A Social Economy Partnership for Community-Based Sustainable Development

ORGANIZATION:
City of Montreal

Year: 2009

This partnership is considered an agreement between the City of Montreal and players in the social economy, by means of which each of the parties agrees to carry out actions in the city’s different spheres of activity, in particular sustainable development, cultural development, housing and property development, recreation and tourism.

The City is suggesting to players in the Montréal social economy that they work with the municipal administration in a partnership based on the acknowledgement of shared responsibilities, in implementing a long-term action plan.

The partnership has three goals:

  1. To formally acknowledge the contribution made by the social economy to Montréal’s development;
  2. To support the social economy by building on past achievements, strengthening existing means and developing new approaches that will allow it to flourish;
  3. To consolidate and increase the contribution by players in the social economy to sustainable development in greater Montréal, by fostering and creating community-based enterprises meeting its citizens’ needs.

The partnership stems from a commitment by players in the social economy and the city administration, seeking to promote the solidarity and success of social economy enterprises, and acts as a true lever for economic growth, based on five strategic directions:

  • More support for community-based entrepreneurship, to consolidate local roots, support community-based entrepreneurs and foster major social economy projects;
  • A greater role for the social economy in major projects, to promote its integration in such projects with a view to sustainable development;
  • A greater role for the social economy in improving people’s quality of life, so as to continue innovating in such areas as culture, sustainable development, housing, community-based property development, recreation and tourism;
  • Greater openness to doing business with social economy enterprises;
  • Better-integrated promotion of the social economy, to showcase our creativity at home and abroad.

And to ensure proper follow-up and co-ordination of the city’s actions, those of its boroughs and central departments and on the part of the different social economy organizations, the partnership will be backed up by a steering committee consisting of the Executive Committee member responsible for economic development, senior representatives of the different municipal departments, and members of the partnership Advisory Committee.