Social enterprises and their eco-systems: A European mapping report. Updated country report: Belgium

This report provides an overview of the roots, concept, legal evolution, numbers and eco-system of social enterprise in Belgium and the challenges it faces. In the first section, a number of roots and drivers are described that have paved the way for the current understanding and landscape of social enterprise in Belgium. These roots include the associative tradition, the cooperative movement, the tradition of mutuals, the (new) social economy and the more recent business-oriented approach. The role of public policies and philanthropic actors is also discussed. In the second section, the legal evolution of social enterprise is sketched out, and three main ideal types are identified based on their underlying dynamics: (i) the entrepreneurial approach to the general interest (typically embodied by associations and foundations); (ii) the combination of mutual and general interest (typically embodied by cooperatives and mutuals); and (iii) the more borderline case of businesses that combine private and general interest. In this section, the social purpose company framework is presented, as well as a number of certification schemes. In the third section on measuring social enterprises, two approaches are distinguished: bottom-up and inclusive. Figures are presented based on studies following each approach, with the inclusive approach providing the most comprehensive number of more than 18 000 social enterprises in Belgium. Figures on employment, growth rates, legal forms and activity sectors are also presented. The fourth section reviews the main actors in the social enterprise eco-system in Belgium and its various regions. Significant attention is devoted to public authorities and public policies at the federal and regional levels. Networks and federations of different types are also presented, as well as advice and consultancy organisations, universities, observatories, incubators, etc. Finally, the need for and supply of social finance are presented and the gaps between demand and supply are discussed. Finally, the last section discusses some of the debates, obstacles and opportunities around social enterprise in Belgium. Four trends and challenges are also discussed: diversification, market recognition, social impact and communication/visibility. The annexes include the EU operational definition of social enterprise, five illustrations relating to different fields of activity, and a list of references for further exploration of the social enterprise landscape in Belgium

La empresa social en Bélgica: Diversidad de fuentes, modelos y campos

 Este artículo está estructurado como sigue: la primera sección introductoria revisa las principales raíces históricas que han conducido a la emergencia de una diversidad de modelos relacionados con la empresa social y a la economía social en Bélgica. Enseguida, la segunda sección esboza los principales aspectos de esos modelos en relación a sus formas legales, tipos de misión social a las que se orientan, dinámicas de gobierno y recursos. En la tercera sección, esos modelos son ilustrados in diferentes campos de actividad, tanto establecidos como emergentes. Finalmente, la cuarta sección propone un análisis transversal de los principales tendencias y desafíos que enfrenta el desarrollo y coexistencia de los diferentes modelos.Palabras clave: Economía Social, tradición cooperativa, tradición asociativa, nueva economía social, social venture 

Explorando a diversidade do comércio justo na economia social

Fair trade (FT) organizations have been quite early taken as examples of social enterprises (SE) and have contributed to the shaping of the SE concept. The goal of this article is to examine more deeply, both at a conceptual and at an empirical level, to what extent FT organizations can be considered as social enterprises. First, we introduce different theoretical frameworks of SE and examine FT in the context of each of these frameworks. In a second step, we use an empirical study on fair trade social enterprises (FTSEs) across four European countries to illustrate and deepen the links between FT and SE, focusing on the goals and the governance structures of FTSEs. It appears that all FTSEs combine in some way economic, social and sometimes also political goals. FTSEs are thus in line with the “hybrid goal” nature of SEs. FTSEs’  governance is also quite specific and often innovative in terms  of organizational architecture and stakeholders’ involvement. Some FTSEs are closer to the European – participatory – approach to social enterprise, while others are closer to US – individual – approaches. Finally, the governance structures of FTSEs seem to reflect quite well their mix of goals.Key words: social enterprise, fair trade, multiple goals, governance, Europe.Organizações de comércio justo (CJ) têm sido tomadas como exemplo de empresas sociais (ES) há bastante tempo e têm contribuído para a formação do conceito de ES. O objetivo deste artigo é examinar mais profundamente, tanto no nível conceitual quanto empírico, até que ponto as organizações de CJ podem ser consideradas empresas sociais. Primeiramente, introduzimos diferentes perspectivas teóricas de ES e examinamos o CJ no contexto de cada uma destas perspectivas. Em um segundo momento, apresentamos um estudo empírico sobre empresas sociais de comércio justo (ESCJ) de quatro países europeus para ilustrar e aprofundar as ligações entre CJ e ES, tendo como foco os objetivos e as estruturas de governança destas ESCJs. Parece que todas estas ESCJs combinam, de alguma maneira, objetivos econômicos, sociais e, algumas vezes, também políticos. As ESCJs alinham-se, portanto, com a natureza de “objetivo híbrido” das ESs. A governança das ESCJs é também bem específica e frequentemente inovadora em termos de arquitetura organizacional e envolvimento dos parceiros (stakeholders). Algumas ESCJs estão mais próximas da abordagem europeia – participatória – da empresa social, enquanto outras estão mais próximas das abordagens americanas – individual. Por fim, as estruturas de governança das ESCJs parecem refletir muito bem o seu mix de objetivos.Palavras-chave: empresa social, comércio justo, objetivos múltiplos, governança, Europa

Entrepreneurial teams in social entrepreneurship: When team heterogeneity facilitates organizational hybridity

peer reviewedThis chapter examines the composition of teams involved in social entrepreneurship and more particularly their heterogeneity in terms of “institutional logics”. It proposes that when social welfare and market logics are integrated within founding teams, such hybridity is likely to infuse the whole entrepreneurial process to ultimately lead to the creation of a social enterprise as a “hybrid” organization. To theorize this process, a model is proposed that examines the implications of entrepreneurial team heterogeneity in social entrepreneurship. It makes clear that complexity and dynamism, in particular with regard to individuals’ social network structure, as well as interactions between team members, are necessary to understand the impact of team composition on the entrepreneurial process. An illustrative case study is presented to demonstrate the practical relevance of the model.IAP-SOCEN

Unequal pathways to addressing inequality: Divergent boundary work strategies in Belgian philanthropy

Philanthropic organizations seek to address the inequalities in our societies through funding and supporting diverse initiatives that contribute to the general interest. Yet, incumbent philanthropic organizations are increasingly challenged by the emergence of new-generation philanthropic initiatives, in particular social mission platforms that provide technology- supported mechanisms to conduct philanthropic actions and address inequalities in a new way. In this paper, we examine how philanthropic incumbents manage “boundary work” to respond to the arrival of platform-based newcomers. Drawing on an in-depth qualitative case study of Belgian philanthropy, we identify two divergent boundary work strategies. While the affiliating strategy seeks to include and take inspiration from social mission platforms, the discriminating strategy works to maintain rigid boundaries and exclude these platforms. Our findings further explain how these two strategies interact and how these interactions shape the field boundaries. In doing so, we extend the literature on boundaries and boundary work

Communication sectorielle de l’économie sociale : État des lieux et voies d’amélioration

Ce rapport est scindé en 3 parties. La première partie pose un cadre théorique utile à la réflexion (pourquoi la légitimation de l'économie sociale est un défi, quels types de légitimité construire, comment la communication contribue à cette légitimité). La seconde partie du rapport dresse un état des lieux de la communication sectorielle de l’économie sociale wallonne, d'une part, en recensant certaines campagnes et outils mis en place au fil des 30 dernières années, d'autre part en rendant compte des blocages identifiés par les acteurs interrogés. Enfin, la troisième partie du rapport synthétise les recommandations formulées par les acteurs interrogés

Staying out while fitting in: the paradox of collectively quantifying alternative organizations

Alternative organizations face increasing pressures to provide numerical evidence of their impact. We conceptualize this quantification process as socially constructed and actualized in relation to a conform and oppose tension resulting from the clash of market norms and alternative values. As alternative organizations deliver numbers to varied audiences, feedback loops of reactivity (how audience members are shaped and react) and retroaction (how those reactions and also internal processes re-shape the quantifier) evolve within a contentious field. We use archival and interview data to trace over 15 years the quantification initiative of the International Cooperative Alliance, the global apex organization representing 2.6 million cooperatives globally. We develop a process model of relational quantification to identify how three quantification conventions, the authority, aesthetics, and validity of numbers, iteratively shape diverse field audience reactions to quantification. Our model reorients the quantification literature to this relational, contentious, and dynamic process

Reliability Estimates For assessing Meal Timing Derived From Longitudinal Repeated 24-Hour Dietary Recalls

BACKGROUND: Regulating meal timing may have efficacy for improving metabolic health for preventing or managing chronic disease. However, the reliability of measuring meal timing with commonly used dietary assessment tools needs characterization prior to investigating meal timing and health outcomes in epidemiologic studies. OBJECTIVES: to evaluate the reliability of estimating meal timing parameters, including overnight fasting duration, the midpoint of overnight fasting time, the number of daily eating episodes, the period with the largest percentage of daily caloric intake, and late last eating episode (\u3e 09:00 pm) from repeated 24-h dietary recalls (24HRs). METHODS: Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Light\u27s Kappa estimates, and 95% CIs were calculated from repeated 24HR administered in 3 epidemiologic studies: The United States-based Interactive Diet and Activity Tracking in AARP (IDATA) study (n = 996, 6 24HR collected over 12-mo), German EPIC-Potsdam Validation Study (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Potsdam Germany cohort) (n = 134, 12 24HR collected over 12-mo) and EPIC-Potsdam BMBF-II Study (Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung ) (n = 725, 4 24HR collected over 36 mo). RESULTS: Measurement reliability of overnight fasting duration based on a single 24HR was poor in all studies [ICC range: 0.27; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.32 - 0.46; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.50]. Reliability was moderate with 3 24HR (ICC range: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.47, 0.58 in IDATA, 0.62; 95% CI: 0.52, 0.69 in the EPIC-Potsdam Validation Study, and 0.72; 95% CI: 0.70-0.75 in the EPIC-Potsdam BMBF-II Study). Results were similar for the midpoint of overnight fasting time and the number of eating episodes. Reliability of measuring late eating was fair in IDATA (Light\u27s Kappa: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.39) and slight in the EPIC-Potsdam Validation study and the EPIC-Potsdam BMBF-II study (Light\u27s Kappa: 0.19; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.25 and 0.09; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.12, respectively). Reliability estimates differed by sex, BMI, weekday, and season of 24HR administration in some studies. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that ≥ 3 24HR over a 1-3-y period are required for reliable estimates of meal timing variables

Future Sea Level Change Under Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 and Phase 6 Scenarios From the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets

Projections of the sea level contribution from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets (GrIS and AIS) rely on atmospheric and oceanic drivers obtained from climate models. The Earth System Models participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) generally project greater future warming compared with the previous Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) effort. Here we use four CMIP6 models and a selection of CMIP5 models to force multiple ice sheet models as part of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project for CMIP6 (ISMIP6). We find that the projected sea level contribution at 2100 from the ice sheet model ensemble under the CMIP6 scenarios falls within the CMIP5 range for the Antarctic ice sheet but is significantly increased for Greenland. Warmer atmosphere in CMIP6 models results in higher Greenland mass loss due to surface melt. For Antarctica, CMIP6 forcing is similar to CMIP5 and mass gain from increased snowfall counteracts increased loss due to ocean warming