Institut de recherche des Nations Unies pour le développement social (UNRISD)

The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is an autonomous research institute within the UN system that undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on the social dimensions of contemporary development issues.

Through our work we aim to ensure that social equity, inclusion and justice are central to development thinking, policy and practice. To this end, we:

• focus on the often neglected social content and impacts of development processes and the role of social institutions, relations and actors in shaping development policies and pathways;

• engage researchers, policy makers and civil society actors from around the world in generating and sharing knowledge, in order to shape policy within and beyond the UN system;

• mobilize and strengthen the research capacity of individuals and institutions in developing countries through collaborative inquiry; and

• provide a space for the exchange of ideas, giving prominence to marginalized viewpoints, often challenging mainstream development thinking and offering alternative policy options.

Our Mandate

UNRISD was established in 1963 as an autonomous space within the UN system for the conduct of policy-relevant, cutting-edge research on social development that is pertinent to the work of the United Nations Secretariat; regional commissions and specialized agencies; and national institutions.

3 publications

• Social and Solidarity Economy: Is There a New Economy in the Making?

  Occasional Paper 10. Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy

  Peter Utting, Nadine van Dijk, Marie-Adélaïde Matheï, UNRISD, Geneva, Switzerland, September 2014

  UNRISD

• Monnaie Complémentaire versus Microcrédit Solidaire et Tontines: Contribution Comparée à un Développement Solidaire Local

  Occasional Paper 5. Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy

  Jean-Michel Servet, UNRISD, Geneva, Switzerland, March 2014

  UNRISD

• Toward an Epistemological Foundation for Social and Solidarity Economy

  Occasional Paper 3. Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy

  Anup Dash, UNRISD, Geneva, Switzerland, March 2014

  UNRISD

14 Videos

• 3 minutes, 3 messages: Realizing Care Policies’ Transformative Potential

  August 2017

  UNRISD

• Social and Solidarity Economy for the SDGs: Spotlight on Seoul

  June 2017

  UNRISD

• 3 minutes, 3 messages: Public Policies for SSE

  2016

  UNRISD

• Social and Solidarity Finance: Tensions, Opportunities and Transformative Potential

  2015 Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa

  May 2015

  UNRISD

• SSE Conference Closing Remarks

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  May 2013

  UNRISD

• Ben Quiñones--Priorities for Research, Policy and Action

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  May 2013

  UNRISD

• Darryl Reed : The Rise of Fair Trade: Opportunities, Tensions and Uncertainties.

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  May 2013

  UNRISD

• Bénédicte Fonteneau : L’économie sociale et solidaire en tant qu’acteur principal du développement de la protection sociale en matière de santé en Afrique?

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  Bénédicte Fonteneau, May 2013

  UNRISD

  English

• Bénédicte Fonteneau : Social and Solidarity Economy as Main Actor of the Extension of Social Protection in Health in Africa?

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  May 2013

  UNRISD

  français

• SSE Conference Opening Session

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  May 2013

  UNRISD

• Béatrice Alain : Public Policy for the Social and Solidarity Economy from a Comparative Perspective: The Effectiveness of Collaborative Processes or the Co-Construction of Public Policy.

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  May 2013

  UNRISD

• Ananya Mukherjee-Reed : Taking Solidarity Seriously: Analysis of Kudumbashree, an Experiment in Kerala, India

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  Ananya Mukherjee-Reed, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Georgina Gómez : Trading Scale for Solidarity in the Community Currency Systems in Argentina.

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  May 2013

  UNRISD

• Voices for Social and Solidarity Economy: Towards an Alternative?

  UNRISD International conference Potential and limits of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) : Towards an Alternative economy, 6-8 May 2013

  May 2013

  UNRISD

6 case studies

• Public Policy and Devolved Governance: Facilitating the Social and Solidarity Economy in the Liverpool City Region

  From : Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy, UNRISD

  Helen Heap, Alan Southern, Matt Thompson, 2020

  UNRISD

• Creating an Enabling Environment for the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) through Public Policies in Durban, South Africa

  From : Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy, UNRISD

  Susan Steinman, 2020

  UNRISD

• Public Policies Enabling the Social and Solidarity Economy in the City of Montreal

  From : Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy, UNRISD

  Marguerite Mendell, Nancy Néamtan, Yi Hyuna, 2020

  UNRISD

• Policy Systems and Measures for the Social Economy in Seoul

  From : Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy, UNRISD

  Soon-Yoon Kil, Lee Sang Youn, 2020

  UNRISD

• Políticas de fomento de la economía social y solidaria: estudio de caso de la Ciudad de México

  From : Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy, UNRISD

  Juan José Rojas Herrera,, Roberto Canedo Villarreal, 2020

  UNRISD

• Public Policies Fostering the Social and Solidarity Economy in Barcelona (2016-2019)

  From : Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy, UNRISD

  Rafael Chaves Ávila, Jordi Via Llops, Jordi Garcia Jané, 2020

  UNRISD

  Español

48 Analyses/working papers/articles

• Historic Breakthrough for Social and Solidarity Economy at the International Labour Organization

  UNRISD working papers

  Hamish Jenkins, January 2023

  UNRISD

• Crises of Inequality: Shifting Power for a New Eco-Social Contract

  UNRISD 2022 Flagship report

  October 2022

  UNRISD

• Encyclopedia of the Social and Solidarity Economy

  AA.VV., May 2022

  UNRISD

• Producing Statistics on Social and Solidarity Economy: Policy Recommendations and Directions for Future Research

  Rafael Chaves Ávila, August 2021

  UNRISD

• Mapping International SSE Mapping Exercises

  Coline Compère, Barbara Sak, Jérôme Schoenmaeckers, August 2021

  UNRISD

• Guidelines for Local Governments on Policies for Social and Solidarity Economy

  Publication UNRISD

  Hamish Jenkins, Yi Ilcheong, Samuel Brülisauer, Kameni Chaddah, January 2021

  UNRISD

• Sustainable Development Impact Indicators for Social and Solidarity Economy State of the Art

  Working Paper 2019

  Gabriel Salathé-Beaulieu, Marie J. Bouchard, Marguerite Mendell, May 2019

  UNRISD

• Social and Solidarity Economy for the Sustainable Development Goals. Spotlight on Social Economy in Seoul

  Unsrid, July 2018

  UNRISD

  français

• Mapping of Intergovernmental Documentation on Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE)

  Knowledge Hub Resources

  UNRISD, May 2018

  UNTFSSE, UNRISD

• Policy Innovations for Transformative Change. Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

  (UNRISD Flagship Report 2016).

  AA.VV., October 2016

  UNRISD

  Español

• Chapter 4. Promoting Social and Solidarity Economy through Public Policy

  October 2016

  UNRISD

• The Invisible Player: Social and Solidarity Finance for Financing for Development

  Think Piece Series The Road To Addis and Beyond

  Marie-Adélaïde Matheï, September 2015

  UNRISD

• Social and Solidarity Finance: Tensions, Opportunities and Transformative Potential. AN UNRISD WORKSHOP IN COLLABORATION WITH FES AND ILO.

  Event brief n°2

  Simon Gewölb, Marie-Adélaïde Matheï, Joannah Caborn Wengler, July 2015

  UNRISD, BIT/ILO

• Social and Solidarity Economy: Beyond the Fringe? Introductory chapter

  Peter Utting, April 2015

  UNRISD

• Social and Solidarity Economy: Is There a New Economy in the Making?

  Occasional Paper 10. Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy

  Peter Utting, Nadine van Dijk, Marie-Adélaïde Matheï, September 2014

  UNRISD

• La Presencia de la Economía Social y Solidaria y su Institucionalización en América Latina

  (Documento Ocasional) Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy, UNSRID

  Jose Luis Coraggio, June 2014

  UNRISD

• Regional Policy Frameworks of Social Solidarity Economy in South America

  Occasional Paper 6. Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy

  Marcelo Saguier, Zoe Brent, June 2014

  UNRISD

• Happy Country, Happy Government: How Useful are International Happiness Rankings?

  Think piece UNRISD

  Nadine van Dijk, Lizzie Spencer, Viviana Ramirez, March 2014

  UNRISD

• Estrategias de Supervivencia y Elaboración de Políticas Públicas El Papel de la Economía Social y Solidaria en Latinoamérica y la Contribución de Brasil hacia la Construcción de Políticas Emancipadoras

  UNRISD Documento Ocasional 4 Potencial y Límites de la Economía Social y Solidaria

  Leandro Pereira Morais, March 2014

  UNRISD

• Raising the Visibility of Social and Solidarity Economy in the United Nations System

  Chapter taken from The Reader 2014: “Social and Solidarity Economy — Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Development”, (ITC and ILO)

  Peter Utting, 2014

  UNRISD

• Community Development Banks: Enabling Access to Finance for Poor Communities

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Camille Meyer, Leonardo Prates Leal, September 2013

  UNRISD

• Finance alternative et monnaies complémentaires. Compte-rendu de la session spéciale tenue à l’UNRISD, du 6 au 8 mai 2013

  Tristan Dissaux, May 2013

  UNRISD

• La Economía Social y Solidaria. Un marco teórico y Plural.

  Texto preliminar preparado para la Conferencia de UNRISD: Posibilidades y límites de la Economía Social y Solidaria

  Jean-Louis Laville, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Social and Solidarity Economy: A Pathway to Socially Sustainable Development?

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Peter Utting, May 2013

  UNRISD

  Español

• Social Enterprises for buen vivir in Chiapas: An Alternative to Development

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Michela Giovannini, May 2013

  UNRISD

• David and Goliath—Cooperatives and the Global Crisis

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Claudia Sanchez Bajo, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Engaging with the Social Economy in Aboriginal Australia: The Experience of Eastern Kuku Yalanji Social Entrepreneurs

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Helen Murphy, Marilyn Wallace, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Legal Frameworks on Social and Solidarity Economy: What is the Role of Civil Society Organizations in Policy Making?

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Rafael Peels, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Want to really help expand Social and Solidarity Economy? Then start rethinking money!

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Christian Arnsperger, May 2013

  UNRISD

• “It is the powerful farmers who really enjoy the group”: Inequality and Change in Uganda’s Coffee Cooperatives

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Karin Wedig, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Are Mental Models Shaping SSE Reality? Conceptualizing, Measuring and Evaluating SSE Performance

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Benjamin R. Quiñones, Jr., May 2013

  UNRISD

• Connecting the Right Dots: Economic Integration and Solidarity/Social Economy Supply Chains

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Maliha Safri, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Solidarity at Work: The Case of Mondragon

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Larraitz Altuna-Gabilondo, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Let’s “Do-It-Ourselves”: Building a Participatory Economy in South Asia

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Bryn Gay, Chatrini Weeratunge, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Worker Solidarity Confronting the Crises of Capitalism: Bottom-up Solidarity Economy and Political Ecology in South America

  hink pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Cristián Alarcón, Cristobal Navarro, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Can Female Entrepreneurship Programmes Support Social and Solidarity Economy? Insights from China and India

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Tonia Warneke, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Solidarity Economy Initiatives from the Ground Up: What can we Learn from the Women Home-based Workers of Southeast Asia?

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Rosalinda Pineda Ofreneo, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Making Space for Economic Democracy: The Danish Wind Power Revolution

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Andrew Cumbers, May 2013

  UNRISD

• The Politics of the Cooperative Sector in Developing Countries: Insights from Argentina, Brazil and Colombia

  Andrés Spognardi, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Economic Ideals: Gandhian and Neoliberal Logics in India

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Babita Batt, Samer Abdelnour, Israr Qureshi, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Social Solidarity Economy: Toward Convergence across Continental Divides

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Emily Kawano, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Moving Beyond the Public-Private Divide: Locating Social Entrepreneurship in the Social Economy

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Lisa Hanley, May 2013

  UNRISD

• Kenyan Businesswomen Transforming Slum Economies through Complementary Currencies

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Morgan Richards, William O. Ruddick, May 2013

  UNRISD

• What Do Cooperatives Have To Do with the Post- 2015 Development Framework and Proposed Sustainable Development Goals?

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Emery Igiraneza, May 2013

  UNRISD

• An Impossible Marriage: Solidarity Economy and Monetary Economy

  UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”, Geneva, 6-8 May 2013

  Anitra Nelson, May 2013

  UNRISD

• La Economía Solidaria como política y estrategia de desarrollo. Políticas públicas, movimiento social y desafíos en Brasil

  Think pieces for the UNRISD conference “Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy”. 6-8 May 2013

  Ana Mercedes Sarria Icaza, March 2013

  UNRISD

• The Challenge of Political Empowerment

  Think piece UNRISD capacity.org

  Peter Utting, March 2012

  UNRISD

• Le commerce équitable

  Murat Yilmaz, December 2005

  UNRISD

One public contribution

• The Social and Solidarity Economy. A Theoretical and Plural Framework.

  Draft paper prepared for the UNRISD Conference Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy 6–8 May 2013, Geneva, Switzerland

  Jean-Louis Laville, May 2013

  UNRISD

2 articles

• My journey to the Social and Solidarity Economy

  Social Economy News, June 2023

  Yi Ilcheong, June 2023

  UNRISD

  Español - Español - français - français

• RIPESS Calls on UN to Promote Social and Solidarity Economy

  Peter Utting, October 2013

  UNRISD