At the international forum Innosib-2017, Alexander Burkov dealt with the problems of social business

Acting Governor Alexander Burkov met with residents and mentors of the School of Social Entrepreneurship to understand what issues social business is concerned about and how the regional government can help it.

The head of the Omsk region himself initiated a direct dialogue with experts about the problems in the implementation of social projects. The conversation took place on the sidelines of the VII International Forum of Social Entrepreneurs and Investors INNOSIB-2017, which began its work in the Congress Hall. The head of the region, Alexander Burkov, expressed a desire to personally meet with entrepreneurs and mentors of the School of Social Entrepreneurship and talk about topics that concern them.

"I would like to listen to you so that we can use your organizational skills in this area in the future. Thanks to you, we were able to fulfill one of the instructions of the President of the country and close the queue for preschool institutions with private kindergartens. Thanks to your activity, a network of private boarding houses for the elderly has been created. We are ready to look at new niches in the social sphere that you could enter and bring your colleagues to. Your opinion is important to me," Alexander Burkov expressed his point of view to the experts.

Entrepreneurs shared the stories of the birth of their projects, the problems they had to face, and expressed their wishes. For example, Tatiana Miroshnikova, director of the Limpopo private kindergarten, told how the introduction of innovations allowed her to achieve an effective result – to reduce the incidence of kindergarten pupils and increase preschool attendance through a package of wellness measures. He considers renting a room from a private owner to be a problem, with whom the risk of termination of the contract is always high. It offers to provide municipal and state squares for social projects. This will provide businesses with both more stable and cost-efficient rental conditions.

As it turned out at the meeting, the Ministry of Economy of the region is currently developing forms of support for entrepreneurs within the framework of the regional cluster of social innovations and is ready to take into account their most typical problems in order to include relevant activities in the target program.

Representatives of the Mentors Club and the Club of Social Entrepreneurs also shared their experiences in the field of social design with Acting Governor Alexander Burkov. They offer the authorities their resources and opportunities to make joint work more effective for the residents of the Omsk region and to solve the problems that face in the social sphere.

Irina Serbina, head of the Center for Social Sphere Innovations, noted that the school of social entrepreneurship helps prepare businesses to work in different areas of the social sphere, but a social order would help to increase efficiency and focus on the implementation of a specific project.

Acting Governor Alexander Burkov stressed that for him, the key priority of such efforts is the elderly and people with disabilities. The head of the region also noted a new trend in the development of social entrepreneurship. Today, people with disabilities, from other socially vulnerable categories of the population, and the unemployed come to this area and open their businesses.

"Students go to the school of social entrepreneurship, and already in 3-4 courses they open their own businesses, earn profits. A synergistic effect is obtained. Firstly, the state partially shifts the burden of social problems onto entrepreneurs. Secondly, social entrepreneurs introduce some innovations and do it promptly. They adapt more quickly to the needs of the residents, respond flexibly to the demands of society. And the third is job creation," said Alexander Burkov, acting head of the region.

The formation of a cluster of social innovations as a basic element of social entrepreneurship is now beginning in the Omsk region. Its model is expected to be finalized at the Innosib-2017 Forum, in order to then present this pilot project at the federal level and replicate the experience.

"The Omsk region is in the first place in the creation of social entrepreneurship and its support. We have become pioneers in this regard. Today, we are involving private capital in support of social entrepreneurship. This is of key importance," Alexander Burkov said.