Social and solidarity economy
The Social and Solidarity Economy is a set of formal or informal socio-economic measures, which may be individual or collective, that put satisfying people's needs before profit.
They are also independent from public authorities, guided by values such as equity, solidarity, sustainability, participation, inclusion and a commitment to the community. They are also promoters of social change.
The SSE is a diverse sphere made up of social and economic activities that are influenced by the cooperative movement and share common transformational features: democratic and participatory management, their contribution to the creation and fair distribution of wealth, their orientation to human needs and their commitment to the community.
We find Social and Solidarity Economy initiatives present in all sectors of economic activity, from energy to culture and food.
Barcelona City Council promotes the establishment of more social and solidarity-based economic structures in the city, both by consolidating and growing the dense cooperative, social and solidarity economy network existing in the city, and by promoting new initiatives. This task is carried out, politically, by the Fourth Deputy Mayor office which also promotes the development of responsible consumption. In practice, the public policy to boost the SSE in Barcelona is implemented by teams from the Department of Social Economy (attached to the Directorate of Cooperative, Social and Solidarity Economy Services) at Barcelona City Council and the Operational Directorate of Social and Economic Innovation at Barcelona Activa.
- To strengthen coaching in new projects and specific ongoing training.
- To improve funding options and to promote the ethical funding and cooperative credit system.
- To foster communication that raises the profile of the current situation of the SSE.
- To foster socio-entrepreneurial, socio-political and socio-community inter-cooperation.
- To provide municipal resources and infrastructures for developing the SSE.
- To foster territorialisation of the SSE as a channel for comprehensive local development.
- To promote new community economy and procommons collaborative practices.
- Advice on SSE
Barcelona Activa has an advisory service made up of people specialised in the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) to support and assess projects, whether they are in the project phase or in operation, and to provide resources and contingencies. - Stable training in SSE
We offer free training activities (courses, workshops, seminars, etc.) to undertake an SSE project or build on existing ones. The training is divided into four big blocks: communication, organisational management, taxation and funding, and trends and opportunities. - The innoBAdora
The innoBAdora Incubation Community is a collaborative growth space located at InnoBA. This service hosts SSE projects, facilitating and promoting the generation of synergies between people, collectives and enterprises through the co-production of activities and training.
Social and Solidarity Economy