The role of social enterpreneurship in improving the quality of life of people with disabilities

U ovom radu objašnjava se koncept socijalnog poduzetništva i njegova uloga u postizanju poticajnih promjena u životu osoba s invaliditetom kroz primjere pozitivne prakse u Hrvatskoj. Nastoji se objasniti sam fenomen „socijalnog poduzetništva“ kao i njegov razvoj, karakteristike te glavne specifičnosti socijalnih poduzetnika. Nadalje, u radu se navodi povijesni i zakonodavni pregled razvoja socijalnog poduzetništva u Republici Hrvatskoj. U radu se pojašnjavaju konstukti samog naslova, točnije definira se odabrana ranjiva skupina, koju u ovom radu čine osobe s invaliditetom. Pojašnjava se složen koncept kvalitete života kroz različite dimenzije te konkretni izazovi na koje ova skupina nailazi kako bi se u konačnici bolje razumijele prednosti socijalnog poduzetništva kao odgovora na navedene izazove. Posebna se važnost pridaje izdvojenim udrugama i socijalnim zadrugama, čije je djelovanje zbog izrazite uspješnosti u svojim ciljevima pridonijelo postizanju integracije, smanjenju diskriminacije i podizanju razine kvalitete života osoba s invaliditetom i drugih ranjivih skupina. U konačnici, u radu će biti spomenute prednosti socijalnog poduzetništva u razvoju i transformaciji zajednica i društava u cjelini. Zaključak sadržava uvide do kojih je došlo tijekom pisanja rada te korištenjem studije slučaja iz prakse kao odabrane metodologije.This paper explains the concept of social entrepreneurship and its role in achieving encouraging changes in the lives of people with disabilities through examples of positive practice in Croatia. It tries to explain the very phenomenon of "social entrepreneurship" as well as its development, characteristics and main specificities of social entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the paper provides a historical and legislative overview of the development of social entrepreneurship in Croatia. The paper clarifies the constructs of the title itself, more precisely defines the selected vulnerable group, which in this paper consists of people with disabilities. Furthermore, the complex concept of quality of life is explained through different dimensions and the specific challenges that this group encounters in order to ultimately better understand the benefits of social entrepreneurship as a response to the aforementioned challenges. Particular importance is attached to separate associations and social cooperatives, whose activities, due to their outstanding success in their goals, contributed to the achievement of integration, reducing discrimination and raising the quality of life of people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. Ultimately, the paper will mention the advantages of social entrepreneurship in the development and transformation of communities and societies. The conclusion contains the insights gained during the writing of the paper and the use of case studies from practice as the chosen methodology