This diploma thesis is concerned with Social economy and Non-profit sector and further is focused on one of their key areas which presents providing of social services in Czech Republic. No matter they are providing by government through allowence organizations or the action is entrusted to non-profit organizations. The key issue is how the non-profit sector in the Czech Republic is approaching diffenrent sources of financing both from public and private sources. The goal of this paper is the description of Social economy in general level which is used as teoretical base for the definition of advantages and disadvantages of provided social services by different type of organizations. This thesis can be used for gaining primary orientation in the subject and can assist in founding of the organizations. Final part of the thesis includes summary of the gained informations from relevant literature, empirical examination and from interviews with experts working for the organizations and describe advantages and disadvantages of social services provided by different kind of organizations.

Community supported agriculture is an alternative food system based on a cooperation between farmers and consumers who socially interact in a community. It was settled in the USA and spread all over the world while changing and evolving its form, although it is a grassroots movement grown from the anthroposofical background in the Europe. A couple of years ago it came to the Czech Republic and now it seeks its own individuality and circumstances which support its livelihood. Which criteria are crucial for thriving CSA in Czech is a key point of this paper.

This thesis deals with the issue of civil society organizations in the Czech Republic. First, it presents a selection of related theories of civil society, civil sector and the sector of NGO's. It also deals with the concept of social economy and related themes. The third chapter explores the current state of the civil sector in the Czech Republic and the definition of its problem areas. Fundamental is the final analysis of the civic association Amelie, which is based on the previous text and applies the theory to specific organization and analyzes its activities and evaluates its functioning.

Orientador: Márcia de Paula Leite / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T11:26:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pereira_MariaCeciliaCamargo_D.pdf: 899893 bytes, checksum: 1df4baadf01d658d3f51c255d20e5d39 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa é estudar a relação entre o cooperativismo e o sindicalismo, a partir de estudos de caso de empresas recuperadas no Estado de São Paulo. De fato, essa relação é importante não só para as fábricas recuperadas (na medida em que o sindicato pode representar um forte apoio para o empreendimento), mas para o próprio sindicato que, ao desenvolver uma política específica para esses experimentos, mantém o contato com trabalhadores de sua base que, sem isso, necessariamente se afastariam da entidade. Pretende-se analisar em que medida o apoio dos sindicatos foi e é importante para o surgimento, desenvolvimento e sustentabilidade das cooperativas e em que medida ele traz novos desafios para a atuação sindical / Abstract: The objective of this research is to study the relationship between the cooperativism and the union through the case study of companies recovered in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. This relationship is relevant not only to the recovered factories (given that the union represent a strong support to the enterprise) but to the union itself because through the development of specific policies for this experience, it manages to keep connected with grassroots workers that otherwise would have moved away from the union. Out intention is to analyze how important the support of the union has been for the development and sustainability of the cooperatives and whether the cooperatives bring new challenges to the union / Doutorado / Trabalho, Politica e Sociedade / Doutor em Ciências Sociais

This diploma thesis investigates the sources of finance for Czech social enterprises. It comprises of two parts - the Theoretical Part and the Empirical Part. The Theoretical Part is divided into 5 chapters. In these chapters, I start by defining concepts that relate to social enterprises. Then, I explain theories of the establishment of social enterprises and two traditional approaches to this establishment, a European approach and an American approach. Finally, I focus primarily on funding possibilities for Czech social enterprises. The Empirical Part, consisting of 6 chapters, is a case study of two Czech social enterprises - (1) Ethnocatering, which is established by an unincorporated association InBáze, and (2) Rettigovky, operating under a charitable trust Komuniké. The aim of this diploma thesis is, first, to find out similarities and differences in the sources of finance between the two Czech social enterprises, which are established on the basis of two distinct traditional approaches, and, second, to ascertain which traditional approach is better for Czech conditions and why. Keywords Social economy, social enterprise, financial resources, Europe, USA

Social economy is an economic activity with social and economic objectives, which can lead to the development of society and offer a new direction for the welfare state. It combines the principles of prosperity, sustainable development, social inclusion and equal opportunities with entrepreneurship and charitable activities for the benefit of needy and disadvantaged persons. This thesis focuses on the concept of social economy in the Czech Republic and abroad and highlights the social entrepreneurship as an opportunity to address social exclusion and unemployment of disadvantaged members of the society. The practical part contains Qualitative research on the effects of employment on the handicapped persons in social firm "Modrý domeček".

Due to their innovative capacity and social mission, social enterprises build resilience and cohesion in communities by providing for vulnerable groups that governments and markets tend to overlook. In the recovery from COVID-19, while countries attempt to regain lost ground towards their sustainable development goals, protections and support to social entrepreneurship will be vital. This study examines this issue in the context of Ukraine, where the social and economic effects of the pandemic had been exacerbated by the war in Donbas and a decades-long history of unstable economic development. The February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which occurred while this research was concluding, is factored into the analysis. Social entrepreneurship presented an opportunity to contribute towards the development priorities laid out by the Ukrainian government, but various challenges - including a lack of corresponding legislation and negative public perception - stood in the way of the sector’s progress. By analyzing scholarly articles, policy documents, and news reports related to Ukrainian social enterprise, as well as the responses of 13 social enterprises to an electronic survey, this study explores the experiences of self-identified social enterprises in Ukraine during COVID-19, before the Russian invasion. This inquiry brings awareness to the socially-oriented businesses that were working towards sustainable development in Ukraine before the country was forced into the newest iteration of war at the hands of Russia.

Il est possible d’observer que dans les vingt dernières années une nouvelle catégorie d’organisations s’est renforcée dans les sociétés brésilienne et occidentale. Cette catégorie est née de la force unificatrice de la société civile. La société a perçu qu’en travaillant ensemble, de forme associative, avec la participation du volontaire, on renforce les moyens d’atteindre ses objectifs. Au Brésil, ces organisations sont appelées tiers secteur, étant donné qu’elles n’appartiennent ni au premier secteur (l’État), ni au second (le Marché), elles sont populairement nommées de ONG (organisation non gouvernamentale). Dans la société française, ces organisations sont appelées de l’économie sociale et solidaire. Cet modèle économique est née de l’association d’individus qui ont lutté pour une meilleure qualité de vie.La thèse présente une analyse comparative des caractéristiques des organisations du tiers secteur prenant en considération la réalité européenne, à partir de la France et celle de l’Amérique latine à partir du Brésil, focalisant la théorie, l’action professionnelle et le financement des agents responsables du fonctionnement de ces organisations. La thèse présente ainsi les similitudes et différences à travers d’une analyse comparative entre les organisations françaises et brésiliennes qui s’occupent de la question sociale. Cette analyse permet une réflexion à propôs du rôle du citoyen face aux pouvoirs publics et des réels capacités de transformation sociale engendrées par le tiers secteurs. / It is possible to observe that in the last twenty years a new class of organizations has increased in Brazil and Western societies. This category emerged from the unifying force of the civil society. The civil society has seen that by working together in associations, with voluntary participation, it reinforces the means to achieve its objectives. In Brazil, these organizations are called the third sector, since they do not belong to the first sector (the State) or the second sector (the market); they are named NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations). In France, these organizations are known as the social economy. This economic model was born from the association of individuals who fought for a better quality of life. This thesis presents a comparative analysis of the characteristics of third sector organizations, taking into consideration the European reality from France and the Latin America reality from Brazil, focusing theory, professional action and funding agents responsible for the operation of these organizations. This thesis presents the similarities and differences through a comparative analysis between the Brazilian and French organizations involved in social issues. This analysis provides a reflection on the role of the citizen and the government discussing the real possibilities of the social transformations engendered by the third sector.

In this Masters Research Report I explore how South Africa, in reaction to the global economic crisis’s impact on national unemployment statistics, has embraced the social economy. As this is a recent undertaking of the state, this research covers the timeline of events pertinent to what I determine to be the tipping point of the social economy in South Africa between 2009-­‐2011. Based on documentary analysis and in-­‐depth interviews with key actors determined to be ‘experts’ in the field, this research attempts to gain an understanding of how the concept of the social economy and its organizations of social entrepreneurship and social enterprise are being transposed onto the South African landscape, specifically in the Gauteng province. By examining the trend of the social economy and how it is being conceptualized in the country, this research aims to understand the implications for the future of South Africa’s socioeconomic development path.

There is a growing need to better understand environmental decision making in the context of climate change and limited renewable resources. This dissertation deepens our understanding of such decision making by focusing on strategic green decisions, which can be defined as the individual and collaborative green decisions within or between organizations that help organizations improve their operating position, adapt to changes in their external institutional environments, and simultaneously generate environmental benefits. The particular focus is on decisions related to energy in the North American context. The research draws on and contributes to organizational theory with the aim of better understanding those factors that motivate and/or facilitate green decisions by organizations, especially social economy organizations—an area of only limited research to date. Two complementary empirical studies address the overarching research goal. The first study focuses on understanding the nature and extent of the association between organizational attributes and those factors that motivate and/or facilitate a green energy decision. Insights are based on a bi-national survey of 212 organizations that voluntarily began to purchase green electricity between 1999 and 2008. Findings indicate that important influences are similar across organizational types. Survey results highlight the importance of organizational culture and internal champions—both individually and in combination—in making the initial decision to purchase green electricity, despite its relatively higher price. These two factors, as well as strategic benefits, emerge as the dominant explanations for why organizations expand their green energy purchases. The relative importance and particular roles of these factors vary across organizational and decision types. The second empirical study extends our understanding of how organizations adapt to external changes while maintaining the capacity to innovate in order to address their core objectives. The focus is on the residential energy services market, and is based on 12 interviews with the executive directors of non-profit environmental service organizations (ESOs) that are part of a national network called Green Communities Canada. These organizations survived a funding shock by creating new services and diversifying funding sources with actions that collectively can be referred to as ‘green collaborative entrepreneurship’; collaborative because it was facilitated by strategic partnerships with businesses and local governments, as well as the cross-national social capital network connecting the ESOs. The important motivating factors of green collaborative entrepreneurship were the green values and objectives that drive these organizations. The facilitating factors of green collaborative entrepreneurship included human capital, social capital and strategic partnerships, which acted as dynamic capabilities because of their flexibility to help increase the level of entrepreneurship when necessary for organizational survival, and yet, scale-up and deliver core programs during stable funding periods. The dissertation provides important insights into broad questions related to green decisions, especially for organizations that are affected by political policy cycles. The findings highlight that organizations are able to be more environmentally sustainable while also improving their own strategic performance by making green decisions that either provide the capacity to adapt to exogenous change for survival, or to create endogenous change for competitive advantage. The research contributes to our understanding of societal transitions to sustainable development by highlighting two green decisions that are occurring in the social economy. The dissertation contributes to organizational theory and in particular the traditional corporate literature by including multiple organizational types. Sustainability researchers should focus on green decisions that both enhance organizational stability and ecological sustainability if they wish to better understand creative green solutions from organizations.