Public procurement is a mechanism of significant economic importance that accounted for around 14% of the European Union’s GDP in 2017 and can contribute to transforming local economies into more sustainable and socially inclusive by stimulating the creation of job opportunities for disadvantaged groups.

In this context, the CO-RESP project helped the local economy – through the use of ‘Socially Responsible Public Procurement’ (SRPP) – to create new jobs for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. The project coordinated the exchange of good practices and enhanced the inter-regional collaboration between social economy actors and regional/local authorities at the European level.

Objectives

CO-RESP worked towards four primary objectives:

1.  To build the capacity of local and regional authorities in designing and implementing SRPP to address the needs of local communities and enhance their social and economic   resilience & to improve business environment for social economy;
2. To actively collect and circulate good practice cases to maximise the use of SRPP and to increase the employment rate of persons with disabilities & other vulnerable groups,  promote positive social impact, community resilience, employment opportunities, decent work, social inclusion, accessibility, compliance with social and labour rights for persons with disabilities both within and outside the partnership;
3. To raise awareness on the positive impact of SRPP at the local level, specifically in times of crisis;
4. To set up a mutual learning network & to create synergies among different stakeholders: local authorities, Social Economy organisations, businesses, local communities, Persons with Disabilities, other vulnerable groups, etc.

Events

• CO-RESP Conference: Social Economy Mission
• CO-RESP Final Conference: Maximising the use of social procurement

Project materials

• Survey on Employmenet and Public Procurement
• Declaration on Socially Responsible Public Procurement
• Report: Socially Responsible Public Procurement (SRPP) for the Employment of Persons with Disabilities
• CO-RESP’s Recommendations for Replication: Promoting Inclusive Employment through Socially Responsible Public Procurement
• CO-RESP Final Conference Report

Local Action Plans:

• Local Action Plan of the City of Dobrich (BG)
• Local Action Plan of the City of Gleisdorf (AT)
• Local Action Plan of the City of Marina de Cudeyo (ES)

Partners

Led by EASPD, the CO-RESP consortium had 7 partners from across different countries, forming a multidisciplinary consortium​, which includes cities in Austria, Bulgaria and Spain.

• Coordinator: European Association of Service providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) (Belgium)
• Zentrum für Sozialwirtschaft (ZfSW) (Austria)
• Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Inklusionsfirmen e.V. (BAG IF) (Germany)
• National Alliance for Social Responsibility (NASO) (Bulgaria)
• City of Dobrich (Bulgaria)
• City of Gleisdorf (Austria)
• City of Marina de Cudeyo (Spain)

Duration

May 2022 - May 2024

Funding

SMP-COSME-2021-RESILIENCE

Contact

Miguel Buitrago, Research and Development Officer