Closing ceremony of the PISCE Program Promoting Quality Social Investment in Spain
Closing ceremony of the PISCE Program Promoting Quality Social Investment in Spain
Closing ceremony of the PISCE Program Promoting Quality Social Investment in Spain
On March 23rd took place the closing ceremony of the pilot program Promoting Quality Social Investment in Spain (PISCE) promoted by ONCE Foundation, Laboral Kutxa, the Business School of Mondragon Unibertsitatea and the Institute of Human Rights Gregorio Peces-Barba of UC3M
This course is part of the European Commission's Erasmus+ project "Inclusive Investment Partnership for Social Care and Support".
The objective of the program was to provide training in social impact investment and the exchange of experiences between the different public and private actors and social entities.
The course was attended by 37 professionals from the three sectors, who, during these two months, through an innovative training process, were able to learn about national and European case studies, through eLearning content in video and podcast format, as well as collaborate and reflect on virtual meetings.
According to the European Union, Europe will have an investment gap in social infrastructure of approximately 150 billion euros per year over the next decade. There is, on the one hand, a crucial need for complementary resources to scale the quality and degree of innovation of projects and initiatives, and for a new generation of actors who have the skills and confidence to ensure collaboration between them. In this way, financing with social impact through public and private sources will make it possible to address the needs faced by the Social Sector and as marked by the 2030 Agenda, leaving no one behind.
The closing ceremony was attended by Fernando Torija, Head of Division for Spain at the European Investment Bank; Alberto Durán, Executive Vice President of Fundación ONCE, Lander Beloki, Dean of the Business Faculty at Mondragón University, Oscar Muguerza, Director of Business Development for Companies at Laboral Kutxa and Silvia Gallart Parramon, Director of International Relations and Cooperation at UC3M.
Javier Güemes, Director of the International Area of the ONCE Social Group, highlighted the work of the EIB as a key player in the development of the investment ecosystem, thanking it for its support in achieving a more Social and Inclusive Europe. The EIB highlights the importance of this type of collaborative initiatives to promote social investment in Spain together, as well as its provision of experiences, programs and resources to achieve it.
Alberto Durán highlighted the reflection process that has been carried out during the program to try to identify the keys to achieve Quality Social Investment, stressing that in order to achieve this, the collaboration of the three sectors is vital for the success of social impact investment. He also highlighted the value added by complementing existing resources through this means, always prioritizing their social impact, the appropriate selection of indicators for their evaluation and continuous improvement, favoring efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability in the management of resources. Lander Beloki, highlighted the important learning framework that the program has been, where agents of different nature have been meeting with a common purpose and have been able to define lines of work for the future. He also stressed the commitment of the university, as a generator and transmitter of knowledge, to transfer the knowledge generated to existing programs, emphasizing the sensitivity and balance needed when addressing both economic and social challenges within the framework of impact investment. Oscar Muguerza, for his part, thanked both the EIB and the EIF for the role they play in the world of social financing and also pointed out that just as there is no economic investment without economic profitability, there is no social investment without social impact, and that the key is in what you maximize. Every social project must have an economic return, but what it must seek is social maximization.
For its part, the Carlos III University of Madrid highlighted the commitment to the values of inclusiveness, equality, accessibility and environmental sustainability as a fundamental key.