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The Open Business for Community Development (OBCD) project seeks to foster innovation in education, alleviate skills gaps in the European labour market, and empower social enterprises. Building on innovative research, the project has produced a new educational competence framework for social entrepreneurship (SEntreComp), tailored training curricula, a prototype for local hub and ecosystem development, and an interactive digital platform for collaboration and knowledge sharing.  OBCD has elaborated several policy recommendations which seek to ensure that the insights generated by the project can be leveraged to inform policymaking – at local, regional, national, and European levels – in support of social enterprises and social entrepreneurship ecosystems. 1. An Entrepreneurial Competence Framework Addressing the Unique Needs of Social Entrepreneurship  Policymakers are encouraged to promote adoption of the OBCD’s SEntreComp framework for social entrepreneurship through actions such as: Acknowledging SEntreComp competencies as valid qualifications for various occupational profiles within the social economy sector, and integrating them into existing professional certification schemes. Providing incentives and guidance for (higher and vocational) education institutions to integrate SEntreComp into curricula, particularly for funded training of social enterprises, and as a standard reference for social entrepreneurship education. Promoting awareness of SEntreComp and utilising it to inform the development of supportive policies. Creating targeted funding opportunities such as microloans, grants, tax incentives, and preferential access to public procurement contracts for social enterprises demonstrating expertise in SEntreComp competencies. 2. Accreditation of Training Programmes and Skills Certification for Social Enterprises  To address the challenges faced by social enterprises in finding qualified staff, OBCD advocates for the accreditation of training programmes and certification of competencies based on its newly developed curricula. Policymakers are urged to: Promote accreditation of social enterprise training programmes based on OBCD curricula and certification of the skills these programmes develop. Integrate micro-credentials into national accreditation systems, offering stackable qualifications in areas like social impact measurement and open business models. Link training schemes to ESCO competencies, ensuring social enterprises’ qualifications are recognised across the EU and thus enhancing workforce mobility, and support the integration of these qualifications into the ECTS system for greater international recognition. 3. Supporting the Development of Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystems and Hubs for Local Development To ensure the success and scaling of OBCD’s efforts to develop collaborative ecosystems (and a prototype hub) for social enterprise support and local development, policymakers must: Allocate funding for the establishment of local hubs, utilising EU financing mechanisms to cover startup costs, and foster public-private partnerships to ensure financial sustainability. Acknowledge social entrepreneurship ecosystems and local hubs as central to national social economy strategies, and integrate them into broader regional development programmes. Invest in the digital capacity of hubs by developing online tools and remote learning platforms to make resources and training more accessible, particularly in underserved areas. Incentivise the development of specialised services within hubs, such as social impact measurement, business model innovation, and legal and financial support for social enterprises. Support the EU Green Deal and Digital Transition by encouraging hubs to incorporate sustainability and digital innovation into their operations. For further information, please visit the project website

The Open Business for Community Development (OBCD) project, implemented from 2022 through 2025 and co-funded by the EU’s Erasmus+ Programme, seeks to foster innovation in education, alleviate skills gaps in the European labour market, and empower social enterprises. Drawing on research conducted across Finland, Greece, Italy, and Spain, OBCD proposes a new competency framework for social entrepreneurship – SEntreComp – which builds on the existing EntreComp model and introduces new competencies specific to social enterprises. Building on this new framework, the project also developed two modular training curricula to address critical skills gaps for social enterprises: one targeting social enterprise Administrative Professionals (EQF5 – higher education) and another for Managers and Developers of social enterprises (EQF6 – vocational education). The curricula are aligned with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and ESCO (European Skills, Competences, Qualifications, and Occupations) to ensure international recognition and the mobility of qualifications across member states. In line with the project’s principles of openness and collaboration, the curricula are freely accessible through an online MOOC. In addition, the OBCD project has focused on building vibrant social entrepreneurship ecosystems to collaborate in local development, including through the establishment of Knowledge Triangles connecting the business, higher education, and vocational training sectors, and by developing a prototype for a local hub that can serve as an incubator for social enterprises. By integrating an open business approach, these ecosystems aim to facilitate collaboration, innovation, and co-creation among social enterprises and diverse stakeholders from the private, public, and education sectors. These ecosystems, and the local hub, are supported in this endeavour by the OBCD’s openly accessible interactive online platform, which enables stakeholders to work together, share knowledge, and collectively support the growth of social enterprises. A Call to Action: The OBCD project has created valuable resources, recently showcased at an international academic conference, to support the growth and sustainability of social enterprises in Europe. Adoption of OBCD’s competency framework and training curricula, support for the further development of social enterprise ecosystems and the establishment of local hubs, and engagement with the resources and opportunities offered by the project’s interactive online platform can generate significant momentum in support of social enterprises. These actions will help to ensure that social enterprises, and the professionals that work in such organisations, are adequately equipped with the tools and resources they need to tackle society’s most pressing challenges, create long-lasting social impact, and contribute to the EU’s goals of sustainability, social inclusion, and economic growth. For further information, please visit the project website