The ‘European Social Economy Summit’ #EUSES is a jointly organised digital conference by the European Commission and the City of Mannheim. The conference aims to strengthen the #SocialEconomy in Europe and harness its contribution to economic development, social inclusion, and green and digital transitions.

The #EUSES will offer a forum for numerous exchanges on the role of social economy in Europe as a vector for economic development and social inclusion. The summit will be an opportunity to discuss how social economy can help reshape the economy post-COVID by promoting inclusive sustainable economic models for the green and digital transition within Europe.

The session “Tapping the potential of the social economy to make socially responsible public procurement work” will take place on 27 May 2021 from 11.30 am to 1pm. It is organised by AEIDL, Caritas Europa, Diakonie, DIESIS, ENSIE, European Commission DG GROW, REVES and Social Economy Europe. It builds on the work carried out in the projects Buying for Social Impact and #WeBuySocialEU.

Public procurement is an important instrument for public authorities to achieve policy objectives. Drawing on their social aim, the social economy can maximize the impact of public procurement policies and procedures. This workshop will encourage dialogue between contracting authorities and the social economy to share experiences, mainstream support structures and explore innovative approaches to make SRPP work.

The session has three thematic focuses:

• Delivering quality social services through an increased collaboration with the social economy within public procurement rules;
• Promoting the integration of disadvantaged persons through reserved contracts and employment clauses;
• Innovation in public procurement to fully bring out its social potential.

You can register here for free for the #EUSES on 26 - 27 May and then register for the workshops which interest you directly on the open social network platform. After registration, on 26 May you will receive a link to connect to the whole event and you will have to select the sessions you want to join.