That's right, the EU Commission has a definition . However, it is less specific than the criteria. The list of criteria is intended as an addition that can also be used in combination with the EU definition.

No. Applying the criteria does not mean that you will receive a certification. It is more of a language tool. Of course, they have many overlaps with existing certifications, such as the GWÖ or People&Planet First .

The criteria catalogue has been published under Creative Commons. This means that you can change the criteria catalogue and adapt it to your individual application. For example, you can use individual criteria or text blocks from Level A to D. However, you must cite the original as the source.

License: Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Source: Copyright Laura Kromminga, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, available at www.laurakromminga.com/definition

A profile is a template in which you color-code which criteria and which levels apply to you. Either for you as a social enterprise, by looking at the status quo, or by marking a perspective future state. For intermediaries, such as a foundation or an accelerator, a profile reflects the access criteria for a (funding) program.

The stakeholder survey revealed that impact measurement is sometimes viewed very critically. Young organizations in particular often do not (yet) carry out impact measurement. Therefore, the word itself was not included in the criteria. However, you will find the approach in criterion 3b "Process for increasing impact".

No, you can simply download the template and use it immediately.

If you need advice to help you implement even better, you will receive an individual offer.

You can use as many or as few criteria as is right for you and your case. There are criteria that many stakeholders have agreed on as a "minimum". These are criteria 2a Societal objective, 1c Level of income vs. expenses or 1b Stable financial situation and 6a Decision are made in favor of the mission.

If you do not use these criteria, it may well be that the term "social enterprise" does not apply to you.

In short: yes! As a start-up, you are still young and you probably haven't achieved many of the criteria yet. It is therefore advisable not to look at the status quo but to carry out a "perspective analysis". This means that you select the criteria and levels that you would like to achieve in the future.

However, please note that a classic "start-up" refers to a company that can finance itself entirely from its own income (criterion 1c, level A). If you plan to continue to finance part of your business from donations in the future, the term "start-up" may be confusing for some stakeholders, e.g. public administrations.

Depending on the program, you will probably have different priorities. For example, one program is about innovation and the most innovative organizations should be sought. Another program is about financial sustainability and only organizations which finance themselves through their own income can apply.

You can develop a profile for each program or funding program. The advantage of the criteria catalog is that you can then clearly differentiate programs from one another. This saves applicants time, because they can more quickly identify which offer is right for them. And you can more easily receive the right applications, which saves you resources too.

The criteria catalogue is based on the 2021 ‘Survey on the definition of social economy enterprises’ by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises. The first pilot version was then tested in three phases. Firstly, the application questions for the ‘Berlin Social Enterprises 2022’ competition were designed according to the criteria. Secondly, an online survey was conducted in which 85 contributions were collected. Finally, expert interviews were conducted with representatives of the social economy in Germany. Further details on this process can be found in the appendix of the linked report above.