Third sector and social policies

Rapport d'activités 2007

Coordinator

Professor Marthe NYSSENS

Researchers

Professor Florence DEGAVRE
Andreia LEMAITRE
Stéphane NASSAUT
Pierre-Germain UMUHIRE
Marie VAN DEN BROECK

Research

The crisis of the Welfare State and massive unemployment has generated an increasing interest for “social economy” organisations. This latter concept, French in origin, refers to socio-economic initiatives which belong neither to the traditional private for-profit sector nor to the public sector, or to the sphere of domestic activities. In other terms, the social economy brings together organisations whose primary goal is not the search for profit (co-operatives, mutual societies, associations, social enterprises…).

Although the emergence, in Europe, of social economy organisations goes back to the 19th century, their dynamics are not yet well known. Therefore, one objective of the social economy team is to understand the behavior of these organizations as well as their numerous relations with the market, the State and the Civil Society. In the presence of market and state failures, what are the contributions and limits of these organisations? Are public policies well-adapted to their goals?

Given that social economy organisations have a multi-dimensional and multi-goal structure, their role, beyond the creation of jobs, must also be apprehended in terms of social cohesion and solidarity.

The main themes on which the team focuses on are the following :

• Proximity services
• Social enterprises
• The social and popular economy in the South