February 2013: The February issue of the UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) News e-bulletin highlights several initiatives on the “social and solidarity economy” (SSE), including an international conference to raise the issue’s visibility and contribute to thinking about a post-2015 development agenda.

The conference, titled “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy,” will take place from 6-8 May 2013, in Geneva, Switzerland, and is co-organized with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the UN Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS).

A series of “think pieces” draw on submissions to a call for papers for the Conference; the first four in the series are now available. The piece on “Social Solidarity Economy: Toward Convergence across Continental Divides” seeks to clarify what Social Solidarity Economy is by identifying points of convergence among practitioners and scholars in different regions. The piece on “Moving beyond the Public-Private Divide: Locating Social Entrepreneurship in the Social Economy” analyzes the public-private divide and the role of social enterprises in the delivery of public services, in particular in the social economy. “Economic Ideals: Gandhian and Neoliberal Logics in India” looks at the Gandhian (sarvodaya) and Western (neoliberal) enterprise models. The piece on “The Politics of the Cooperative Sector in Developing Countries: Insights from Argentina, Brazil and Colombia” looks at government policies toward the cooperative sector.

The e-bulletin also features “Beyond 2015 Briefs” highlighting research and analysis on the post-2015 agenda. The brief on “Combating Poverty and Inequality” highlights key lessons that need to underpin a transformative development agenda beyond 2015. “Inequalities and the Post-2015 Development Agenda” discusses how policy instruments to promote equality of outcome largely have been neglected in the name of approaches to create “equality of opportunity.” The brief on “Social Policy and Employment: Rebuilding the Connections” finds that the connections have been weakened in both policy formulation and outcomes. [UNRISD News, February 2013] [SSE Project Website] [SSE Conference]