Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) is an approach to development that addresses the structural causes of poverty and unsustainable development associated with market-centred growth strategies and skewed power relations. It encompasses a broad and diverse range of organizations and enterprises that have explicit social and often environmental objectives. How can SSE approaches enrich debates on a  new development paradigm beyond 2015?

The term social and solidarity economy refers to a broad range of organizations that are distinguished from conventional for-profit enterprise and informal  economy by four core features: they put social, and often environmental, objectives before profit; they involve cooperative and associative relations and forms of democratic management; they espouse values of solidarity, sharing and caring; and they are inclusive and rooted in the community.

SSE organizations include cooperatives, mutual associations, NGOs engaged in income-generating activities, women’s self-help groups, community forestry groups, associations of informal sector workers, social enterprise, fair trade organizations and networks, as well as various forms of solidarity finance.