Singular Projects for the socioeconomic reactivation COVID-19 for social economy enterprises
About this good practice
The goal of Singular Projects is to create employment through the creation of new business projects, new enterprises, new business lines or new markets, in the frame of the social and cooperative economy. These projects must profit strategic opportunities within the sector of activity or the territory and must involve, at least, two cooperatives, with the possibility of including as well other social economy enterprises, such as associations or foundations from the third social sector.
There are five types of Singular Projects:
A. Economic reactivation. New inter-cooperation projects to maintain and boost economic activity and employment.
B. Integrated economic reactivation. New inter-cooperation projects to maintain and boost economic activity and employment.
C. High strategic impact. New inter-cooperation projects that demonstrate a strategic importance in the social economy sector and energy transition projects.
D. Platform cooperativism and/or logistic distribution. New inter-cooperation projects that promote cooperative consumption through technological platforms and/or have an impact in the position of social economy in the logistic distribution.
E. Growth and sustainability of the social and solidarity economy and cooperativism (since 2020 – Covid-19). New inter-cooperation projects that promote the growth and sustainability of the social and solidary economy and cooperativism.
Resources needed
The call for projects opens annually with a total annual budget of 5.000.000 €, and in 2020 it was reinforced with an additional budget of 3.900.000 € to face the consequences of the socioeconomic crisis of Covid-19.
Evidence of success
Impact created (2016-2021)
• 358 Singular Projects carried out by 1.050 social economy enterprises.
• 33 projects have been specifically devoted to the face the Covid-19 crisis.
• Total budget: more than 36.000.000 €
• 1.715 jobs created in the social economy sector (stable and quality employment).
Potential for learning or transfer
The programme “Economia Social” of the Government of Catalonia positions social and cooperative economy as a cornerstone for the construction of a more social, democratic and inclusive economic model, through different tools, such as Singular Projects.
With Singular Projects, the Government of Catalonia makes a clear commitment to generate stable and quality employment, linked to the community and the territory. In fact, all the Singular Projects have a strong territorial and sectorial impact and have been strategic instruments to bring solutions to the current pandemic and post-pandemic situation.