From EQUAL to CoPIE

Within the framework of the Lisbon strategy, EU-member states have defined objectives concerning employment policies aiming at increasing job-opportunities as well as better qualifying employees in order to develop an integrative labor market. In this context, social-partners should help to achieve the following main goals: “full employment,” “improvement of the job quality and productivity,” as well as the “consolidation of the economical, social and territorial solidarity”.

Equal opportunities and avoiding discrimination are two main aspects in regard to achieving the defined employment rate goals. A special emphasis should be put on those activities that support and intensify social inclusion, prevent labor market exclusions, support the integration of handicapped people into the labour market, and lower regional disparities in terms of employment, unemployment and labour productivity.

As part of a new approach that appeals to people of all ages, a special focus will be put on the access to employment during the entire work life, both for young and older employees. Furthermore, marginalised people such as people with disabilities or citizens of non-member states are at the centre of attention.An active policy that focuses on integration should increase the supply of labour and strengthen social commitment. Such a policy is intended to function as a promoter of social integration and the integration into the labour market.

Self–employment as Opportunity

The EU-action plan for entrepreneurship aims at promoting entrepreneurship as the main impulse for innovation, economic growth and of selfemployment competitiveness. Through the support, the formation of enterprises as well as a stronger collaboration of the social partners’, the following three aspects should be brought into balance: flexibility, employment security as well as the reduction of labour market segmentation.

Today, to be self-employed is often the last opportunity to make a living without being dependent on social welfare. Therefore, political goals related to labour market issues increasingly take into account people, who are not in accordance with the “typical” concept of a self-employed. These people require a different type of support in order to run a successful business. Currently, many of the existing systems cannot fulfil those demands, due to its internal structure, which is only taking into account a traditional type of employee personality. Henceforth, these people (e.g. women, people with a migration background, handicapped, young people and unemployed) can be considered as structurally disadvantaged. Moreover, due to an increasing mobility of the labour market, even people with a higher education regard self-employment as an opportunity to close gaps in their professional vita.Creating a business-friendly infrastructure to activate the entrepreneurial potentials in all groups of society should be the main focus of labour market policies in all European member-states.  

COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE ON INCLUSIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP (COPIE)

Aim and origin

The initiative „EQUAL“ has been promoted by the European Social Fund (ESF) until 2007 and is aimed at developing new approaches in the fight against discrimination and iniquity of employees as well as the unemployed on the European labor market. In order to implement the results and experiences of “EQUAL” from more than 300 partnerships into the decision-making processes of European Member states, the European Commission promotes the implementation of further workgroups, which are called „Communities of Practice“ (CoP). Such CoPs deal with specific topics.

Following the end of both “EQUAL” stages, a European workgroup „Community of Practice on Inclusive Entrepreneurship“ (CoPIE) has been established. The main objective of CoPIE is to train and support decision-makers of public administration and start-up intermediates.

CoPIE was founded by Belgium (region Flanders), Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Wales whilst the countries of France, the Netherlands, Greece, and the region of Wallonia (Belgium) have been acting as observers of the process. In the course of implementing CoPIE, countries such as the Czech Republic, Ireland, and Latvia began to support the project. All of these countries have gathered experience in developing the formation of enterprises into an instrument of employment politics.

CoPIE especially wants to makes a significant contribution to developing high-quality structures that offer a real chance to become self-employed to underrepresented or rather marginalized target-groups.Self-employment should become a real alternative to dependent employment, especially in the case of a lack of job opportunities. This goal is known as „Inclusive Entrepreneurship“. 

Understanding of Inclusive Entrepreneurship

All over Europe an increasing number of employees are Solo-entrepreneurs. Their main incentive to start-up a business is to provide their own job. This kind of business founding often takes place when people are unemployed or try to avoid becoming unemployed. Many people use self-employment as an opportunity to (re) integrate into society. For other people it’s a real chance to self-fulfilment, to make professional experiences or to close gaps in their professional vita. In terms of regional development, such kinds of activities have potentials that have not been explored sufficiently. It’s often the case that people suffering from discrimination and marginalization enter into niche markets by starting-up their own business.

The main idea of „Inclusive Entrepreneurship“ is to enable basically every member of society to start-up her own business and to get professional start-up support. Although not everybody may have an entrepreneur personality and not every business concept may be feasible, it should be guaranteed that starting-up a business is achievable for people from all social backgrounds.

In order to enhance the start-up rate within the European Union and to offer adequate conditions for conducting business projects, four key issues have been identified as the four ladders out of social exclusion.

• Generate an entrepreneurial culture within an adequate framework.
• Availability of target group specific professional start-up support and professional trainings.
• Professional support during the consolidation and growth period of young business.
• Access to finance.

Summary: the aims of CoPIE

• Advancement and deployment of high quality start-up support systems for all groups of society.
• Development and transfer of models and procedures to facilitate the access to finance for young start-ups.
• Identification of procedures which promote the activation of entrepreneurial potentials.

In order to achieve these goals, the first task of CoPIE was on:

• the transfer of European best-practice approaches within the sphere of „Inclusive Entrepreneurship“,
• the development of a tool (CoPIE-Tool) that analyses the regional start-up support infrastructure and
• the development and implementation of policy strategies.