Technical Assistance Service Contract for the implementation of the project
“Capacity Building of Civil Society in the IPA countries and Territories (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,
FYR of Macedonia, Kosovo under UNSCR 1249/99, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey).
EuropeAid/127427/C/SER/Multi – additional services.
OPEN CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS
TACSO (Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations) in partnership with the British Council and TÜSEV
(Third Sector Foundation of Turkey), is organising an International Social Entrepreneurship Conference, hosted
by the Kadir Has University, in Istanbul, Turkey on 29 February and 1 March 2012.
The general objective of the project Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations (TACSO) is to:
 strengthen civil society within participative democracy
 stimulate a civil society-friendly environment and culture
 strengthen the overall capacities and accountability of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) within the IPA
beneficiaries (Western Balkans and Turkey); and to
 improve the quality of service of CSOs and a sustainable role of CSOs in the democratic process.
This conference is organised as part of the project component to support dialogue between civil society,
government and the private sector. Conceptualised as part of the global Social Entrepreneurship Project carried
out by British Council, this conference targets experienced social entrepreneurs and supporters of social
entrepreneurship from the Western Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia. With 150 participants from the
region working in this field, this conference will be first of its kind and will be creating an important opportunity
for the development of social entrepreneurship in the region.
What is a “social entrepreneur” and a “social enterprise”?
Over the past few decades, the boundary between private (business), and social (civil society) sectors has been
blurring as many pioneering organizations have started to blend social and environmental aims with business
approaches. Businesses are dedicating more resources to delivering social and environmental benefits.
Meanwhile, CSOs are attempting to operate in a more businesslike way.
There is a lot of discussion about the exact definition of who is social entrepreneur. For the purposes of this
conference, we define social entrepreneurs as women and men who possess the vision, creativity, and
extraordinary determination of the typical business entrepreneur – but who devote these qualities to
introducing and implementing innovative solutions to systemic social problems. They develop ground breaking
ways to fundamentally change how societies operate. They find what is not working in society and address the
problem by changing the system, spreading the solution and persuading entire societies to take new leaps.
Social entrepreneurs often work at the intersection between the public, private and social sectors, using
whatever organisational structures are most appropriate for solving the systemic social problem they are
focusing on.
This event has a particular focus on social enterprise as a model for social entrepreneurship. A social
enterprise is defined as ‘a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested
for that purpose in the business or in the community’. The most common structures of social enterprises are
economic entities of CSOs, cooperatives, and nonprofit companies, but different structures are used, depending
on the country in which the social entrepreneur is operating.
Objectives and focus of the conference
The objectives of the conference are to:
 Strengthen connections between social entrepreneurs from the region with social entrepreneurs from
the EU, and particularly the UK.
 Strengthen relationships between social entrepreneurs and those supporting the development of social
entrepreneurship in the public, private and civil society sectors.
 Facilitate exchange of knowledge and best practice in social entrepreneurship.
 Improve awareness of the potential role that social entrepreneurship can play in the region.
 Widening and improving the regional network of social entrepreneurs.
Draft agenda and other important information
A draft agenda is attached to this document.
The working language for the conference will be English (although some translation from Turkish to English will
be provided).
Participation in the conference is free of charge for those selected to take part.
The organiser will arrange food and accommodation for selected participants during the conference and cover
their travel costs to and from the event. Participants will not receive a per diem.
Who can apply and selection criteria
The conference is aimed at experienced social entrepreneurs or those supporting or promoting the
development of social entrepreneurship from the Western Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia.
However, this open call is only directed at applicants from the following countries1:
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo2
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Montenegro
We encourage applications from civil society and the private sector.
Please note that we will only select two participants per country, based on the following criteria:
Previous experience of being a social entrepreneur, of owning or working at a social enterprise or of promoting
and supporting the development of social entrepreneurship; and
Level of motivation to attend the conference, as demonstrated in the application form.
Application procedure
Applicants are required to submit the following documents in English:
 Application form (attached to this document)
 Updated Curriculum Vitae (in EU format)
Download:
Draft Agenda
Information on conference organisers
Application form
Template for EU format CV
1
Participants from Croatia, Georgia, Serbia and Ukraine will be selected by the British Council in a separate
procedure. Participants from Turkey will be selected through a separate open call.
2
under UNSCR 1244/99
Please send your application to the email address of your local TACSO office (Contact details for all TACSO
countries included in this open call are listed below) by the end of 15 January 2012 with the subject heading:
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
Applicants will be shortlisted by the TACSO National Offices, after which the TACSO Regional Office will make
the final selection.
Please note that we will only inform applicants if they are selected to attend the conference. Applicants who
have not been contacted by TACSO by the end of January 2012 should assume that they have not been selected
to participate.
Office
Contact Information
Albania Office
info.al@tacso.org
Bosnia and Herzegovina Office
info.ba@tacso.org
Kosovo3Office
info.ko@tacso.org
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Office info.mk@tacso.org
Montenegro Office
info.me@tacso.org
Further information can be obtained from the TACSO Web site www.tacso.org. If you have any additional
questions on the content of the conference, please contact the local TACSO offices. Questions on logistics
should be addressed to the TACSO Regional Office (se.conference@tacso.org)
3
under UNSCR 1244/99