This paper is part of a larger research project entitled “L’entreprise sociale: lutte contre l’exclusion par l’insertion économique et sociale” (ELEXIES), financed by the European Commission (DG Employment and Social Affairs) in the framework of the “Preparatory Action to Combat and Prevent Social Exclusion”. This project is run jointly by the European Network of Social Integration Enterprises (ENSIE), the European Confederation of Workers’ Co-operatives, Social Co-operatives and Participative Enterprises (CECOP) and the EMES European Research Network.
The part of the project in which this paper takes place is co-ordinated by Eric BIDET (Centre d’Economie Sociale, University of Liège, Belgium) and Roger SPEAR (Co-ops Research Unit, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK).
This report covers the findings of a study of social enterprise providing work integration in 12 European countries. It is specifically concerned with the different types of social enterprise for integration (SEI), also known as work integration social enterprise (WISE). The study has identified and described their main characteristics as social enterprises, the type of work integration they provide, their numbers, and how they have developed and are supported. One outcome of the project is the development of a database on WISE in Europe, accessible on internet.
