With the support of its international partners, HETFA Research Institute examined the situation of women entrepreneurs both in Hungary and internationally in the light of new realities imposed by COVID-19. The research conducted in the summer of 2020 was based on an online questionnaire and personal interviews, with the main focus on examining the new life situation of women entrepreneurs and international comparisons of experiences, including difficulties and successful coping strategies. The research included at the national level in Austria, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Germany; and at regional level, Transylvania and Andalusia.

The research report (in English) is available here.

The results of the research showed that the businesses run by women were affected particularly adversely by the coronavirus crisis, because women entrepreneurs had to deal with the harmful economic consequences of the crisis and the increase of family and old-age care responsibilities within the family. Even before the crisis, women entrepreneurs often had difficulty reconciling work and private life responsibilities, a situation that could have worsened due to closures, the introduction of distance learning and the increase in caring responsibilities.

Women-led businesses are also more vulnerable due to their size, many of them self-employed, some of whom are forced entrepreneurs. In addition, a significant proportion of women businesses are active in sectors that have been severely affected by restrictions imposed, such as tourism or personal services. For many women entrepreneurs, a decline in business income also threatens their own and their families’ livelihoods.

Research leads: Luca Koltai, Réka Geambaşu

Contributors: Zsuzsanna Bakacsi-Saffer, Andrea Barna-Petróczi, Virág Zsár

International partners involved to whom we are grateful for their support:

• University of Economics, Prague (CZ)
• Faculty of Sociology and Social Work in Babes-Bolyai University in Kolozsvár/Cluj Napoca (RO)
• Regional Agency for Entrepreneurship and Innovations, Varna (BG)
• Institute „Mihajlo Pupin“ – Science & Technology Policy Research Center (SRB)
• Andalucía Emprende in Andalusia (ES)
• ZSI – Centre for Social Innovation (AT)

Results of the research show that those elements of the family benefit systems such as employment, subsistence and housing prospect have the most significant fertility effect. According to our data, factors related to reemployment probability after childbearing i.e. current female employment, nursery school availability and part-time work possibilities significantly increase birth probabilities. Also, the increase of disposable income due to family tax credit as well as the better availability of housing due to home ownership support have a positive impact on fertility.

The Hungarian summary of the study is available here.

The full English study is available on the website of the Representation of the European Commission in Hungary.

Following an extensive literature review, the paper analyses the outcomes of an online survey completed by research managers and administrators from more 31 European countries.

According to the main results, in most European countries research managers describe their job in similar ways. It is considered a very interesting job, which is really diverse and requires a wide variety of skills and there are continuous opportunities to learn and develop oneself. At the same time, such a profession as RMA does not exist:  the lack of professional identity has many consequences such as many misunderstandings, lack of recognition and proper information, lack of clear carrier perspective, as well as high levels of uncertainty which can cause serious difficulties in recruiting.

Due to the above-mentioned problems, a possible educational programme and the introduction of a European or internationally recognized certificate should not target professionals but potential research managers. The education programme could contribute to clarify and strengthen the RMA professional identity, raise awareness about the existence of the profession, set the expectations about the job, enhance talent pool and reduce the investment needed in newcomers regarding time and energy. Based on our research, the educational programme should rely on the so-called soft skills such as problem-solving, multitasking, interpersonal competences etc. Due to the professional nature of RMAs, a practice-oriented, flexible modular training form would be ideal, supplemented by mentorship programme and coaching.

The discussion paper is available here.

The study ‘Women entrepreneurs in Europe: challenges, strategies and policies’ is a qualitative research conducted at the beginning of the project with the aim to explore and understand the realities and meanings of female entrepreneurship in today’s Europe. It focuses on the motivations, challenges faced and coping strategies developed by women entrepreneurs, as well as on the interpretations they offered concerning their roles and social status.

The paper is based on more than 80 interviews and 3 focus groups interviews carried out with female entrepreneurs and related stakeholders throughout the 7 partner countries of ifempower. Experiences shared are not only interesting, but makes you start to think more ‘openly’ on issues you might never took care of before. Worth to read!

In case you are interested in further details about the project, stay tuned for regular updates of the activities at ifempower.eu, or follow the project also on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!

The research shows that the Hungarian music industry has continued to increase, similarly to the previous years. In 2017, it amounted to 53.4 billion HUF, from which the recording industry received 18.4 billion HUF.  It shows an increase of 3.6% compared to 2016. The estimated value of live music industry represents 35 billion HUF, representing 6% increase compared to previous years.

The report emphasises that music festivals play a decisive role in the functioning of music industry. In 2017, 1041 festivals were organized and 13.5 thousand concerts which means that every third concert was organized within the frame of a festival.

Festival market was characterised by continuous growth in the past few years. According to the estimations of industrial actors and the statistics of Artisjus regarding the number of visitors, the size of the festival market is around 17-19 billion HUF. The biggest festivals hit records regarding the number of visitors. New festivals have been launched as well, some of them may compete with the most popular ones.

Beyond festivals, the role of live music is extremely important. Concerts are first source of income for musicians. Half of the musical incomes comes from concerts.

The current report also deals with several extremely important questions, determining the future of music industry, such as the role of popular music in education; VAT of concert tickets; lack of festival scenes; problem of value gap; foreign presence or the national access of students.

It is available HERE in Hungarian.

The relevance of the research derives from various aspects, most importantly from the fact that the role of Research Managers and Administrators and/or Funding Advisors is getting more and more important due to the increasing competition in the field of research, innovation and educational funds.

Following an extensive literature review describing the main features, importance, challenges and necessary skills of RMAs, the paper analyses the outcomes of an online survey completed by research managers and administrators from more 31 European countries.

Based on the literature review and the analysis, stakeholders are addressed by a bunch of policy recommendations highlighting the need and the necessary feature of a dedicated educational programme which is supposed to train RMAs and increase the visibility of the profession. Lastly, it also highlights the importance of acknowledging the profession as such throughout Europe to meet funding bodies’ expectations in research, innovation and educational projects.

The study is available HERE!

You can find out more on our activities related to research management HERE

The research, working with both qualitative and quantitative methods, focused on rural and agricultural areas. It aims to develop a mixed analysing model for the social enterprise’s complex employment effects, which can be extended later to assess the employment impacts of social enterprises in relevant segments and regions, such as in the field of social and health services.

According to the main results, profit-oriented and social enterprises are differentiated by their value system. While the economic functions are the most important factors in the value system of SMEs, the social enterprises concentrate on social functions and their employment focus has also bigger importance.  In the social economy, job creation is the primary objective, especially in case of employees who are in a difficult condition in the labour market. However, the lack of workforce also causes serious problems in these companies.

Social enterprises often lack entrepreneurial attitudes and skills. The creation of legal framework is inevitable for their development, as well as the elaboration of a national social enterprise developmental strategy that defines conceptual and supportive directions, frameworks, and shows predictable development paths for these businesses.

The study was presented by Luca Koltai, research leader (Chief Consultant of the Division for Public Policy and Impact Assessment of HÉTFA), and Gábor Balás, CEO of HÉTFA, at the conference entitled “Social economy: employment, entrepreneurship and innovation”, organized jointly by the Ministry of Human Capacities and World Bank.

The summary of presentation is available here.

The publication, available here, contains two volumes. The first volume includes the history of the first 60 years and major milestones of the European Social Fund. The second volume describes the institutional system’s transformation of Hungarian development policy from 2004, in the view of European Social Fund.

The publication was commissioned by the Ministry of Human Resources and edited by the experts of development policy of HÉTFA: Gábor Balás, founder and executive director of HÉTFA, and Koltai Luca, senior advisor of the Division for Public Policy and Impact Assessment of HÉTFA. Co-editor of the book is András Csite, founder and executive director of HÉTFA, and János Tamás Schanda, Ministry for Innovation and Technology’s Minister of State for European Union Development Policy. Other fellows of HÉTFA also participated in the preparation of publication.

Recently the macroeconomic changes have fundamentally transformed the public employment and particularly the scope of public employees. Due to the changes in labour market, more people were able to find workplace in the  labour market, while the composition of employees in the public sector is standing further away from the market demands. The study emphasizes the significance of the supported forms of employment, including public employment. However, changes in the economic situation necessitates further development of the public employment system.

Among the affected actors of public employment sector, the survey focused on local actors, mayors, responsibles for public employment, actors in the field of employment, social and health care, as well as public employees. Under the frame of the research, individual and group interviews were conducted with mayors, public employment organizers, stakeholders of the employment system, public employees and social workers. In addition, a questionnaire was conducted at national level.

The development plan emphasizes that the number of touristical opportunities in the region is high. However, these values, such as the natural environment or bathing areas, could be better utilized. There is also a lack of coordinated, complex tourism supply and self-image. The few number of accommodations cause further problems.

One of the main development goals of the tourism development strategy is to improve the situation of family farms. These farms are supposed to strengthen regional tourism by distributing local products and offering accommodations.

The development strategy prepared by HETFA was reported in more detail by Zaols, Népújság and RTV 4.