This policy expands the scale and visibility of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) — cooperatives, mutuals, associations, foundations, and solidarity-based enterprises — by creating enabling ecosystems that allow them to thrive alongside mainstream markets. Its design requires a comprehensive policy approach across multiple fronts: financing and fiscal incentives (including concessional credit, subsidies, and dedicated public development bank facilities); technical and vocational training that integrates SSE values into formal education; reforms to facilitate equitable access to markets through infrastructure and public procurement; and regulatory changes to ease the establishment and expansion of SSE entities.
Complementary measures extend social protection and labour rights to SSE workers, systematise data collection and impact evaluation, and strengthen knowledge production, research, and dissemination on SSE practices. Partnerships between governments, SSE entities, and other stakeholders are promoted, alongside platforms for advocacy, networking, and co-construction of policies.
Implementation requires phased reforms: in the short term, structuring and financing the SSE; in the medium term, aligning fiscal and monetary frameworks to favor SSE expansion; and in the long term, redefining prosperity indicators and embedding SSE within binding international frameworks.
The goal is to democratise economic activity, redistribute wealth more equitably, and provide resilient services outside the logic of profit maximization.
This policy is desirable because SSE entities embed democratic governance, prioritise social missions, and offer durable alternatives to growth-dependent models, making them essential drivers of inclusive, just, and sustainable wellbeing.
Public procurement for SSE
This policy leverages governments’ vast purchasing power to scale enterprises that deliver social and ecological value. Its design integrates sustainability and social responsibility criteria into procurement rules, sets quotas or targets for awarding contracts to SSE entities and mission-driven firms, and adapts tendering processes to make them accessible to smaller organizations (e.g., dividing contracts into lots).
Implementation requires revising procurement legislation, training procurement officers in social value assessment, and establishing robust monitoring frameworks to track impact.
The goal is to ensure that public funds are directed toward actors that advance inclusive and sustainable development.
This policy is desirable because it strengthens the financial viability of transformative enterprises, creates stable markets for socially beneficial goods and services, and ensures that procurement acts as a strategic tool for systemic change rather than perpetuating extractive business models.
