The Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) has partnered with the British Council in Vietnam with support from the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) in undertaking this research on the theme, “Social Enterprises in Vietnam – concept, context and policy”, aimed at two main objectives: promote awareness of social enterprises and establish the first ground for discussion of policy development for social enterprises in Vietnam. The research is also designed with two parts respectively: a comprehensive understanding of social enterprises concept in the world and in Vietnam; and an analysis of the current situation, the overall context in order to present recommendations for establishment of policies for social enterprises development in Vietnam. In the context of the current economic crisis, the Vietnam government has decided to restructure, undertake fiscal tightening, and reduce government debt in order to address the increasingly complex social and environmental issues. Luckily, over the last 20 years, the deviation from a centrally-planned economy in Vietnam has created favorable conditions for the development of strong non-state actors in the business and social spheres – who are now in better position to help solve these issues with the government.