market based solutions to poverty, in particular digital inclusion of vulnerable groups. In regards to the cost structure, they will mainly relate to staff and the maintenance of the online platform. Surplus would be marketing and platform development. In terms of revenues, optional donations, grants from the EU or other international institutions/organisations would be highly required and welcomed. 

The platform does not generate revenues in itself due to the fact that it is meant to be free for its users, namely WISEs. However, in order to ensure its sustainability, in particular on long term we have been in contact with some tech enterprises such as Google, Microsoft and TechSoup that might support us, whether technically of financially.

Also, we intend to try to link the platform with other EU/international projects so as to ensure its sustainability. Since these kind of projects last between 2-4 years it would be possible to ensure the platform’s sustainability on the long run. This kind of linkage would also contribute to the platforms further development as well as visibility.

Moreover, we continue to apply for international prizes for innovation and digitalisation and we are working on a fundraising strategy which will be divided between public and private fundraising strategies that will be applied after June. 

Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) are facing challenges regarding their digitalization and their ability to keep up with regular enterprises. Indeed, they work with disadvantaged people who have a level of education often lower than the average of the population, and therefore, are lacking digital skills. Furthermore, WISEs are often not aware of the innovative ICT tools that exists today; they need support to identify those tools and to learn how to use them. This is mainly the case regarding the optimization of production assets, HRM tools, the improvement of production processes and logistic tools. We already developed a product, a platform, which includes a MOOC, lessons and tools, to help WISEs overcome these barriers. What we need now is to scale up this platform scale up so it can help more WISEs and social enterprises all over the world. To do so we need to be able to continue our work on the platform, adding new tools, creating new lessons, new videos, new content, so the platform stays up-to-date regarding the technological evolution and answers to its public demand. We will also need to present the platform to other networks so it can meets it public, this is crucial in order to know what are the needs and if we are answering to it. The future of WISEs will depend on their capacity to overcome those barriers and our platform is a solution. 

We are interested in international experience and funding possibilities. Getting the opportunity to strengthen our skills in providing digital solutions in a new and international environment would be beneficial for the further developmet of the platform. The project cooperation may serve as a stepping stone towards more extensive international participation and involvement in larger cooperation/digital projects. 

Partnering would give us access to knowledge, experience and facilities in the given field. Meeting entities and colleagues from across the world, discussing common challenges and sharing best practices in regards to social enterprises – digitalization- unemployment and other, will enable us to get the opportunity to learn innovative approaches and new methodologies, and a chance to build an international network of professionals. 

Working with a divers number of partners could potentially create new business opportunities and increasing our platforms visibility.

Any public or private entity, commercial or non-commercial, as well as non-governmental organisations registered as legal entities in any country are/is welcomed to become a project partner. Examples of relevant partners include national directorates, universities, municipalities, non-governmental organisations and (social) businesses.  

In general, however, project partnership entails active cooperation between them and the the planning and implementation of ICT platform.  We would work together in developing the ICT platform idea, applying them for project support, the implementation and further development.  

Partners should provide input in the planning of the platform and to be actively involved in its implementation. The legal requirements they agree to, will be described in a partnership agreement

The use of digital technologies in the work place is increasing and with the current Covid-19 Pandemic, there will be a demand for digital skills for Work Integration Social Enterprises to diversify and transform their activities. The digital revolution has influenced the ways in which people and businesses interact and access information and knowledge, bringing a new dimension of opportunities and challenges. With the demand for technological and economic innovation, WISEs face specific challenges as they represent marginalised groups of society with limited knowledge and access to technological skills. Therefore, one requires a set of skills, knowledge and understanding to navigate through digital technologies and the absence of these skills may have an effect on how individuals and organisations transform their daily operations.

The lack of requisite skills and investment creates technological gaps for WISEs. The European Network of Social Integration Enterprises (ENSIE) plays a significant role in identifying the tools required to improve managerial and technological skills for social entrepreneurs throughout the new ICT platform, as it is knowledgeable of the various strengths and weakness WISEs have. WISEs can play a significant role in bridging the digital divide by supporting and advocating for the implementation of policies and programmes that seeks to equip women to adapt and excel in the digital economy and enable them to contribute meaningfully by making digital societies more inclusive. Grants will therefore be used to develop the unique platform so as to answer to the digital needs faced by women within WISEs.    

Digital technologies are redefining the future of work and within the digital economy; challenges such as mismatches in education and digital skills required for the industry have potential to grow. Vulnerable groups are ill prepared for the digital transition and lack the skills to access jobs requiring digital skills. This challenge may potentially increase their vulnerability as well as socio-economic risks such as inequalities and unemployment. The Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) model is under-pinned by three principles, which seek to ensure that there is: a) integration of socially excluded individuals affected by social and professional handicaps. b)  Working within the economic system, which is the primary source of exclusion for vulnerable groups and, c) WISEs initiate trainings and educational programs to improve and develop their target groups socially and professionally. Therefore, WISEs require strengthening and support in order to bridge the digital skills gap for vulnerable groups by developing digital oriented educational programs and trainings. Digital literacy education and training programs can reduce the risk of vulnerable groups from exclusion from the work force and the digital economy and potentially reduce the widening skills gap posed by digital technologies. The new ICT model is an effective solution to target the marginalised in society by ensuring social, economic and digital inclusion. Grants will therefore be used to develop the unique platform so as to answer to the digital needs faced by adults within WISEs.