Taco Brandsen and Daan Kwant (Department of Public Administration) have started the project WISESHIFT (Multi-level policies and theories on how to leverage Work Integration Social Enterprises for inclusive and sustainable transition), funded by the EU programme Horizon Europe. WISESHIFT aims to provide actionable strategies, evidence-based policy recommendations, and a robust multi-level governance framework to empower Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs). By doing so, the project seeks to position WISEs as critical agents of inclusive and sustainable socio-economic transitions across Europe.
WISESHIFT will address key challenges in three sectors—repair, reuse, and recycling; agrifood; and community/home care for the elderly—through a detailed analysis of 24 WISEs in the EU and Serbia. The project will identify organizational factors that make WISEs “inclusive and sustainable by design” while offering insights into how policies can support their transformative role within the social economy. Ultimately, WISESHIFT aspires to advance the EU’s social economy strategy by highlighting the tangible contributions of WISEs to systemic change and sustainable development.
WISESHIFT is a collaborative effort involving a diverse consortium of partners across nine countries, including universities such as Universite Catholique De Louvain (coordinator), Aix-Marseille University, Radboud University, the University of Belgrade and the University of Zagreb, the EMES International Research Network) and the social economy networks Social Economy Europe and ENSIE (the European Network for Social Integration Enterprises).
