This project sets out to achieve its central objective of creating a network at the local and regional levels. 

Potential partners include local organizations in the social economy, local and regional businesses, and associations. Collaboration with other universities in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands is also being pursued. Additionally, we plan to collaborate with already established actors in the region – such as Impact HUB Vienna (https://vienna.impacthub.net) and Social Impact Award Vienna (http://socialimpactaward.at) – as well as existing contacts of the Ilse Arlt Institute.

Existing connections to Germany and the Netherlands, e.g., the Social Entrepreneurship Akademie München (http://www.seakademie.de/), Grameen Creative Lab Wiesbaden – Deutscher Verein, TEHREP Enschede (Netherlands) may be optionally included. The question of whether social entrepreneurship is merely an “ideologically charged combative term used to dismantle the welfare-state regulatory model within the welfare triangle ” (Dimmel 2016), or whether the emergence of new players in the social economy – along with increased attention from institutions and providers of independent welfare services – leads to a growing demand for social innovation (Böckenhoff 2016), must be carefully analyzed and discussed.

To maintain a perspective that is as objective as possible and to avoid one-sidedness (e.g., being too abstract, too general, too research-heavy, too theoretical, etc.), a discussion forum will be established with representatives from the Austrian Chamber of Labour, the Federation of Austrian Industries, and social organizations (such as Arbeit Plus – www.arbeitplus.at). This exchange forum will serve to discuss ideas, findings, and developments.