Social Economy Action Plan: a first awareness on digital transition?

‘An impressive public policy launched by the EU, which offers a positive project for the EU’. With these words, the team of our partner Social Economy Europe welcomed the Social Economy Action Plan, which will significantly improve a sector in which 6.3% of the EU population is employed. 38 concrete actions will be put in place over the next 9 years to help a sector that is destined to be more and more present in the daily life of EU citizens. One month after the presentation of this plan by Commissioners Schmit and Breton, let’s take a look at some of the highlights of this unprecedented, innovative and ambitious policy document.

From left to right : Marta Lozano Molano (Wazo Cooperative), Tamsin Rose (moderator), Sofi Friedland (Just Arrived) and Stefan van Tulder (Talent Data Labs) talking about new forms of alliances existing in the social economy during the presentation of the Action Plan in Brussels, on 16 December 2021

Source: European Commission

Between assessments and concrete actions, an ambitious plan for Europe
In its drive to include the most disadvantaged people in labour markets and society, “the social economy is a real pillar that provides essential services” to these same groups. Many EU citizens have access to sustainable employment through the social economy. Indeed, depending on the country, between 0.6% and 9.9% of the population work in this essential sector. However, despite the importance of the sector and the values it promotes, the social economy remains unknown to far too many people.

Nevertheless, the Action Plan explicitly mentions the legal forms of organisations in the sector: cooperatives, foundations, social enterprises, mutuals, and others, which fall within the scope of these new regulations. Measures will be put in place to facilitate the work of cross-border organisations in the sector, both in terms of legislation and taxonomy. These measures will, among other things, help to better anchor the social economy at regional and local level.

In parallel to this issue, the ecological and digital transition will have a key place in the European social economy of tomorrow. There is still a long way to go to get there, even if the ambitions of the action plan are strong to give social economy structures the keys to develop. Several points echo what the Social Good Accelerator has been advocating since its creation in 2018.

Persons in the attendance of the presentation of the Social Economy Action Plan discussing

Source: European Commission

Towards the digital transition of social economy?
With the aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the European Union is banking on renewable energies, but also on the digital transition. So why? The reason is simple: the social economy contributes to the dissemination of good practices and will be able to offer a response to the growth of the circular and collaborative economy in all spheres of society. 

This is also in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights, presented in 2017 at the Gothenburg Summit (Sweden). One of the key points of this commitment is to offer basic digital skills to 80% of 16-74 year-olds at EU level. As part of the drive to be one of the most equitable societies in the world, European public authorities have in mind the importance of bridging the existing digital divide through mediation, education and acculturation to digital tools. The social economy is, in its very essence, a real driver for a fair and inclusive digital transition. By deploying basic technological tools, many social economy organisations contribute to this objective of the European pillar of social rights.

Commissionner Schmit presented the Action Plan to the press a few days prior to its public presentation

Source: European Commission

The role of social economy actors involved in Tech4Good is also particularly highlighted. Their role in the deployment of digital technologies is described as crucial to the overall impact of making the sector ever more social and ecological. Thus, this particular type of actor also helps to foster new digital business models or cooperations. It is on this particular point that the importance of the collaborative economy and that of platforms, at the heart of a process of revitalisation of the local level, is highlighted.

Maximising the contribution of the social economy to the ecological and digital transitions
The action plan outlines the role of the sector in moving towards a green and digital transition in a number of concrete points and objectives. These transitions will, among other things, provide citizens with a digital future based on people, sustainability and prosperity. They thus serve as a real pivot for replicating and replicating successful initiatives in other localities.

Finally, the role of digital is highlighted in the importance of improving working conditions in the social economy, but not only. Practices such as data management or data processing are unfortunately still marginal in the sector, although the relevance of their use is no longer in question. This is one of the reasons why social enterprises (such as digital transformation accelerators) are seeking to make these digital tools more accessible and affordable, especially for organisations that sometimes have modest means. It remains to be seen how these ambitions will be translated into legislation at European and national levels.

Digital inclusion: how is it going in Europe?

Digital inequalities, more often referred to as the “digital divide”, are an obstacle for those who already have difficulties in using them or who do not have access to them. To fill these gaps, public authorities are acting at both national and European level, in conjunction with local authorities. For example, the European directive 2018/1972 creates the notion of “adequate high-speed Internet access service” and gives more rigid criteria for the definition of an Internet connection. This directive is then transposed into the national laws of the Member States, notably through action plans or an equivalent tool.

Here are some examples from four EU countries.

In France, a national plan for digital inclusion
The French state wishes to detect the public in difficulty in order to diagnose their shortcomings in digital terms. This is done by supporting the MOOC proposed by MedNum and the Centre national de la fonction publique territoriale (CNFPT) “on the challenges and good practices of digital mediation in the service of the digital transition of the territories for the agents of local authorities”.

Young people in civic service are also targeted, as the Ligue de l’Enseignement will be mobilised to guarantee the quality of the interventions of these young volunteers. The aim is to raise awareness of digital issues among the target audiences, and also to equip these young volunteers.

Two women working on a computer

Source: Gobierno de España

A Digital Belgium to bridge a digital divide
The Belgian authorities have highlighted the digital divide, which mainly affects certain age groups, the least educated and those on the lowest incomes. These three degrees of digital divide are to be eliminated by several means. For example, the idea is to strengthen cooperation between the regions, the municipalities and the State, while involving all the players to create genuine e-inclusion, including in public services.
Indeed, 10% of Belgian households still do not have access to the Internet. The objective is therefore to guarantee high-speed Internet access for all, particularly in the rural municipalities of Wallonia.
The strategy adopted by Belgium is also to allow as many people as possible to access digital services, whether by making the prices of computer equipment and subscriptions accessible. At the same time, the government wants to give everyone the opportunity to improve their skills, while setting up awareness campaigns to highlight good practices. Nevertheless, since the development of this Digital Belgium plan, the federal government has indicated that it wants to strengthen it rapidly.

In Portugal, an action plan for the digital transition
“Digital empowerment of people, digital transformation of businesses and digitalisation of the State” are at the heart of this plan launched in March 2020 and validated by the Council of Ministers. In this case, the various strategies already in place or developed in Portugal, at local or national level, have been pooled to create a real national synergy. Thus, this plan aims to juggle different sectoral policies to achieve an effective and inclusive digital transition.
Note the Estonian inspiration in this Portuguese plan. An e-Residency programme will enable Portuguese residents living abroad to use an online version of public services. In parallel to this measure, the country of the Carnations wants to create full online access to the 25 most used public services.

Through different approaches, the expected results seem to be the same in these different countries: to bridge the digital divide that exists in our societies. This concerns the oldest groups, the most disadvantaged and those living in rural areas. These three groups are the keystone of the public authorities’ action in this area, since they are the most likely to be in digital insecurity. Between the ambitious targets and the digital divide, however great it may be, national and local authorities will have their work cut out to ensure Internet access for everyone.

Sources:

– Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires, Plan national pour un numérique inclusif, 2018

– Conseil central de l’Économie / Centrale Raad voor het Bedrijfsleven, Vers une politique d’inclusion numérique en Belgique, 2020

– Ministro da Economia e Transição Digital, Portugal Digital, 2020

– ePortugal, Governo lança plano de ação para a transição digital, 2020

– Ministerio de asuntos económicos y transformación digital, Plan de inclusión digital y empleabilidad, 2014

G7 Summit: why does the British Southwest is so important for the digital sector?

The G7 Summit is currently taking place in the seaside resort of Carvis Bay, Cornwall, UK. The choice of this region was undoubtedly made to showcase its rugged rocky coastline and the bucolic charm it inspires. But it is simplistic to reduce the peninsula to this caricature. The British South West has recently made green tech its watchword, despite being one of the least densely populated areas in England.

Here’s how the region has converted to this innovative sector.

Cornwall, a rural and innovative region
Only 600,000 inhabitants, large towns of around 20,000 inhabitants, and 56% of the population living outside the cities. On paper, Cornwall could be seen as a very rural region, far from the hustle and bustle of London. Yet this is where the mistake is made. Cornwall is home to many innovative tech organisations, again in a variety of forms. The pandemic has further demonstrated that the digital sector is pivotal to the whole region. For example, just over 4,000 online shops opened across the South West during the crisis. This is necessary in a region that relies heavily on tourism, but not only. Fishing and farming are also two important sectors of the whole local economy. “Agriculture has been innovating for centuries and we are seeing this now with the emergence of agritech. Investment and innovation must accelerate if we are to truly prosper economically,” says Paul Coles, local director of British Telecom.

Superfast Cornwall, a project to improve everyday rural life
Like other European countries, the UK has a digital rollout plan. £75 million has been invested in rural areas alone, of which most of Cornwall is part. This ambitious action by the UK government has also been to bridge a digital divide, with 17% of rural areas not having access to broadband in 2017. Worse still, in 2011, a study showed that 20% of adults living in the region had never used the internet.

St. Agnes Heritage Coast, in Cornwall

Source: Pexels (image free of rights)

This type of digital inclusion also goes beyond simply training the public and installing effective infrastructures. Municipal services, from the town hall to the library, have been transformed into digital meeting places. Residents can go there to access a computer, for example to do administrative procedures, or to use it for recreational purposes. Improved access to the internet in the region has also led to other innovations, particularly in the area of health.

The University of Plymouth, located in a large Cornish city of the same name, is very involved in these cross-cutting issues. Studies have been carried out to see the effects of digital medicine, particularly for treating psychological disorders. For example, e-health has tried to treat people suffering from dementia using robotics or the remote presence of people qualified in these pathologies.

Between successes and limitations, digital infrastructures at the service of the local economy
The health crisis has also prompted the region to review its model, or rather, to highlight its successes. “If we really want to rebuild the economy in a way that has the least impact on our environment, we need to go through the technology sector,” says Paula Byers, the founder of Digital Northern Devon. She believes that the digital infrastructure that has been greatly improved – or simply built – has made up for the difference in economic development that existed with other parts of Britain. Companies have been able to set up in the area, such as Jurassic Fibre, which would not have been able to set up without the infrastructure projects of the last ten years. The latter aims to provide “world class broadband for 300,000 premises” of organisations in the South West.

Localisation of Cornwall in the South West of England

Source: Wikipedia (image free of rights)

Nevertheless, the choice to develop fibre first in one region rather than another can have perverse effects. “Just as the rollout of railways in the 19th century defined the winners and losers for the next hundred years, the rollout of fibre to the premises networks will do the same in the 21st century. Our intention is that the South West will be one of the winners. So says Michael Maltby, CEO of Jurassic Fibre. Let’s hope that fibre doesn’t put territories in competition with each other and leave some behind. But there is no doubt that recent European projects have added value to Cornwall. One of the reasons for the slight increase in the region’s population, says Maltby, is that its digital infrastructure has definitely improved. As well as the picture postcard image that Cornwall offers, it is also becoming a favourite with the populations of the surrounding major cities, starting with Bristol, the nearest major city before London.

A view of Port Isaac, UK, a small village north of Newquay.

Source: Pexels (free of use)

The UK has chosen to move towards a vision of digital as a basic need. But access to the Internet is only one side of the coin, and the other side must ensure that these tools are understood. The demographic composition and geographical distribution of Cornwall’s population has forced the region to turn to digital technology to overcome challenges. Between the digital divide and the remoteness of many from major cities – and therefore from decent access to the internet, the peninsula has quickly become a model for the rest of the UK, but remains “largely neglected” within the European Union.

Sources:

– European Network for Rural Development, Cornwall-UK, Steps towards a digital rural region, 2019

– Olivier Vergnault, Hannah Finch, “Why the South West’s tech sector has been a saviour of the Covid-19 crisis”, Business Live, 2020