Strengthening Communities Through Government and Social Economy Partnerships

Author +
Jorge Sousa and Michael Toye (eds.)

Year: 2014

This special issue of the journal Canadian Public Policy explores current ways in which partnerships between government and social economy can strengthen communities. The articles reflect the wide variety of innovative policy research that emerged from the Social Economy Hub, known as the Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships (CSERP).

The social economy has significantly contributed to strengthening Canadian society by contesting the primacy of the private sector to control the market and the paternalism of the state in providing different social services as well as supporting the conditions for the private sector to thrive. The social economy has developed and evolved as a result of public policies that reflect partnerships between government, individuals and socially oriented organizations. Specific policies have reflected innovations in financing (e.g. credit unions), sector specific initiatives (e.g. non-market housing), and procurement practices (e.g. “fair trade” goods), just to name a few.

Contributors and Titles

  • Jorge Sousa and Michael Toye: Introduction
  • Yves Vaillancourt: Le tiers secteur dans la co-construction des politiques publiques canadiennes
  • Jan Myers and Martha MacDonald: Reciprocal relationships: the role of government and the social economy in coproduction of social policy in Atlantic Canada
  • JJ McMurtry: The Political Economy of Procurement
  • Lou Hammond Ketilson: Partnering to Finance Enterprise Development in the Aboriginal Social Economy
  • Monica Adeler: Enabling Policy Environments for Co-operative Development: A Comparative Experience
  • Deborah A. Schrader: Book Review: “The Resilience Imperative: Co-operative Transitions to a Steady-State Economy” by Mike Lewis and Pat Conaty
  • Michael Prince: Book review: “Third Sector and the Co-Construction of Canadian Public Policy”, by Yves Vaillancourt.

The special issue could be accessed through your University’s library or the Canadian Public Policy website (note that a subscription is required).


This Special Issue of Canadian Public Policy is sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships and the British Columbia-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA). Funding was generously provided by the Canadian Social Economy Hub (CSEHub) and the six regional research centres across Canada, including: the Social Economy and Sustainability Network; the Social Economy Centre in Southern Ontario; the Northern Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan Social Economy Regional Node; the Alliance de recherche universités-communautés en économie sociale (ARUC-ÉS); the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada (SERNNoCa); and the BALTA.

For more information please contact Jorge Sousa or Michael Toye.