Catalyst 2030 Awards | 2022
For Systemic Change
Governments
This award celebrates governments that support social entrepreneurship as a means to achieve the SDGs.
There are five sub-categories in the Governments Award Category:
View Governments judging criteria for 2022.
1. Africa Finalists
Awardee: Ministry of Health/Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Lesotho
In recognition of their commitment to support social entrepreneurship to achieve the SDGs.
The Ministry of Health in Lesotho provides counterpart contributions for donor funded projects to ensure their success. This shows the government’s commitment and provides funding to social entrepreneurs and NGO’s to sustain interventions beyond donor funding.
The ministry is actively engaged with numerous agencies and international organisations, including the World Food Programme (WFP), to ensure the effective and equitable allocation of resources.
Kwale County Government and Ummah Initiative Group, Kenya
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2. Americas Finalists
Awardee: Alcaldía de Condoto, Colombia
In recognition of their commitment to support social entrepreneurship to achieve the SDGs.
The Mayor’s Office of Condoto has developed a series of alliances and collaborations with social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations and companies to generate systems change and guarantee protection, education and opportunities for children and youth.
The mayor’s office has used these partnerships to strengthen infrastructure, education, health and livelihood opportunities for young people.
Awardee: City of Orlando, Florida, United States
In recognition of their commitment to support social entrepreneurship to achieve the SDGs.
The City of Orlando implemented the Green Works Orlando initiative in 2007. The initiative focuses on working with diverse community stakeholders to ensure the effectiveness of immediate and long-term sustainability planning efforts.
The city provides grants and financial support to social ventures such as the Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator, a hub for early-stage work in sustainable organisations that create positive social change. It also supports IDEAS for US and IDEAS Hive, organisations that advance the SDGs in Orlando.
3. Asia Pacific Finalists
Awardee: Victorian Government, Australia
In recognition of their commitment to support social entrepreneurship to achieve the SDGs.
The Victorian Government launched Australia’s first Social Enterprise Strategy in 2017. The new 2021-25 Strategy, developed with the social enterprise sector, aims to grow the sector, strengthen its connectivity, and unlock the potential to create more jobs and deliver enhanced economic and social value to the Victorian community.
The Victorian Government then launched its Social Procurement Framework in 2018. The framework harnesses the government’s buying power to increase the value of goods, services and construction by delivering social and sustainable outcomes that benefit all Victorians.
State of Maharashtra, India
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The Maharashtra State Social Venture Fund is an alternative investment fund that identifies and invests in profitable and scalable business ventures, including innovative business models or new products and technologies.
The Social Venture Fund is managed privately on behalf of the government. The fund is an excellent example of how a sub-national level government can create a mechanism for social enterprise financing in a way that both builds the ecosystem and supports promising individual ideas.
4. Europe Finalists
Awardee: Government of France, (Pact for Impact), France
In recognition of their commitment to support social entrepreneurship to achieve the SDGs.
The French Government launched Pact for Impact in 2019. The organisation is an initiative that aims to create a global alliance for the recognition and development of the Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) and the Inclusive Economy.
It is an institutional alliance that aims to connect states, governments and local authorities as well as international institutions with SSE stakeholders, networks, associations, cooperatives, foundations, research centres, social entrepreneurs, committed companies and investors.
Government of Spain, Spain
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Spain uses the “percentage tax designation mechanism”. This mechanism allocates state resources – a percentage of income tax – to public benefit purposes in a decentralised manner.
The funds collected are used to finance social projects selected by the social and foreign affairs ministries. This national fund collects more than EUR 200 million annually that is spent on more than 1,000 projects, undertaken by almost 500 entities every year.
5. Middle East and North America (MENA) Finalists
Awardee: Bahrain Science Centre for SDGs (BSC), Bahrain
In recognition of their commitment to support social entrepreneurship to achieve the SDGs.
In partnerships with local social entrepreneurs, the Bahrain Science Centre for SDGs created “Ghaya” – an ecosystem for science driven social innovation and entrepreneurship.
Ghaya works to support the social innovation community in Bahrain through a systems thinking approach to catalyse collaboration between local people and organisations across all sectors to achieve the SDGs. Under ‘Ghaya’, the Bahrain Science Centre has launched a Social Enterprise Fellowship, a citizen science platform for the SDGs, an open data initiative for the SDGs in Bahrain and a youth academy.
Government of Jordan Social Security Corporation (SSC), Jordan
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SSC has moved to expand the scope of maternity insurance services after demands from civil society institutions, in particular the Sadaqa Association, a local nonprofit in Jordan, to fund part of the costs of nurseries. The organisations have demanded this be done in a way that motivates working women to return to work after maternity leave and to ensure appropriate care for children when mothers return to work.
The new programme addresses SDGs 3, 5, 8, 10 and 17 and provides an example of collaboration between government entities and civil society that has been translated into policy and implementation on the ground.