The SSE is defined as a strategic sector by the Barcelona Impulsa plan, the city’s economic agenda through to 2035. The policies applied in the two previous plans have already clearly helped to strengthen the SSE in the city, which has grown by 10% in five years, the last barometer showing 4,713 organisations in this section in the third quarter of 2023.

The PIESS 2024-2027 is structured around seven main elements:

1. Backing for the Bloc4BCN, the leading space for the promotion of cooperatives in Barcelona and Catalonia.
2. Working to scale up the SSE in the city with actions such as supporting the growth of companies and organisations, promoting a broader general reach in the social market and strengthening the organisation of associations and the social and community fabric.
3. Attracting and retaining talent with actions such as continuing to improve labour conditions for staff and showcasing certain professional and training profiles.
4. Digitalisation of the SSE sector.
5. Generation of ecosystems.
6. Continuity for the ESAL agreement, which is the alliance with cooperative housing organisations to create a thousand homes in the next few years.
7. Ecosocial and care transition to strengthen the sectors of food, energy, mobility and sustainable textiles in the SSE, and to offer support in adapting SSE companies to the ecosocial transition and strengthening the care sector.

Notable actions in the plan

Outstanding actions in the PIESS 2024-2027 include the SSE digitalisation plan, the boost to SSE economic hubs, the creation of a leadership school for SSE organisations, subsidies in the programme Enfortim l’Economia Social i Solidària and the specific subsidy programmes Crea Feina and Impulsem el que fas.

Other actions that stand out include sectoral programmes in textiles, technology and care, the intermediation portal for work in SSE organisations, vocational training placements and universities in organisations in this field, plus support for the generation of SSE data and more.

Rollout of the plan: first results

The opening of the Bloc4BCN last year stands out as it houses 39 companies and has acted as a meeting point for more than 10,000 people.

At the same time, 110 projects received funding through subsidies from the Enfortim Economia Social Solidària programme, while 52 received funding through the Impusem el que fas programme in 2024.

Other notable figures in the rollout of measures include 154,000 visitors to the Responsible Consumption and SSE Fair at Christmas and the 25,000 subscriptions to the monthly municipal newsletter on the SSE.