Linking the Social Economy and Fair Trade

							     Linking the Social
Economy and Fair Trade
    An Overview of Opportunities
     and Challenges for Building
                      Linkages
      By Annie McKitrick and Janel Smith
Overview:
   Brief overview of the CSERP
       Vision
       The Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships
       The National Social Economy Hub
       Regional Research Centers
       CSEHub Organization
   Overview of the Social Economy
   The Social Economy Student Network
   Connecting the SE to Fair Trade: Opportunities and
    Challenges
   “Food for Thought”
   Questions?
Overview of the CSERP – Vision


   To build collaboration between researchers
    and practitioners to better understand and
    encourage initiatives at the local, provincial
    and national levels so that the Social
    Economy and its related approaches will be
    more widely understood and applied in
    Canada.
   To encourage the creation of an enabling
    environment for the Social Economy to thrive.
The Canadian Social Economy
Research Partnerships
   Six research centers.
   National Hub.
   79 affiliated universities (Canadian and
    International).
   Researchers come from 15 academic
    disciplines.
   140 partner organizations.
   # of student researchers??
The National Social Economy
Hub
   Dr. Ian from the BC Institute for Co-
    operative Studies (BCICS) located at the
    University of Victoria
   Rupert Downing, Executive Director of the
    Canadian Community Development Network
    (CCEDNet), a practitioner organization
Regional Research Centers
   Atlantic/Mount Saint Vincent University
   Québec/UQUAM
   Southern Ontario/U of Toronto
   Prairies and Northern Ontario/U of Sask
   BC/Alberta/Center for Community Enterprise
   Northern/Yukon College
CSE Hub Organization
Overview of the SE cont.
Canadian Practitioner Definition:
 "The Social Economy includes: social assets (housing, childcare, etc.),
  social enterprises including cooperatives, equity and debt capital for
  community investment, social purpose businesses, community training and
  skills development, integrated social and economic planning, and capacity
  building and community empowerment. The social economy is a continuum
  that goes from the one end of totally voluntary organizations to the other
  end where the economic activity (social enterprise) blurs the line with the
  private sector." - the CCEDNet National Policy Council, Social Economy
  Roundtable Consultation Briefing Notes, 2005

Scholarly Definition:
 "The social economy is that spectrum of activity located between the public
  and private sector (and so driven neither by the logic of capital nor by that
  of the state) which is a form of economic organisation aimed at addressing
  the social need. It is economic activity which has a social impact, and as
  such embodies the principle of placing social viability on a par with
  economic viability, social sustainability being equal to economic
  sustainability and the two being interdependent." - Mullan and Cox, "Social
  Movements Never Died: Community Politics and the Social Economy in the
  Irish Republic," 2000
Overview of the Social
Economy
The Social Economy consists of association-
 based economic initiatives founded on values
 of:
       Service to members of community rather than
        generating profits.
       Autonomous management (not government or market
        controlled);
       Democratic decision making;
       Primacy of persons and work over capital;
       Based on principles of participation, empowerment
SE Organizations are usually
defined by these indicators:
      formal voluntary association of people or collective
       bodies.
      carrying on an economic activity.
      social rules prohibiting or limiting distribution of
       surpluses among members.
      democratic governance process.
      Empowerment.
The Social Economy Student
Network
   Comprised of post-secondary students and
    researchers currently involved in, or
    interested in undertaking, research and/or
    study into the Social Economy.
   functions as a multi-disciplinary virtual space
    that will facilitate the growth of knowledge-
    sharing networks among members.
Vision
   To better enable students to acquire and share research and related
    information that deals with aspects of the Social Economy.
   Foster a nationwide informal learning, knowledge mobilization and information-
    sharing network composed of post-secondary students from Canadian
    universities
   Provide a setting in which to highlight and advance the diverse research of
    Canadian graduate, undergraduate and college students who examine aspects
    of the Social Economy in their work
   Showcase student-led initiatives in schools or the broader community related to
    the Social Economy and introduce programs specific to the needs and interests
    of students
   Increase the visibility of the Social Economy in the academy and promote
    awareness of the Social Economy as an area/field of research and study at the
    postsecondary level
   Generate new knowledge with the strong potential to strengthen the base of
    Canada’s Social Economy
   Raise awareness of creative ideas and stimulate broad dialogue regarding new
    areas of inquiry on the SE
Overview of the Website
Content
   Introductory material on the Social Economy
   Searchable index of papers posted by students relating to Social
    Economy research
   Searchable index of research request submission from academics and
    Social Economy practitioners
   Bibliographic reference listing of published books, papers, journal
    articles, and other publications related to the Social Economy
   Daily news on the Social Economy gathered automatically from a
    variety of online RSS feeds
   Discussion Forums for students to share research and experiences
   Events Calendar for research and other Social Economy related events
   Network online newsletter will be published periodically with updates on
    the Social Economy activities related to the network
   Bilingual and possibly trilingual content will be available once French
    language partner is established
Connecting the SE to Fair
Trade: Opportunities
   Goals and objectives are generally mutually-
    reinforcing and there exist mutual concerns
   Linkages exist between driving principles and core
    values of both movements
   “value-added” – opportunities exist for establishing
    greater synergy, fostering joint sense of “voice” and
    enhancing public pressure in policy formation (can
    help to de-marginalize marginalized movements)
   Fair Trade communities already exist within the SE
    (Mountain Equipment has an ethical sourcing
    program, Desjardins buys only fair trade coffee, La
    Siembra)
Challenges and Tensions
   Not all SE organizations are fair trade
    organizations and vice versa
   Challenges exist in the producer-supplier-
    consumer chains
   Some primary focus differences - SE about
    shared profits and Fair Trade about goods
    produced (some critiques of FT include that
    fair trade does nothing to address the
    fundamental injustices in world trade
    systems)
“Food for Thought”
   Does “Responsible”, “Fair” and “Ethical”
    Trade and Consumerism really exist?
   How can we work to achieve common
    purposes and enhance linkages that exist
    between movements?
   How can we more effectively call attention to
    disconnects between various components in
    the production and supply chains?
Questions?
   CSEHub Website:
    http://www.socialeconomynetwork.ca/hub/
   SESN:
    http://www.graduate.socialeconomy.info/
   Ethical Purchasing Forum:
    http://www.ethicalpurchasing.bcics.org/