Quantcast

European Perspectives on the Emerging Social Economy

One of the important topics of conversation among policy makers, international institutions, and civil society action networks around the globe is how can we create a “social economy” that better meets the needs of all people and our planet. And nowhere is this conversation more vibrant than in Europe.

One of the reasons for the growing interest in this topic is because our understanding of the role that the social economy can play is changing rapidly. Initially conceptualized as something that would simply ameliorate what went wrong in the market or in the realm of the state. Increasingly, the social economy is seen in much broader terms, by some even as a possible replacement for many of the roles that the market and the state play. One can see that in the new actors, fields, and practices emerging such as social tech, impact investing, and collaborative and open social innovation.

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, in collaboration with the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, the universities of Heidelberg and Mannheim, and the Social Entrepreneurship Baden-Württemberg, joined together in late 2020 to convene the “Social Economy Science Conference.” The purpose of the convening was to widen our understanding of what the social economy is, and what it can become. (The conference will convene again this year on May 26 and 27.)

The 2020 conference raised as many questions as it answered. What are the implications of the digital transformation for organizations primarily working for the public good? Which transformations are needed to make the economy more inclusive and diverse, or as some policy agendas put it, to “make the economy work for the people”? What can social economy organizations contribute to the complex set of goals for sustainable development?

In this in-depth series we provide insights from leading academics and scholar practitioners who took part in the 2020 convening, and since then have been researching, thinking, and writing about these topics. In the articles that are a part of this In-Depth Series they will look at not only what has been learned and accomplished so far, but also project a future vision of the transformations that the social economy could bring about.