What we need to know about the social economy

Professor Hum also documents distributed before the roundtable, the prepared briefings for PRI that informed the identifi- presentations and discussions of the day, and subse- cation of observations concerning the role of govern- quent research carried out by Alan Painter, who also ment, as acknowledged in section 3. led the preparation of the guide. [...] This guide is based on background documents distrib- uted in advance of the September roundtable, the pre- sentations and discussions of the day, and additional 1 A Guide for Policy Research 2. THE SCOPE OF THE SOCIAL ECONOMY Organizations that aim to maximize their profits and produce and deliver goods or services in the market- are governed directly or indirectly by shareholders place, generally [...] The term “social economy involve a diverse collection of stakeholders in deci- organizations” is occasionally used to include SEEs sions and reinvest any profits to advance the mission and other organizations in the social economy that of the organization, instead of disbursing them to carry out other activities, such as the provision of owners/shareholders. [...] Ninacs described an reflected in the ultimate objectives of the organization interrelated collection of organizations that provide to increase, the proportion of the population that has goods and services and strategic and technical sup- a say in the control of the organization to increase, port based on common themes and priorities, which and the extent of dependency on the marketplace have inclu [...] Table 1 makes use of the typology to provide a In contrast to the situation in Quebec, Ninacs sug- sense of the size and structure of the social econ- gests that the co-operative and non-profit movements omy and other sectors in Canada.