EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation ("EaSI")

Call for Proposals: VP/2018/016

Programme title: EU PROGRAMME FOR EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL INNOVATION - EaSI (2014 - 2020)

Application reference: VP/2018/016/0040

Action title: EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation ("EaSI")

Summary of the action: 

CECOP – CICOPA Europe is the European confederation of industrial and service cooperatives with 26 members in 15 EU countries and partnerships with national organizations in another 4 EU countries, representing around 50 000 cooperatives (mainly social cooperatives, worker cooperatives, and cooperatives of self-employed and freelancers) employing around 1.4 million people. It is the European organization of CICOPA, a sectoral organization of the International Cooperative Alliance. CECOP CICOPA-Europe serves, promotes and unites industrial, artisans’, service and social cooperatives and cooperatives with worker ownership in Europe in compliance with the cooperative values and principles, and makes the case for their distinctive value-based economic business model which also provides individuals and communities with an instrument of mutual help, generation of sustainable employment and impact on their long-term social and economic development. CECOP-CICOPA Europe advocates the interests and success of industrial, artisans’, service and social cooperatives and cooperatives with worker ownership, disseminates best practices and know-how about them, strengthens their development and capacity-building and monitors their performance and progress over time.CECOP-CICOPA Europe’s role as a European confederation of social cooperatives, worker cooperatives and cooperatives of self-employed and freelancers:
1. representation and advocacy toward the EU institutions, other European-level organisations, national governments and other components of the cooperative movement.
2. networking by coordinating members’ activities, definition of common strategies and positions, promotion of entrepreneurial development, training and exchange, etc.
3. Contributing to the development of these cooperatives across Europe.
4. fostering the creation and development of national representative organisations in European countries where these do not exist, and by identifying groups of persons and enterprises willing to establish dedicated federations.
5. Producing knowledge, information and studies to the policy-makers, general public and members of the cooperative movement.
6. Communicate about and give visibility to these cooperatives across Europe through the web, the social networks, campaigns, events etc.