Partner Description

EMES is an international research network of sixteen established university research centres and over individual researchers whose goal is to gradually build a European corpus of theoretical and empirical knowledge, pluralistic in disciplines and methodology, around social enterprise and other third sector issues. EMES conducts multidisciplinary studies to understand the diversity of experiences at national levels, and the way third sector enterprises and organizations are embedded in their respective societies.

The range of initiatives carried out by the coordination unit and the members of EMES covers comparative research projects, educational and training programmes in over 15 European universities and dissemination activities.

Specifically, EMES organizes bi-annual international conferences and international PhD Summer Schools that have become references in the research community. EMES disseminates the results of its research projects and publications in various economic, social and political arenas and in the academic world. EMES has published twelve books to date some of which have been translated into more than five languages. It also publishes the EMES Working Papers Series, which includes over 40 papers with the results of its different research projects available for download.
www.emes.net

Role in Third Sector Impact

• Main responsibility: Communication and design.
• Additional responsibility: Stakeholders’ involvement, scientific and administrative management.

Relevant Projects

”International Comparative Social Enterprise Models Project“ ICSEM (2014-2017)
ICSEM aims at comparing social enterprise models and their respective institutionalisation processes across the world. Therefore it will rely on the participation of a large number of researchers from all regions who will contribute by providing country-specific or field-specific analysis of social enterprise models.
http://www.emes.net/what-we-do/research-projects/social-enterprise/icsem-project/

“Welfare innovations at the local level in favour of social cohesion“ WILCO (2011 – 2013)
WILCO aims to examine through cross-national comparative research how local welfare systems affect social inequalities and how they favour social cohesion with a special focus on the missing link between innovations at the local level and their successful transfer to and implementation in other settings.
www.wilcoproject.eu

”Foster social acceptance of RES by stakeholder engagement“ RESCoop 20-20-20 (2012-2014)
The “REScoop 20-20-20 project” aims to improve social acceptance of RES-e generation (“RES-e” standing for “electricity from renewable energy sources”) with its proven model of local cooperative citizen involvement. RES-e projects face manipulation by associations that fight the common good for their activists’ (perceived) self-interest.
http://www.emes.net/what-we-do/research-projects/social-innovation/rescoop-20-20-20

“Changing Family Structures and Social Policy: Childcare Services as Sources of Social Cohesion“ TSFEPS (2001-2004)
In a context of changing family structures, the TSFEPS Project analyzed the way public policy, the family sphere and third sector organizations interact in the field of childcare services. Its specific objective was to understand the impact of these services on social cohesion, and their suitability in responding to the changes in family structures.
http://www.emes.net/what-we-do/research-projects/personal-and-social-services/tsfeps/