For definitions of the Social Economy, check the Atlantic Node of the Canadian Social Economy Network. A social economy blog, Value Added in the SE Brand provides up to date research, news and events specific to the Atlantic region. Research papers on the Social Economy are available on SE Space (see below for more information).
SE Space collects digital documents on co-operatives and the wider social economy. The purpose of the SE space is to promote the widest possible dissemination by collecting and preserving intellectual output written by both academics and practitioners, and ensuring that it has high visibility and accessibility.
The SE-Space site is focused on the works, publications and research by persons involved in researching and writing about matters pertaining to the Social Economy and co-operatives. The main focus is on materials that are relevant to the Canadian experience, and that highlight the work of Canadian researchers. You can visit SE space here.
Visit the Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network homepage.
About the Social Economy and
Sustainability Research Network
Current responses to the challenges facing the Atlantic
region build on a long established tradition of innovation and cooperative
effort. These responses have coalesced into a sector known as the social
economy. The social economy takes many forms; co-operatives, credit unions,
non-profits and mutuals are all aspects of the social economy sector. What these organizations tend to have in common is that they put people
before profit, that they exercise democratic principles in their governance,
that they put an emphasis on participation, empowerment, and individual and
collective responsibility; and that their management is independent of
government.
There are, however, wide gaps in our knowledge of this sector. The members of
the Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network are working to narrow
some of these gaps, particularly in our knowledge about the social economy of
the Atlantic region. In the process, we hope to increase the region’s capacity
for a dynamic social economy by building partnerships, knowledge, and networks
across the region and its peoples; by working with our community partners to
meet their research needs, and by making an impact on policy at the provincial
and municipal levels.
The Network is committed to facilitating others’
research on the Social Economy, and to encouraging student research. This guide
is a collaborative effort of the MSVU Library and the Social Economy and
Sustainability Research Network and will grow and adapt as the project
progresses. The work of the Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network
is supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council (SSHRC). For more details
please see:
http://www.msvu.ca/socialeconomyatlantic
Separate from the private sector and government, the social economy includes co-operatives, foundations, credit unions, non-profit organisations, the voluntary sector, charities and social economy enterprises. These enterprises are run like businesses, producing goods and services for the market economy, but manage their operations and redirect their surpluses in pursuit of social and environmental goals.
