The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is an autonomous research institute within the UN system that undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on the social dimensions of contemporary development issues.
SOCIAL AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY (SSE) AT UNRISD
UNRISD launched its first large inquiry on strategy, advocacy, policy and practice related to social and solidarity economy (SSE) in 2012. Through research and partnerships with individual scholars, research organizations, SSE networks, other UN agencies and governments, this project sought to:
- understand the conditions and contexts that enable social and solidarity economy (SSE) to expand, as well as the contradictions and constraints; and
- assess the implications of such processes and interactions with external actors and institutions for realizing the potential of SSE as a distinctive approach to development.
A key project activity was the international conference on the Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy held in Geneva on 6-8 May 2013 in collaboration with the ILO and UN-NGLS. The conference welcomed around 300 participants from 35 countries representing academia, UN organizations, SSE practitioners, NGOs and civil society actors. The need for collective efforts to advocate for the Social and Solidarity Economy was recognised, and in this context, a major outcome of this conference was the establishment of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on SSE.
As of 2020, UNRISD is still actively involved in research on SSE. It is the implementing agency of the UNTFSSE’s SSE Knowledge Hub for the SDGs. This project includes:
- A call for papers in 2018 on the topic: Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: What Role for Social and Solidarity Economy?
- The organization, with ILO and the UNTFSSE, of an international conference on 25-26 June 2019, based on submissions received in the call for papers. A special session on the same topic had been previously held on February 24th.
- The setting-up and the management of a free, open-access online platform to disseminate the papers received in response the 2018 call as well as future submissions.
- Coordination of a project on the Opportunities and Challenges of Statistics on SSE.
- Launch of a project on “SSE Encyclopedia”.
Work related to the Knowledge Hub has received funding from the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Social Economy and Economic Solidarity of Luxembourg and the Government of the Republic of Korea (represented by Statistics Korea).
UNRISD is also conducting research projects on:
- Promoting SSE through Public Policies: Guidelines for Local Governments. This project is funded by the Global Social Economy Forum (GSEF).
- Sustainable Development Performance Indicators. Among other activities, this project incorporates the contributions of SSEOs in defining comparable, effective and modern indicators for sustainability reporting. It is funded by the Center for Social value Enhancement Studies (CSES), Republic of Korea.
Other recent UNRISD research projects on SSE include:
- Social and Solidarity Economy, Urban Communities and the Protection of Vulnerable Groups. The project is conducted in collaboration with the University of Geneva and is funded by the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS).
- Feminist Analysis of Social and Solidarity Economy Practices: Views from Latin America and India. The project was conducted in collaboration with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva and was funded by the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS).
- Social and Solidarity Economy for the SDGs: Spotlight on the Social Economy in Seoul. The research project was funded by Global Social Economic Forum (GSEF) and the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS AND OUTPUTS
Conferences:
- UNRISD 2020 International Conference on Promoting SSE through Public Policies: Seven Case Studies and Guidelines for Local Governments, at the GSEF Global Virtual Forum
- Seven working papers and Guidelines document also presented at the Conference
- Conference summary
- UNTFSSE 2019 International Conference on Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: What Role for Social and Solidarity Economy?
- All papers and presentations are available on the Knowledge Hub;
- UNRISD 2015 workshop on Social and Solidarity Finance: Tensions, Opportunities and Transformative Potential, in collaboration with ILO and NGLS
- Workshop presentations, draft papers podcasts and videos.
- Workshop Event Brief.
- UNRISD 2013 conference on the Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy, in collaboration with the International Labour Office (ILO)
- Conference presentations, draft papers, podcasts and videos;
- SSE Occasional Paper Series of selected and peer-reviewed contributions to the UNRISD SSE conference;
- A series of think pieces, selected from submissions to the Call for Papers of the conference;
- Conference Event Brief.
OTHER SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Chaves-Avila, R., J. Via-Llop and J. Garcia-Jané. Public Policies Fostering the Social and Solidarity Economy in Barcelona (2016-2019). Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Dinerstein, A. C., 2014. The Hidden Side of Social and Solidarity Economy: Social Movement and the Translation of SSE Into Policy (Latin America). Occasional Paper No. 9. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Herrera, J. J. R., and Villarreal, R. C. 2020. Políticas de fomento de la economía social y solidaria: estudio de caso de la Ciudad de México. Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Matheï, M., A. 2015. The Invisible Player: Social and Solidarity Finance for Financing for Development. UNRISD Think Piece.
- Mendell, M., N. Neamtan, and H. Yi. 2020. Public Policies Enabling the Social and Solidarity Economy in the City of Montreal. Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Puddick, W., and Mariani, L. 2013. Complementary Currencies Strengthening the Social and Solidarity Economy: Case Studies from Kenya. Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Saïd, I., P. Ladd, and I. Yi. 2018. Measuring the Scale and Impact of Social and Solidarity Economy. UNRISD Issue Brief.
- Salathé-Beaulieu, G., M. J. Bouchard, and M. Mendell. 2019. Sustainable Development Impact Indicators for Social and Solidarity Economy: State of the Art. Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Scott, B. 2016. How Can Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology Play a Role in Building Social and Solidarity Finance? Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Steinman, S. 2020. Creating an Enabling Environment for the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) through Public Policies in Durban, South Africa. Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Utting et al. 2014. Social and Solidarity Economy: Is There New Economy in the Making? Occasional Paper No. 10. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Utting, P. 2013a. What is Social and Solidarity Economy and Why Does it Matter? UNRISD Think Piece.
- Utting, P. 2013b. Social and Solidarity Economy: A Pathway to Socially Sustainable Development? UNRISD Think Piece.
- Utting, P. 2015. Social and Solidarity Economy: Beyond the Fringe. London/Geneva: Zed Books and UNRISD.
- Utting, P. 2016a. Sustainable Government Support for Social and Solidarity Economy. UNRISD Think Piece.
- Utting, P. 2016b. When Can Public Policy Work for SSE? UNRISD Think Piece.
- Utting, P. 2016c. “Promoting Social and Solidarity Economy Through Public Policy.” In UNRISD Flagship Report Policy Innovation for Transformative Change: Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Utting, P.2018. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Social and Solidarity Economy: Incremental versus Transformative Change. Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Verschuur, C., and F. Calvão. 2018. Making Public Policies for SSE Sustainable, Feminist-Conscious and Transformative: Exploring the Challenges. UNRISD Issue Brief.
- Verschuur, C., and F. Calvão. 2018. Revalorization of Social Reproduction through Social and Solidarity Economy Practices. UNRISD Issue Brief.
- Verschuur, C., and F. Calvão. 2018. Solidarity Practices and the Formation of Political Subjects and Actions for Change. UNRISD Issue Brief.
- Yi, I. 2018. The Social Economy and an Integrated Approach to the Localized SDGs in Seoul: Interrogating the Evidence. UNRISD Policy Brief.
- Yi, I., H. Ahn, J. Jang, M. Jaramillo, E. S. Lee, S. Lee, Y. J. Lee, P. Utting, and J. Y. Yi. 2018. Social and Solidarity Economy for the Sustainable Development Goals: Spotlight on the Social Economy in Seoul. Report. Geneva: UNRISD.
- Yoon, K. S., and Lee, S. Y. 2020. Policy Systems and Measures for the Social Economy in Seoul. Working Paper. Geneva: UNRISD.
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