UN secretary general António Guterres has released a report on the challenges faced by social and solidarity economy (SSE) actors worldwide, which also features ideas for growing the sector.
The report was prepared in collaboration with the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) to assess the implementation of the UN General Assembly’s resolution on promoting the SSE for sustainable development adopted in 2023.
The report, which highlights progress made and challenges encountered since the resolution was adopted, delves into the importance of having SSE legal, policy and institutional frameworks and reliable, comparable and comprehensive statistics on the sector. It also mentions the role of SSE education and research and the importance of financial and non-financial support services.
Several co-operatives are featured as case studies, including the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation in India, the Mondragon Corporation in Spain and the housing co-operative movement in Germany.
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Based on these findings, it calls on all UN development entities to mainstream the SSE in their planning and programming. Recommendations include enhanced research, statistics and knowledge management on the SSE, and the provision of targeted policy advice, technical support and capacity development services. This includes asking UN member states to ensure a conducive environment consistent with the nature and diversity of the SSE and adopt inclusive public procurement policies that systematically allocate contracts to SSE entities.
UNTFSSE is also encouraged to support member states in mainstreaming the SSE into regional, national and local strategies, policies and programmes. The report opens up the process of renewing the UN GA Resolution on the SSE.
