The following territories, classified by Autonomous Community, form part of the network.

The Retos network was formally established in 2008 as a result of the eQual Community Initiative, co-financed by the European Social Fund, with the aim of becoming a focal point in territorial social responsibility.

Since then, it has developed its activity uninterruptedly and has become a national and international benchmark in the promotion of the values and principles of corporate social responsibility.

Call for subsidies from the Directorate General for Self-Employment, the Social Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility.

The Technical Secretariat is the responsibility of the Subdirectorate General for Social Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility, which provides technical assistance to help in this task.

There is an Assembly of the network, which traditionally meets twice a year, once on a rotating basis in one of the territories of the network and once in Madrid at the headquarters of the Ministry of Labour and the Social Economy.

The objective of the Network is to articulate, integrate and implement different strategies for the development of Socially Responsible Territories, understood as the application of concepts of social, economic and environmental responsibility to a territory, based on participatory governance with an ethical component.

The common principles that inspire it are:

1. Social cohesion and co-responsibility.
2. Transversality.
3. Holistic approach.
4. Innovation.

The Network is configured as a forum for the exchange of good practices in the field of social responsibility linked to the territory, and as a tool for the dissemination, implementation and consolidation of social responsibility actions in the territories concerned.

The following activities are carried out:

1. Preparation of reports, proposals and studies related to social responsibility focused on the territory.
2. Promotion, development and implementation of actions aimed at fostering social responsibility.
3. Promotion of the participation of public and private entities in the activities organised by the Network itself, and fostering commitment to social responsibility.

Since it was formally established, the Retos Network has undertaken the following initiatives:

• A documentary collection of the network: theoretical framework, code of ethics, management and operating rules, membership procedure, procedure for joining the network.
• Good Practice Database.
• Retos Bulletins.
• Expert reports.
• Assessment tools and manual for RST reporting.

The Network collaborates with the main networks of local entities in our country, such as the Forum of Cities for Employment; INNPULSO, the Network of Cities for Science and Innovation; and REDEL, the Network of Entities for Local Development.

This collaboration has intensified in recent months and took the form of a major joint event of the four local authority networks held in December 2021 in Medina del Campo, where the work of the networks was pooled and the foundations for ongoing collaboration were laid. The next event of the four networks is scheduled to take place in May 2024.

For the Ministry of Labour and the Social Economy the activity of the network is an important asset, and as such has been incorporated into plans and strategies related to both the social economy and corporate social responsibility. It is also directly related to the 2030 Agenda and the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals.