"While ‘Europe will not be made all at once, or according to one single plan’, the ESEM provides us with detailed data and analysis that inform the European Action Plan for Social Economy and the decisions of policy makers at all levels of governance. The social enterprises, entrepreneurs, innovators and support organisations covered in the ESEM are exactly who we need if we are to deliver smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.”

Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights

"Non-profit organizations and social enterprises are key players in social innovation. The BMSGPK supports the ASEM as it provides important information on the growing ecosystem of social innovation in Austria. In addition to basic data on the areas of activity, structure and sources of funding, the ASEM offers valuable insights into the challenges faced by social innovation organizations. For the BMSGPK, the ASEM is an important database for developing targeted measures. One concrete example is the "Wirksam Wachsen" (Effective Growth) award procedure, the first of its kind in Austria, which is used to scale up projects to combat child and youth poverty. For the first time, the BMSGPK is providing EUR 4.9 million in scaling and growth funding for impact-oriented projects"

Mag.a Eva Miklautz, Head of Department V/B/5 for Social Innovation

"At a time of major social challenges on a global and regional level, from the climate crisis to social inequality, social innovations need visibility and funding more than ever to develop sustainable and equitable solutions that not only address urgent problems but also bring about positive social change in the long term."

Tanja Spennlingwimmer & Ute Stadlbauer, AWS

"As a representative body for Austrian social entrepreneurs, SENA is constantly working to improve the framework conditions for the sector. Many facts and figures from the ASEM help us to understand what social entrepreneurs in Austria need most and provide us with good arguments in discussions with decision-makers. The ASEM is an important step towards making the active Austrian social business scene more visible."

Constanze Stockhammer, Managing Director Social Entrepreneurship Network Austria

"It is very important to us to improve the structures and conditions for social entrepreneurs and social start-ups and to strengthen the ecosystem. The ASEM 2023/2024 makes a very important contribution to this. The meaningful data also helps us to further develop consulting and coaching services for the target groups!

Gabriele Tatzberger, Head of Startup Services, Wirtschaftsagentur Wien

"The monitor is an important source of information for the Impact Hub. The results of the last ASEM helped us enormously to further develop our Impact Hub services and adapt them even more specifically to the needs of the sector. Such measures range from the creation of new training and incubation offers for social enterprises with an even stronger focus on peer-to-peer formats to the establishment of the Climate Lab as an interface between climate-oriented social enterprises and the City of Vienna or the federal government. We are already very curious about the new edition of the ASEM!"

Jakob Detering, Director Impact Hub Vienna

„ESEM leads to important changes in policy-making, investment, decision-making and contributes to increased visibility and understanding of the social enterprise model as well as its crucial role in achieving the UN SDGs."

Wieteke Dupain, Director Euclid Network

"ESEM is becoming the “go to place” for taking the pulse of a vibrant and growing community of social enterprises in Europe. I am delighted to serve on the research board of the ESEM because more informed policy making on social enterprises requires collaboration between research and practice."

Johanna Mair, Professorin Hertie School The of Governance