社會企業乃是以商業手法或模式解決社會問題的過程，也被視為結合社會價值和企業績效的新型態組織，是一個重要且創新的運作模式。本研究的目的在於調查中部地區（中、彰、投）社會企業發展之概況，並探索中部地區社會企業的類型和特性、組織架構與發展困境。本研究以中部地區社會企業與準社會企業為調查對象，採用文獻分析、電話訪問，與質性訪談。
初步評估，中部地區社會企業在組織發展上主要以庇護工場、新創型社會企業和社會合作社為主。受訪單位所關注的社會議題，以「弱勢就業」議題最多，「社區發展」與「環境保護」次之。顯示中部地區社會企業多數著重在地發展、振興地方經濟、改善地方的生活環境，成為提供學習且多元又兼具社會意義的據點，或弱勢族群培力、協助就業，進行職業訓練與提供工作機會。多數公司型社會企業則成立於都市中，成為知識傳遞及教育推廣的空間據點，此為中區社會企業發展之發展特色。可喜的是，青年世代投入社會企業創業的現象，在中部地區，特別是台中市，也能觀察到。其關注議題範圍也因其團隊成員跨領域的專業背景而相當多元，在議題操作上也更具創意和靈活的策略。

Social enterprise (SE) is a new type of organization that combines social values with corporate performance by applying business methods or models to solve social problems. The developing process of SE itself becomes an important and innovative operating model. The purpose of this research is to investigate the development overview of SEs in central Taiwan (Taichung, Changhua and Nantou) by applying resources provided by the project and to explore these SEs’ particularity, potentials in local development and developing dilemmas encountered and what differentiates them from those in other areas in types and development.
We preliminarily estimated in the project that the traits of SEs in central Taiwan mainly included the post-disaster community reconstruction of 921 Earthquake, local peasant production, the businesses of nonprofit organization (NPO) development in central Taiwan, and care for the disadvantaged. Their organizational developing strategies then were mainly based on cultural creative industries, social co-operatives and sheltered workshops.
As limited by time, we applied the approaches of document analysis and phone interview in the research. Regarding the attention on social issues, ‘employment of the disadvantaged’ ranked first and ‘environmental protection’ and ‘community development’ second. This indicates that most businesses in central Taiwan develop according to the circumstances; they revitalize the local economy, improve local living environment, provide bases for multiple learning and social meaning, and assist the employment of the disadvantaged with providing job opportunities and staff empowerment of vocational training. These emerging SEs also have bases for cultural creativity, knowledge transmission and education promotion. This characterizes the development of the SEs in central Taiwan.
The preliminary investigation also found that the newly established (less than five years) SEs almost operated as corporations. This means that the phenomenon of young generation to undertake SEs not only occurs in northern Taiwan but in central Taiwan, especially in Taichung. Issues focused and operated is also with creative and flexible strategies while their team members are usually with multiple and cross-field professions.