ESCAP
Co-constructing change
Escap is a collective project coordinated by the Centre for Social Economy at HEC ULiège, in partnership with W.Alter, with the aim of strengthening links between social enterprises and academic research in Wallonia and thus contributing to the development of a sustainable and inclusive economy.
Social enterprises: a response to issues of public interest
Social enterprises bring together private companies whose business model reflects strong ethical values (non-capitalist allocation of surplus, democratic governance, management autonomy). These companies prioritise their social purpose and adopt management practices that clearly promote social inclusion, sustainability and/or stakeholder participation. In Belgium, there are 18,000 such enterprises, representing 390,000 FTEs, or 1 in 8 jobs (source: concertes.be). Despite their potential to address issues of general interest (social cohesion, social justice, ecological transition), social enterprises remain little known to the general public and underdeveloped in Wallonia. Their dissemination requires a better understanding of the innovative models they offer, the individual and collective mechanisms on which these models are based, the difficulties they encounter, and the tools and management methods specific to this type of enterprise.
Escap: developing social enterprises through knowledge transfer
In this context, and inspired by the Canadian TIESS model, the Walloon Region wanted to accelerate the development of the social economy and support social innovation by setting up a multi-year project (2020-2023) organising the mutual transfer of knowledge between social enterprises and the academic research community. The Walloon Region is subsidising W.Alter for the development of this project. It is hosted by the Centre for Social Economy, which for many years has been involved in co-construction and action research with actors in the field (notably in the context of the VISES and Secoia projects, etc.). The project is called ‘es.cap’, emphasising its desire to participate in transforming the way the economy works.
Towards a desirable economy!
Since 2020, Escap has been bringing together the social enterprise world and the scientific community around common objectives to co-develop knowledge and innovative tools. Escap's strength lies in its unique combination of research and fieldwork, making it an ideal place for collective reflection and projects promoting the development of the social economy.
Through its networking activities and operational support, Escap mobilises the ecosystem supporting social economy enterprises, federations and consultative bodies for social economy enterprises, observatories, solidarity-based financiers, support structures (such as consulting agencies), public administration, etc. to develop projects that will shape the Walloon social economy.
Thanks to funding from the Walloon Region, Escap and the holders of chairs in social economy coordinate working groups each year that bring together and produce knowledge and tools on a variety of evolving themes: democratic governance, ethical financing, extra-financial reporting, teaching social economy, sustainable business models, gender and diversity, the legal framework for cooperatives, etc.
Each year, these working groups produce deliverables that can take various forms depending on needs: analyses, practical guides, management tools, advocacy, events, case studies, etc. Since September 2020, 22 working groups have been selected (out of 40 applications), resulting in 33 deliverables to date. Approximately 200 researchers and field workers have been involved in the initiative, as well as more than 150 students (internships, dissertations, group work, jobs).
