A public co-working space supporting the Social and Solidarity Economy.
Enlace is the first co-working space in Uruguay to be managed by the public sector. It provides spaces for solidarity-based enterprises to develop their activities and hosts regular events for the public to engage and participate in. Enlace links the public sector to entrepreneurship and fosters co-management and joint responsibility in the promotion of the Social and Solidarity Economy. It allows the exchange of experiences and the identification of joint solutions to problems from a private (third sector or civic sector) - public perspective.
Sustainable Development Goals
City
Montevideo, Uruguay
Size and population development
According to the 2011 census the city of Montevideo has a population of 1,319,109 (approximately one third of Uruguay’s population). The city covers an area of 201km2 with a population density of 6,726 people per km2.
Population composition
53% of the population are female and 47% male. Church and state are officially separate in Uruguay. Roman Catholic is the religion with the most followers. Other faiths include Protestant, Umbanda, Judaism and people who identify as Atheists and Agnostics. The city has a large number of European immigrants especially Spanish and Italian.
Main functions
Montevideo is the capital and largest city of Uruguay and the southernmost capital city in the Americas. The city is situated on the southern coast of Uruguay on the north-eastern bank of the Rio de la Plata with an average elevation of 43 metres.
Main industries / business
As the capital city of Uruguay, Montevideo is the economic, political and cultural centre of the country. The Port of Montevideo is one of the major ports of South America and plays a significant role in the city’s economy. Aside from trade, finance, tourism, media and education are large industry sectors.
Sources for city budget
The City of Montevideo draws its budget for public expenditure largely from property tax, fees, fines, operating revenues, other taxes and subsides from the Government of Uruguay.
Political structure
Governance is shared by the city government and the Parliament of Montevideo adhering to a decentralised political structure to enhance democratic participation.
Administrative structure
Since 2010 the city of Montevideo has been divided into 8 political municipalities referred with the letters from A-G, including CH. Each municipality is presided over by a mayor who is elected by the citizens. The city has 62 barrios, each barrio has its own identity and geographic location.
Website
In Uruguay, cooperatives and social economy organizations do not have a strong presence in sectors such as software, design, audio visual or creative industries, although they generally operate in the service sector. One of the reasons for this is the lack of public policies to promote the social economy in these sectors.
Enlace is a platform that fosters the innovation of enterprises in sectors that are not very dynamic and/or are managed in a traditional way, due to a particular public policy or market segment constraints. In addition to the process of stimulating innovation and knowledge exchange between solidarity-based enterprises, Enlace provides the opportunity for public - third sector co-operation.
The objectives of Enlace are:
- To contribute to the consolidation of the social and solidarity economy as an agent of development and innovation, thus strengthening an environment for co-operation and continuous improvement.
- To contribute to the development of community organizations and providing visibility for their agendas of social inclusion.
Enlace opened in June 2017 and occupies 1500 square meters in a central area of Montevideo. The space is managed by the Social and Solidarity Economy Unit of the Municipality of Montevideo.
Through a public call for proposals, 35 social projects were selected based on their high quality in terms of projection, profile and sector of activity. The different sectors represented at ENLACE include software, audio visual, training, technical advice, consulting, non-formal education for children, cultural activities, care, maintenance, and architecture.
Through Enlace, actors have learned to incorporate technology in a more systematic way in the search for solutions. Groups that were completely or partially excluded from the use of technologies have found a way to overcome their exclusion through their involvement in Enlace co-working space. Moreover, beneficiary groups have actively participated in the projects developed through Enlace, which constitutes a change in the execution of social and inclusion policies.
Through an agreement between the National Institute of Co-operativism and the cooperative movement, the City of Montevideo allocates funds for the management of the building and training programs for enterprises located at Enlace. The cost of Enlace is $15,000 per year, this includes the building lease, operating expenses and human resources. 90% of the total amount is contributed by the City of Montevideo.
In addition to the funds provided by the City, the enterprises based at Enlace make financial contributions that are defined according to their use of the building, the hours and spaces they require and their sector of activity. Therefore, if an enterprise does not have financial capacity, then no monetary contributions are required. Additionally, entrepreneurs contribute with volunteer working hours to the management of the building.
Enlace has proved to have a positive impact on community organizations and the cooperative businesses involved, providing them with a platform for growth and co-operation. New organizations have adopted the social and solidarity economy through Enlace.
- 20 co-operatives are housed on a permanent basis
- 5 community organizations are housed on a permanent basis
- 40 institutions, cooperatives and organizations have used the space
- 180 people work permanently at Enlace
- 2500 people have participated in events hosted at the space
- 5 Cooperative businesses have used Enlace as an incubating space
- Many of the organizations operating at Enlace are still in their initial stage of development and require time to establish themselves.
- The team managing Enlace is still in the learning stages.
- Specific information technologies need to be introduced to make management more efficient.
- Participation and co-management in the promotion of the social and solidarity economy has proved to be an efficient tool for public policy, and effective in measuring achievements.
- The participation and involvement of beneficiary groups has reduced the need for public resources to be allocated to a mission already fulfilled by the social and solidarity economy.
City of Montevideo
External links / documents
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