PREPARATORY DESK RESEARCHPARTICIPATIVE NETWORKS: ENSIE’s

Approach and Case Studies

Iasi, July 2015

Rationale and backgound

•To create a particular framework in order to establish limits on PPN models•Based on the concept of Social Citizenship•Development of the idea of Democracy from 1960 onwards•Democracy is participation•The democratic approach is an exportable model to different situations•Specificities of Belgian political and social backgorund

ENSIE - supported by the European Union Program of Employment and Social

Solidarity

Assumption

A shared and cooperative decision making process increases the integration process and enables it to step forward to a deeper and more inclusive step

ENSIE - supported by the European Union Program of Employment and Social

Solidarity

What do people think?

The 2013 Eurobarometer report examines the extent to which European citizens engage in participatory democracy and the extent to which they believe that political decision-making can be influenced through their own actions and through those of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

ENSIE - supported by the European Union Program of Employment and Social Solidarity

Citizens’ engagement in influencing political decision making

A third (34%) of respondents say that they have signed a petition in the last two years.

Other relatively popular forms of engagement are expressing one's views online (28%), expressing one's views with an elected local representative (24%), and taking part in a public debate at local or regional level (18%).

A fifth of respondents (20%) are members of an organization with a specific economic, social, environmental, cultural or sporting interest.

The Nordic countries demonstrate a very high level of participation in NGOs and associations, especially Trade Unions.

ENSIE - supported by the European Union Program of Employment and Social Solidarity

Citizens’ view on CSOs

Most respondents feel that NGOs can influence local (75%) and national (70%) decision-making, and to a lesser extent EU-level decision-making (53%).

A majority (59%) of people think that NGOs share their interests and values, while only four out of 10 people (41%) think European citizens do not need these types of organizations

At least two-thirds of people in all EU countries believe that NGOs can influence local decision-making; over half of the people in all countries take the same view on national decision-making

ENSIE - supported by the European Union Program of Employment and Social Solidarity

Citizens’ view on CSOs

Most respondents feel that NGOs can influence local (75%) and national (70%) decision-making, and to a lesser extent EU-level decision-making (53%).

A majority (59%) of people think that NGOs share their interests and values, while only four out of 10 people (41%) think European citizens do not need these types of organizations

At least two-thirds of people in all EU countries believe that NGOs can influence local decision-making; over half of the people in all countries take the same view on national decision-making

ENSIE - supported by the European Union Program of Employment and Social Solidarity

CONCERTES• platform created in 2006 by three social enterprises

• now it is a well recognized actor representing the interests of social economy in the Walloon region of Belgium

• LEGAL BASIS: Declaration by the Walloon government on the 5th of February 2009, recognizing Concertes as a representative body of social economy enterprises at a regional level

• working on the implementation of the recognition and evaluation of social economy enterprises by gathering inputs and comments from all the members’ organizations.

• The mission of representing social economy in Wallonia was officially established with article 3 of the bill on social economy (regional) on the 20th of November 2008; according to the above-mentioned law on social economy measures, the government gives to one or more nonprofit organizations the mission of representing social economy enterprises towards the national government

ENSIE is supported by the European commission

Groupe Terre

- WHAT: giving someone the chance to have a role in society, especially by helping disadvantaged groups of people or marginalized ones

- HOW: the organization has developed its activities following a strategy based on a participative approach to management and policy

- VALUES: they lay down in the shared responsibility of workers in the enterprise where they are employed, thanks to a clear and transparent communication and an ongoing dialogue based on the principle that everybody is equal inside the enterprise even with a different function

- PARTICIPATION: participating means having access to the decision making process and means also being capable to identify where decisions are made and taken and if they can be debatable or not

ENSIE is supported by the European commission

Centre Bruxellois d’Action Sociopolitique

- A nonprofit organization based in Brussels that dates back to 1968 and that represents a deep insight of how to influence and advocate

- Permanent Working Groups (on the sixth reform of the state legislation, on social affairs, on health policies)

- ‘By sharing information on the latest political decision on a certain topic to all our members, we often realise that political decision on a certain matter has an effect also in other areas: our main aim is the one of sharing information and coordinating the work of the different groups in order to identify common problems and specific interlocutors’

- CBCS is a francophone organization, its counterpart is the BWR, the Brussels Geuzondheids Raad, and that the two organizations, at the time being of this report are not collaborating and have not been so far.

ENSIE is supported by the European commission

Questions?

ENSIE - supported by the European Union Program of Employment and Social Solidarity