Promoting public procurement policies capable of generating social value is one of the key challenges in strengthening the social economy across Europe.
Within this context, PROSECO – Procurement for a Social Economy – a European project co-funded by the Interreg Europe programme, aims to improve public policies related to social procurement through the exchange of good practices among European regions and cities.
The project involves 11 partners, including Torino Social Impact and the City of Turin, from 9 countries. Its main objective is to enhance the capacity of public administrations and social economy actors to implement social procurement practices, promoting the use of social clauses in both public and private tenders. Through these tools, the project seeks to create new employment opportunities for people facing barriers to entering the labour market.
Partners meet at the Euclid Impact Summit in Amsterdam
During the second semester of the project, the first thematic seminar of PROSECO took place—an important opportunity for partners to share progress and exchange best practices.
Held in Amsterdam on March 11–12, 2026, the meeting provided a platform to discuss the results of the research conducted during the first semester, focused on analysing social procurement policies and practices across the partners’ local contexts.
The seminar was hosted within the Euclid Network Impact Summit, a leading European event bringing together organisations and public bodies engaged in advancing the social economy and social impact. The Summit is one of Europe’s most relevant gatherings on social economy, social innovation, and impact ecosystems, offering PROSECO partners a valuable opportunity to engage with European public and private stakeholders.
The 2026 edition, titled “Resilience in Action: Mainstreaming the Social Economy”, gathered representatives from European institutions, cities, social enterprises, investors, and organisations to discuss the growing role of the social economy in European policies and territorial development strategies.
For PROSECO partners, participation in the Summit was a key moment to position social procurement within a broader reflection on the future of the social economy and the policies supporting its development.
Torino Social Impact and Europe’s impact cities
During the Summit, Torino Social Impact also took part in the panel “Connecting Impact Cities: bringing the European Social Economy Action Plan to your local ecosystem”.
On this occasion, Torino Social Impact presented the Turin ecosystem model, highlighting how collaboration among public institutions, social economy organisations, universities, investors, and businesses contributes to strengthening policies and tools supporting social impact.
The exchange with other European cities—Amsterdam, The Hague, and Hamburg—enabled a comparison of approaches and strategies for implementing the European Social Economy Action Plan at the local level. Representatives of the European Commission also participated, emphasising the crucial role of cities and local ecosystems in translating European strategies into concrete policies and operational initiatives.
The Synthesis Report on social procurement policies
Among the outcomes of the research conducted during the initial phase of the PROSECO project, and presented at the Amsterdam seminar, is the publication of the Synthesis Study Report.
This report provides a comparative overview of the strategies adopted by public administrations to integrate social criteria into procurement processes, highlighting existing regulatory tools, best practices, and the main challenges still hindering their adoption.
This work lays a solid foundation for the next phases of the project, which will focus on testing and improving selected practices across the participating regions.
Next steps of the project
At the conclusion of the second semester, the second meeting of the Regional Stakeholder Group is scheduled, bringing together local actors from the Turin ecosystem to share results and inform the next phases of activity.
The third semester will focus on the implementation of best practices. During this phase, partners will work to develop and refine social procurement tools within their respective territories.
In the Turin and Piedmont area, efforts will primarily focus on scaling existing practices and policies, including Regulation No. 307 of the City of Turin, aimed at promoting the employment of disadvantaged individuals and those facing barriers in the labour market.
In this context, collaboration with European partners and engagement with local stakeholders will strengthen the dissemination and implementation of social procurement policies and tools, enhancing existing initiatives and reinforcing the role of public procurement as a lever for social inclusion and value creation.
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