ABSTRACT
The Enabling the Flourishing and Evolution of Social Entrepreneurship for Innovative and Inclusive Societies (EFESEIIS) project addressed several Innovation Union priorities on smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, which shows that it is serious about drawing up a wide range of policies relating to social entrepreneurship. European policy has focused on the related concept of social innovation. Since social entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon, building both a partnership and a methodology required a great deal of attention. The cooperative methodology employed by the partnership inspired controversy, consensus, and ambivalence. European welfare systems play an important role in improving the living conditions of its citizens, most notably in the areas of childcare, health prevention services, employment services, and benefits for the elderly. The chapter discusses some ambivalences, divergences, convergences, and unifying concepts. From a methodological point of view, the EFESEIIS project is full of interesting tensions and ambivalences.
