Simplification and optimisation of the procedure of applying for the Registered Social Enterprise Status by Process Modelling

The objective of the article is to create a model for optimising the time and administrative complexity of meeting the conditions of the application process for the status of a registered social enterprise defined by the legislative provisions of Law Act No. 112/2018 Coll. on Social Economy and Social Enterprises in Slovakia and to simplify its user and application level in practice. To attain this objective, we employed the method of process modelling. The basic principles of Business Process Modelling were used in the process modelling. The output of the modelling is the creation of a graphic Model of the Process of Application for the Registered Social Enterprise Status, which analyses the individual conditions for obtaining the status of a registered social enterprise provided by law. The model will serve as a clear and simplified guide for applying for and obtaining the Registered Social Enterprise Status to assist applicants who wish to become social enterprises or registered social enterprises. The model provides a clear understanding of the steps in the process of applying for Registered Social Enterprise Status. It contributes to the efficiency of process management in the activities of the state and public administration and the private sector, to the simplification of processes and to the saving of resources and time in drafting the application. The model will serve mainly potential social entrepreneurs, but it will also be suitable for methodological centres which include Regional Social Economy Centres in individual regions of Slovakia, but also for a wide audience of people interested in this issue. It will thus be an important tool for simplifying processes that are intended to contribute to addressing regional development and the negative aspects of regional unemployment. It can also serve for the legislators who can improve the steps of the process itself in the future through the schematisation of the optimised process. The originality and added value of this paper lies in the model itself, which serves as a visual representation of the process of applying for Registered Social Enterprise Status, through which the understanding of the steps of the challenging process of legislative definition is simplified. It brings optimisation of the process itself and its management in the setting of resources, time, and cooperation with the required actors in both public and private sectors. The article is an original output of the project VVGS-2023-2757 Towards Socio-economic Innovations and Principles of Social and Solidarity-based Economy through Leadership