Social Economy

The social economy refers to those enterprises and organizations which use the tools and some of the methods of business, on a not-for-profit basis, to provide social, cultural, economic and health services to communities that need them. The social economy is characterized by cooperative enterprises, based on principles of community solidarity, that respond to new needs in social and health services, typically at the community or regional level.  Social economy enterprises exhibit distinctive forms of organization and governance such as worker co-operatives and non-profit organizations.  

The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) National Policy Council has the following definition:  “The Social Economy consists of association-based economic initiatives founded on values of:

• Service to members of community rather than
• generating profits.
• Autonomous management (not government or market
• controlled)
• Democratic decision making;
• Primacy of persons and work over capital;
• Based on principles of participation, empowerment.

Source: The Social Economy Hub

Social Economy

Enterprises that fulfill the following objectives: (1) financial viability; (2) capacity to create stable employment; (3) respond to social needs; (4) produce goods and services that correspond to unmet needs; and (5) contribute to improving the quality of life of workers in local communities. (Quebec government definition.

The federal government defines the social economy as organizations producing goods and services on a not-for-profit basis with surpluses going to social or community goals.)

 Source: Scan of the Community Investment Sector in Canada, Coro Strandberg, Brenda Plant, September 2004