In the Sud-Ouest, the social economy is primarily active in fields directly related to workforce development: enterprises involved in social or professional insertion, community housing, basic education, community food services and restaurants, daycare services and domestic help. For several years now, the Sud-Ouest has put its social economy leadership to work in developing new sectors of economic activity, such as tourism, cultural activities and certain commercial activities: Lachine Canal Cruises, visitor services, restaurants, hostels, etc. New social enterprises have also been created in the environmental, recovery and recycling sectors: textile sorting and recovery centres, fair trade, etc.
A MULTITUDE OF SERVICES
Sustained by a continuous consultation process with local and regional partners in economic renewal, RESO’s policy is to translate the community’s readiness to take charge and reclaim its socioeconomic development into concrete business projects
By developing social economy enterprises in industry sectors that are meaningful to the community, RESO seeks to lay the groundwork for an economic renewal that respects the concerns and hopes of the people of the Sud-Ouest and does so in a context of sustainable development.
WHAT IS THE SOCIAL ECONOMY?
The social economy refers to community entrepreneurial activities that respect the following principles:
- Their overall purpose is to provide services to members (workers and/or consumers) and the community.
- There is managerial autonomy with respect to the state.
- The decision-making process is democratic.
- People and labour have primacy over capital in the distribution of surpluses and income.
- They foster participation, empowerment and individual and collective responsibility.
The social economy is exemplified in business projects with both economic and social goals. A social economy enterprise produces goods and services of social utility that contribute to a net increase in collective wealth. However, it is not the purely financial profitability of their production activities that is valued, but their social profitability.
In both the public and private sectors, the social profitability of an activity is evaluated chiefly by the number of jobs it creates, but also by:
- Its contribution to democratic development.
- Its support for an active citizenry.
- Its promotion of values and initiatives of individual and collective empowerment.
Social profitability helps improve a population’s quality of life and well-being by offering a wider range of services and increasing the number of jobs created.
However, social economy projects and enterprises must be economically profitable.Their economic profitability rests primarily on independent revenues earned through market activities with private or public consumers.
Government assistance, in the form of a single grant or recurring payment, may be necessary, as enterprises and projects useful for the community are often implicated in less profitable activities or characterized by a limited or inadequate market. The Chantier de l’économie sociale works to promote the emergence, development and strengthening of social economy enterprises in Quebec, while the Comité d’économie sociale de l’île de Montréal pursues the same goal in Montreal.
THE SOCIAL ECONOMY IN THE SUD-OUEST
In the spring of 2002, the Sud-Ouest Borough boasted nearly 45 social economy enterprises and projects. To provide as precise a picture as possible on them, we conducted a survey of all 45 organizations. Thirty-two responded to the survey, a highly satisfactory 71% response rate.
The diversity of social economy enterprises is striking in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest. Of the 32 enterprises that answered our survey, there were, among others, 12 Centres de la petite enfance (CPE), four enterprises in the leisure and tourism sector, and three in housing. The rest fall under various other industry sectors (see table).
Activity sectors listed in the survey
(32 respondents)
|
Industry sector
|
Number of enterprises
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
3
|
-
Environmental and recycling
|
2
|
|
|
2
|
-
Community education, literacy
|
2
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
32
|
Source: MCE Conseils survey, May 2002
The judicial structure is homogeneous and, as such, we counted 30 non-profit organizations and only two cooperatives (one users’ cooperative and one workers’ cooperative). These legal statutes derive directly from promoters’ beliefs, each enterprise opting for a structure that corresponds to its promoters’ ideas.
PRIORITY SECTORS IN 2007-2010
In terms of economic development, four industry sectors have been identified as priorities for the social economy as part of the Plan d’action local pour l’économie et l’emploi 2007-2010 (PALÉE):
- Support services for individuals
- Tourism
- Culture
- The environment
These high-priority industry sectors may be categorized, on the one hand, with services traditionally offered by community organizations and enterprises – daycare and family services, training, socioprofessional insertion and education, services for the young and elderly – and, on the other hand, with development opportunities arising from new potentials (the Lachine Canal, influx of new residents, development of large unused sites, MUHC, etc.) and new administrative and political conditions (local municipal organization, reorganization of local and regional development, reorganization of health services). Naturally, these activity sectors are not mutually exclusive and may overlap in the context of specific projects.
Retaining, Strengthening and Creating Jobs
RESO’s main raison d’être, and that of the Community Development and Social Economy Service, is to foster and promote the creation and retention of lasting, high-quality jobs, primarily for the people of the Sud-Ouest. In this respect, the community and social economy sectors stand out, since a greater proportion of jobs in these sectors are occupied by Sud-Ouest residents, compared to employment sectors as a whole. In fact, the proportion of jobs in the community and social economy sector filled by Sud-Ouest residents is around 50%, while it is roughly 16% for industry sectors as a whole.
Support for Project Start-up
Every year, the Community Development and Social Economy Service receives dozens of requests for information on starting collective business projects. Each of these requests is treated and evaluated, but only those that meet the guidelines set by the Social Economy Investment Policy, adopted by RESO’s Board of Directors in 2004, receive start-up support in due form. Support for prestart-up and start-up of collective business projects may extend over a period of one to four years.
Support for Strengthening, Adjustment and Restructuring
Since 1997, thanks to financial and technical resources set up by the Quebec government following the 1996 socioeconomic summit, roughly 40 social economy enterprises were launched or strengthened in the Sud-Ouest Borough in a range of industry sectors. These came in addition to the roughly 100 community organizations offering a variety of services to the population and forming a part of the collective entrepreneurship family.
Independent of their industry sectors, several of these enterprises are entering or have entered a new development cycle and face either financial difficulties –requiring adjustment, follow-up action or restructuring – or challenges, and expansion and development opportunities – requiring them to reposition or renew themselves. In each of these cases, enterprises need help to strengthen, restructure or adjust.
Second-Line Resources
Since early 2006, social economy enterprises active for at least a year have access to a new second-line management consultant service. The new service was launched in partnership with the Ahuntsic-Cartierville CEDC, the Centre-Nord CEDC, the Centre-Sud/Plateau Mont-Royal CEDC, the Rosemont/Petite-Patrie CEDC, the CDEST and the Réseau d'investissement social du Québec (RISQ).
This pilot project will complement services now available and structure initiatives in the sector by encouraging collaboration between various stakeholders in the Montreal social economy. The approach – involving a comprehensive diagnosis process followed by individual coaching – is carried out with a view to transferring skills and upgrading entrepreneurial capacities, all to ensure the survival and growth of the targeted enterprises.
FINANCING: FONDS D’ÉCONOMIE SOCIALE DU SUD-OUEST (FESSO)
The Fonds d’économie sociale du Sud-Ouest (FESSO) was set up to support social economy enterprises and projects through financial assistance for start-up, strengthening, expansion and promotion. FESSO is governed by an investment policy adopted November 16, 2004, by RESO’s Board of Directors aimed at:
- Determining an equitable and clear framework and funds allocating process for promoters and enterprises.
- Providing the necessary flexibility to meet projects’ and enterprises’ needs.
- Maximizing the Fonds’ leverage for development of goods and services that meet the Sud-Ouest community’s needs.
In achieving its mandate of support for the social economy, RESO favours a coaching approach with promoters, motivated by project and skills development.
For details on FESSO, click here.
Other investment funds are accessible to social economy enterprises:
The Réseau d’investissement social du Québec
The Caisse d’économie solidaire
Investissement Québec
The Chantier de l’économie sociale’s Patient Capital Fund