| dc.description | Recognizing the presence and significance of the Social Economy in Alberta and British Columbia has been largely based on anecdotal accounts, government reports, and non-government research and reports. In the current policy context and development of BALTA’s research priorities, members and partners of BALTA have identified the urgent need to have some basic and coherent data backing up the importance of the Social Economy in Alberta and British Columbia. For instance, individuals have highlighted the usefulness of gathering basic employment data for the purposes of engaging with decision makers in government.
The objective of this study is to begin to formally recognize the size and scope of the Social Economy in Alberta and British Columbia by creating a preliminary profile. Organizations that form the Social Economy foster a greater measure of solidarity among human beings, their communities and society as a whole by emphasizing the social purposes of mutuality and collective benefit. Specifically, these organizations and activities place higher priority on mutuality, accountability to the public or a defined membership, self-help, caring for people and the environment.
For the purposes of this study, the Social Economy is operationalized as encompassing the range of ways people exchange goods and services (often based on the principle of reciprocity) with each other and distribute profit as surpluses through various mechanisms, including: the family or household economy; local volunteer activities and opportunities; and the wide range of more formally structured organizations, (such as charities or member based associations) that explicitly pursue social goals using business oriented approaches.
The profile of the Social Economy will include a variety of variables, including: number of employees; size of budgets; types of activities or services; and industry classification. The profile will be based on aggregate and separate data from a wide variety of sources, including: research reports; StatsCan; government and non-government agencies. The profile is intended to be used immediately by CED and Social Economy networks (e.g. non-profits, co-operatives and credit unions) for advocacy and planning purposes. Additionally, the profile can be used as a spring board for developing other research projects and priorities. This project forms part of the goals of BALTA and SERC 3 to undertake an analysis and evaluation of the Social Economy infrastructure in a Canadian context. Moreover, this project has been highlighted as approved on the SERC 3 work plan. | en |
