A European project to promote social procurement as a driver of job inclusion and sustainable transition

02/05/2025 – 31/07/2029

Co-funded by the Interreg Europe programme, Proseco is a European project designed to strengthen the role of social procurement in public policies and business practices, with the goal of creating job opportunities for those who are furthest from the labour market.

Through the collaboration of 11 partners from 9 European countries – including local and regional authorities, public bodies and social economy organisations – Proseco aims to turn procurement into a practical tool for social impact, capable of fostering inclusion and generating shared value.

What Proseco does

The project works to improve policies and operational capacity across participating territories, focusing on four main areas:

Making contracting authorities more inclusive
Supporting local, provincial and regional authorities in integrating social enterprises and social clauses into their public tenders.

Fostering collaboration between the social economy and traditional businesses
Encouraging partnerships and mixed supply chains where for-profit companies actively contribute to social impact.

Enhancing market access for social economy enterprises
Strengthening the skills and capacity of social enterprises to compete for large-scale public and private contracts.

Testing innovative tools for social goals
Including social outcome contracting and community wealth building approaches.

Why social procurement matters

Social procurement – or impact-oriented procurement – is becoming a key strategy in European policy. It enables the combination of economic development and inclusion, by recognising the role of social enterprises and encouraging traditional businesses to take on collective responsibilities.

With the growing relevance of the EU Corporate Social Responsibility Directive, private companies are increasingly interested in procurement approaches that integrate social and environmental considerations.

A European partnership for social impact

Proseco brings together a diverse partnership of 11 organisations from 9 European countries, including public administrations, research bodies and social economy actors:

• Provincie Vlaams-Brabant (Belgium – Lead Partner)
• ADV Romania (Romania)
• Lunds kommun (Sweden)
• Oliveira de Azeméis Municipality (Portugal)
• Comune di Torino (Italy)
• Ministry of Labour, Health, Social, Family Affairs and Integration of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Germany)
• City of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
• KMOP (Greece)
• Central Greece Region (Greece)
• BSC, Business Support Centre, Ltd, Kranj (Slovenia)
• Torino Social Impact (Italy)

Together, these organisations work to strengthen procurement as a lever for inclusion and sustainable development in their respective regions.

Discover all the activities of the European Projects Hub for the Social Economy at Torino Social Impact!