3P4SSE

Project overview

Public-private-partnership for Social and Solidarity Economy

Social and economic disparities remain evident in central Europe and negatively influence cohesion. Social exclusion and poverty also affect some regions more than others and this needs to change. To do so, the 3P4SSE project went beyond state-of-the-art social innovation projects. The partners adopted a place-based clustering approach when addressing specific challenges of social and solidarity economies. Amongst others, they created a multilevel network scheme based on public-private partnership models and established strategic cooperation among stakeholders.

2,12m €

Project Budget

80%

of the Budget is funded by ERDF

Layer 1

6

Countries

9

Regions

12

Partners

6

Pilots

Duration

Start date

End date

Project progress

100%

Project partnership

Project partners

Italia (IT)

Lead partner

Autonomous Province of Trento

UMST - Unità di missione strategica coordinamento enti locali, politiche territoriali e della montagna - Ufficio risorse Unione Europea e sviluppo territoriale
Address
Piazza Dante 15
38122 Trento
Country
Italy (IT)
Web
www.provincia.tn.it

Project partner

DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
Address
ŠTRIGINA 1A
10000 Zagreb
Country
Croatia (HR)
Web
https://zaklada.civilnodrustvo.hr
Total partner budget
89,600 €
Project Department
Address
Macieja Rataja 26
59-220 Legnica
Country
Poland (PL)
Web
www.arleg.eu
Total partner budget
112,000 €
Address
Tkalski prehod 4
2000 Maribor
Country
Slovenia (SI)
Web
http://www.fundacija-prizma.si
Total partner budget
190,400 €
Region Süd
Address
Alte Poststraße 136
8020 Graz
Country
Austria (AT)
Web
www.fab.at
Total partner budget
206,080 €
Address
Gesztenyefa u. 4
9027 Gyor
Country
Hungary (HU)
Web
www.pbn.hu
Total partner budget
225,792 €
Innovation in Culture, Society & Public Administration
Address
Via Pier Carlo Boggio 61
10138 Turin
Country
Italy (IT)
Web
https://linksfoundation.com/en/
Total partner budget
219,520 €
Programmes & Development
Address
Viale Milano 36
36100 Vicenza
Country
Italy (IT)
Web
https://www.alda-europe.eu/alda-b-corp-pro-services/
Total partner budget
211,120 €
Address
Pobreška cesta 20
2000 Maribor
Country
Slovenia (SI)
Web
www.rra-podravje.si
Total partner budget
200,704 €
Address
Via Segantini 10
38121 Trento
Country
Italy (IT)
Web
www.cooperazionetrentina.it
Total partner budget
170,240 €
Department of EU Funds
Address
Trzebnicka 42-44
50-230 Wroclaw
Country
Poland (PL)
Web
www.dops.wroc.pl
Total partner budget
142,800 €
Department of Economy, EU funds and Agriculture
Address
Domovinskog rata 2
21100 Split
Country
Croatia (HR)
Web
https://www.dalmacija.hr/
Total partner budget
98,560 €

Roadmap

1

Challenge

Despite progress in regional convergence, Central Europe still exhibits economic and social disparities, particularly between Eastern and Western regions. Life expectancy and living conditions vary significantly, illustrating the deep-rooted inequalities that persist. Addressing these disparities requires a robust engagement from communities and a bridging of the gap between public and private sectors. The 3P4SSE project conceptualizes SSE as encompassing diverse entities prioritizing societal purpose over profit. This approach has led to the creation of quality jobs, social integration initiatives, and environmentally sustainable practices. However, Central European regions display different degrees of maturity in institutionalizing SSE, ranging from formalized social economy frameworks to early-stage economies still developing public-private partnerships.

2

Specific Problem

Discussion for a common glossary on Social Solidarity economy: in the first phase of the project, Partners and stakeholders joined an online focus group to integrate all information, gathered by the desk analysis and questionnaires/interviews about the definition and common understanding of social and solidarity economy, social enterprise, social economy cluster. The aim of this discussion was to advance the action-reasearch towards more focused question about a common glossary on social solidarity economy and a policy agenda.

3

Idea

The Joint Strategy on 3Ps is built on the recognition that SSE is pivotal for achieving sustainable development and promoting local development through robust social economy ecosystems and clusters. The strategy shifts from a narrow focus on social inclusion to a broader concept of social innovation. This includes fully integrating disadvantaged social groups, introducing new services driven by digitization and technological transformation, and fostering proactive social dynamics. The strategy’s policy objectives include raising collective awareness, creating supportive social economy clusters through public-private partnerships, ensuring economic sustainability and resilience, and fostering innovation in developmental paradigms. These objectives are designed to maximize the impact of SSE in Central European regions.

4

Solution

The consortium has been working locally and transnationally to establish polycentric networks that facilitate collaboration among public and private actors, cluster Social and Solidarity Economies (SSEs) to fortify weak economic sectors, formulate joint strategies, and implement action plans at the regional level to mitigate regional disparities and foster social and economic cohesion in Central Europe.

5

How it works:

• The project has defined a Central European common approach and strategy for regional collaboration forms in social and solidarity economies. • Through the implementations of pilot actions, 3P4SSE have carried out Local Action Plans for promoting better regional governance models for social and solidarity economies in the Central European Area. • The 3P4SSE project has fomalised a collaboration within the Central European cooperation area on SSEs, endowed by a common platform for empowering, sharing knowledge, competences, services and participation of public and private actors.

6

Proof/credibility

The project has formalized a collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among stakeholders and establish an IT platform for sharing knowledge and services, facilitating mutual learning and sustainable development in Central Europe.

7

Vision

The CENSE Network brings together organisations across Central Europe that believe in a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable economy. We connect public institutions, social enterprises, NGOs, development agencies, cooperatives, private sector stakeholders and other actors working in the field of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) to exchange knowledge, best practices, develop new solutions and strengthen cross-sector cooperation in Central Europe and beyond. CENSE was established by 13 founding organisations from across Central Europe within the framework of the Interreg Central Europe 3P4SSE project. CENSE has been launched in Brussels at the Project's final conference on 24th March 2026.

News

Events

Pilot actions

Outputs

Joint Strategy on 3Ps to support Social and Solidarity Economy

This output represented the strategic document on which project partners based their pilots about the Local Action Plans and it was drafted in three sections, illustrating: (i) the social economy common background and fundamentals; (ii) policy agenda and methodological framework, such as policy axes and priorities related to local action plans; (iii) pilot actions schemes and timeline.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans

Solutions to promote Social and Solidarity Economy

The solutions shared with Social and Solidarity Economy actors and jointly developed represent the long-term commitment of public and private bodies (and, for some solutions, the 4–5-helix ecosystem) to strengthen their collaboration for a more place-based, inclusive and sustainable economic development. The solutions highlight key elements that enable long-lasting effects, particularly through shared governance mechanisms, innovative tools, capacity building and increased visibility. They demonstrate that place-based, bottom-up approaches and co-creation can generate both effective and efficient impact. The solutions were designed to tackle the following needs: - Solution 1 (Italy): the need to innovate tools and intervention methodologies within the Solidarity Economy system to improve dialogue and collaboration among public and private actors. - Solution 2: the need to strengthen skills, knowledge sharing and competencies for social economy organizations. - Solution 3: the need to deepen cooperation and improve monitoring processes. - Solution 4: the need to connect SSEs with intermediaries and policymakers, facilitating resource-sharing and mutual support. - Solution 5: the need to involve local government in the development of the social economy and to improve cooperation with social economy entities. Overall, the five solutions aim to strengthen social and solidarity economy governance and collaboration, namely through: 1) A quadruple-helix model with shared and permanent SSE actors’ mapping. 2) A Croatian Social Entrepreneurship Support Center (physical and digital). 3) The zDRAVkA care platform and Živo Gnezdo innovation hub to enhance social economy impact. 4) A Regional SSE Platform ensuring coordinated action. 5) A framework enabling the development of public–private partnerships.
Type of output: Solutions

Joint capacity building Curriculum

This Curriculum is designed as an online training resource that provides structured learning materials, case studies, and methodological tools. The curriculum serves as a reference point for practitioners, policy makers, and organisations seeking to enhance their knowledge and competences in key thematic areas related to Social and Solidarity Economy and Public-Private-Partnership cooperation. The content of the curriculum is based on the results and experiences generated throughout the project partnership, including desk research, the expertise of project partners, and the outcomes of a questionnaire completed by partners and stakeholders. The results of this needs assessment were analysed, prioritised and subsequently structured into thematic modules. The curriculum follows a modular and flexible learning approach. Users can engage with the materials at their own pace and according to their specific needs. In this way, the curriculum contributes both to individual competence development and to strengthening collective learning processes within regional ecosystems.
Type of output: Solutions

3P4SSE

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Project on social media

Project contact

Francesca Leoni