Public policy for a social economy

Abstract The rise of interest in the social economy as a sector with a significant role to play in the changing dynamic of state/private sector relations has engendered a wide range of policies and practices that seek to both clarify and amplify the strategic role of this “third sector”. In Ecuador, this issue has recently become linked with the attempts of the state to promote the notions of a social knowledge economy and Buen Vivir as new references for a type of political economy that is oriented around service to the common good. This paper examines the particular relation of the social economy to these two notions, and also what this relationship implies for new forms of governance and the idea of the Partner State as a new form of state/civil symbiosis. Particular attention is paid to the unique role of the social economy with respect to the provision of social goods. The paper explores key principles associated with the proper functioning of the social economy in this new context, and proposes a public policy “ecosystem” geared towards maximising both the efficacy and autonomy of the social economy as a driver of new forms of social and economic production, and as a template for the reform of government itself

The Emilian Model - Profile of a Co-operative Economy

Restakis, John John is a co-investigator in the BALTA node and he is the director of a partner organization, the BC Co-operative Association. Emilia-Romagna is a region in Italy that is among the most economically productive in Europe. It contains the densest concentration of co-operatives of any region in Italy and amongst the highest in the world. Its social economy is intimately linked to its success. What are its basic components? How did they emerge? What are their impacts? These questions are explored. The emergence of social care co-ops is a recent innovation that holds a great deal of interest for many people around the globe, including in BC. Restakis helps us begin think about how the Emilian Model might be adapted to a distinctly Canadian regional context

Co-op Elder Care in Canada: A Call to Action

The National Task Force on Co-op Elder care consisted of the following members: Carol Hunter, Canadian Co-operative Association John Anderson, Canadian Co-operative Association Dennis Deters, The Co-operators Wes Hosler, Co-op Housing Federation of BC Joan Reichardt, Community First Health Co-op, Nelson John Restakis (report author), British Columbia Co-operative AssociationThis report is the result of the work of a two year National Task Force on Co-op Elder Care that was established by the Canadian Co-operative Association. It explores the state of co-op elder care in Canada, considers the potential for a greater role by co-operatives in elder care and makes recommendations for achieving this aim.British Columbia Co-operative Association; BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance; BC Institute for Co-operative Studies; Canadian Co-operative Association; The Co-operators Cooperatives Secretariat; Desjardins; Vancit

Session 1 : Community governance and participatory democracy : The Rojava revolution : co-operation, environmentalism, and feminism in the North Syria Democratic Federation

On Day 3 (15 June 2018), in the session of “Community Governance and Participatory Democracy”, John RESTAKIS (Community Evolution Foundation, Canada) delivered a lecture on The Rojava Revolution: Co-operation, Environmentalism, and Feminism in the North Syria Democratic Federation. The video is produced by Global University for Sustainability, 2018

Enabling Policy for Health and Social Co-ops in BC

This paper examines the role that co-operatives are playing in the provision of health and social services in Canada and internationally, and the impact of government policy, legislation, and operating procedure on the ability of co-operative models to provide these services in British Columbia, Canada. The paper also examines other factors - both internal and external to co-op organizations - that affect the capacity of co-ops to play a more meaningful role in the production and delivery of health and social care services. The paper proposes that there are effective alternatives to the prevailing view that health and social services must be supplied either by government or the private sector. A third alternative, a social economy model based on consumer control and operating at a community level through a variety of community based, non-profit, co-operative, and social enterprises has been breaking new ground and warrants serious attention by policy makers and legislators. A social economy approach also requires governments to move beyond the strict utilitarian view of public services that has come with the application of private sector management models to the public sector.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance; BC Co-operative Association; BC Institute for Co-operative Studies; VanCity Community Foundatio

ICT, open government and civil society

Abstract This paper explores the rise of ICTs as instruments of government reform and the implication of their use from the vantage point of the relations between democratic governance, the aims of Buen Vivir, and the role of civil society. We discuss some of the contradictions inherent in the nature and organisation of ICTs, particularly in connection to such e-government projects as “smart cities” and participatory budgeting, and focus on the centrality of social relationships, political agency and the operations of social capital as elements that determine the success of these initiatives in the promotion of democratic practice. We also examine the relevance of social capital and user control to organisational structure and the ways in which structure relates to social innovation and the access, transfer and diffusion of knowledge as a common good. The paper concludes with a discussion of the significance of ICTs as instruments of civil empowerment and introduces the notion of “generative democracy” as a means of re-imagining and realigning the role and powers of the state and civil society for the social production of goods and services

Co-operative Development, Policy, and Power in a Period of Contested Neoliberalism: The Case of Evergreen Co-operative Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio

After the financial crisis in 2008 and amid growing concerns about climate change, interest in systemic alternatives to neoliberal capitalism is growing. This cultural shift helps explain the enthusiasm from political elites, media, and academics that greeted the launch of Evergreen Co-operative Corporation in 2009. Based in Cleveland Ohio, Evergreen is a network of worker-owned co-operatives with scalability and replicability woven into its design. But how warranted is the broad-based enthusiasm around Evergreen? Is this a model that can be replicated across North America as its founders suggest? Based on site visits and stakeholder interviews, we argue that there are important limits on desires to reproduce the “Cleveland Model.”  However, its ambitions for scalability and replicability position it to contribute to the important project of movement building that can facilitate the policy change needed to scale up the co-operative alternative

Establishing a Co-op Development System in BC & Alberta

This presentation to the 2009 symposium of the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) reports on the results of two BALTA research projects (C2 and C7) examining the existing co-operative development system in Nova Scotia (C2) and exploring how to strengthen co-operative development systems in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) ; British Columbia Co-operative Association (BCCA) ; Alberta Community and Co-operative Association (ACCA

BALTA Project A2 Update - Co-operative Models of Social Care

This project is examining the role that co-operatives are playing in the provision of health and social services in Canada and internationally, and the impact of government policy, legislation, and operating procedure on the ability of co-operative models to provide these services. Two aspects of the project have specifically explored co-op elder care in Canada and enabling policy for health and social co-ops in British Columbia, Canada. This update specifies research plans for the 2008-2009 year.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA

C7 Project Follow Up (Part 1) and Social Co-ops & Social Care

This presentation to the 2009 symposium of the BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) reports on the results of two BALTA research projects (C7 and A2) exploring how to strengthen co-operative development systems in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, and epxloring the increasing role of co-ops in social care.BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) ; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) ; British Columbia Co-operative Association (BCCA) ; Alberta Community and Co-operative Association (ACCA