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Progress report of the proximity and social economy Transition Pathway: Key insights

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25 April 2025

Progress report of the proximity and social economy Transition Pathway: Key insights

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Regenerative Green Transition

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The progress report of the proximity and social economy Transition Pathway provides a comprehensive overview of the 231 pledges submitted within the proximity and social economy ecosystem, highlighting key insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. It emphasises the need for increased focus on the digital transition and engagement from the academic sector, as well as the dynamic interaction with other ecosystems. The ongoing submission of pledges, open until 1 June 2025, underscores the need for continuous analysis and support to ensure an effective implementation of the Transition Pathway.

Authors

Editorial team

Topics
Geographical descriptors

Albania

Armenia

Austria

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czechia

Denmark

Estonia

EU-27

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Kosovo

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Moldova

Montenegro

Netherlands

North Macedonia

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Türkiye

Ukraine

Organisation Type

Academic / Research and VET Institutions

Business Support Organisation

Company with 250 or more employees

Cluster Organisations

Consumer Organisations

Cultural and Heritage Organisations

Destination Management & Marketing Organisations

EU Institutions

Financial Institutions and Investors

Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce

International Organisations

Local Authorities

Media / Journalist Organisations

National authorities

Networks and Federations / Confederations

NGOs / Non-profits

Notified Bodies

Other

Regional Authorities

SMEs (a company with less than 250 employees)

Social Economy Entity

Trade Unions

  • Thematic area

    • Partnerships

    • Regenerative Green Transition

    • Skills

    • Transformative Digital Transition

    • Urban and Rural Wellbeing

  • Interlinkages with other sectors

    • Proximity and social economy

    • Agri-food

    • Cultural and creative industries

    • Digital

    • Energy-renewables

    • Health

    • Tourism

  • Action areas and keywords

    • 15-minute city

    • Access to Finance

    • Access to technology

    • Addressing capacity and skills gap

    • Advancing gender equality and safety at work

    • Blue Economy

    • Boosting digital skills by - and in the social economy

    • Buy social

    • Certification, labelling and self-regulation

    • Circular Economy

    • Clusters (including Cluster of social and ecological innovation)

    • Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

    • Creating financial incentives and supportive regulation for green and circular social economy business models

    • Data Maturity and data driven business models

    • Data sharing, Data management & Code of Conduct

    • Digital Platforms

    • Digital social innovation

    • Economic democracy

    • Education

    • Future workplaces

    • Greening infrastructures and business operations

    • Housing

    • ICP rights & workers involvement

    • Industrial relation and social dialogue

    • Innovation

    • Innovation as enabler for green transition and business development in the social economy

    • Internationalisation

    • Local employment

    • Local Green Deals, green business communities and citizens’ initiatives

    • Local Markets

    • Micro mobility

    • New business models

    • New business models – the platform economy

    • New European Bauhaus

    • Other action area

    • Public and private tech partnerships and support

    • Reinforcing Business to Business collaboration for greener and circular value chains

    • Responsible (Public) Procurement

    • Smart mobility

    • Social Finance

    • Socially oriented territorial regeneration

    • Strategy for Data

    • Supporting Digital Social Innovation & Tech for Good entrepreneurship

    • Sustainable Finance

    • Tech for Good

  • Ecosystem focus

    • Proximity economy

    • Social economy

  • Scope of activity

    • International

    • Local/neighbourhood

    • National

    • Regional

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We are pleased to announce the publication of the second progress report on the Transition Pathway for the proximity and social economy ecosystem. This report serves as a vital resource for stakeholders, including policymakers, social economy practitioners, and researchers, providing essential insights into the pledges submitted and highlighting the contributions and synergies within the ecosystem.

Key findings

As of March 2025, a total of 231 pledges have been submitted, with a significant 60% linked to the green transition and 35% dedicated to the digital transition. By action area, most pledges focus on addressing capacity and skills gaps, innovation for the green transition, and reinforcing business-to-business collaboration.  

In terms of stakeholder contributions, social economy entities lead with 72 pledges, followed by 56 from EU networks and 34 from business support organisations. Notably, 14 organisations have submitted five or more pledges, with Strasbourg (city and Eurometropole) standing out with 13 submissions.

Geographically, most pledges were made at the EU level (46). France contributed with 38 and Italy with 32, so far. Interestingly, five pledges have also come from outside the EU, specifically from Jordan, the USA, and Switzerland.  

Specific contributions from organisations such as Social Economy Europe, Euricse, and the Microfinance Centre are also highlighted, emphasising the importance of synergies within the ecosystem. The report also calls attention to the interplay with other ecosystems, reinforcing the potential for cross-sectoral collaboration.

The report underscores that only 34 of the total pledges are linked to the digital transition, indicating a pressing need for greater focus in the digital area. Key action areas identified for improvement include access to technology, data sharing, and the development of new business models. Furthermore, there is currently limited engagement from academia, as no pledges have been submitted by universities or research organisations.

We invite you to read the full progress report attached below to get more detailed insights and findings.

Documents

Progress report
English
(1.06 MB - PDF)
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