Collective enterprises in the social and solidarity economy are economic actors, engaged in market activity while committed to and meeting larger societal objectives. They are now part of an ensemble of new business forms that are rapidly evolving today calling for financial innovation and enabling public policy. Often referred to as social enterprise or social purpose business to distinguish these enterprises from profit-driven private enterprises, these « hybrid » business forms are emerging in both the North and in the South, yet their needs for capital are not fully met. The diversity of their financial needs is not reflected in the rapidly growing social finance market limited largely to debt instruments. As this paper points out, social and solidarity economy enterprises require investment tools that correspond with the life-cycle of these enterprises, from pre-start up, to start up, consolidation and growth. In many cases, access to small loans prevents SSE enterprises from achieving scale, and so on. This paper presents an overview of solidarity finance in the context of a burgeoning financial market to meet social objectives, referred to today as « social finance » and « impact investment ». Numerous illustrations are provided of innovation in this emergent market and its capacity to meet the needs for capital in collective enterprises in the North and in the South is critically evaluated. As well, the policy measures to regulate this new market and to attract potential investors are addressed. As this financial market continues to grow, it presents many challenges, not the least of which is a common understanding of what is meant by the many new concepts that are currently used. Mendell, Marguerite et Rocío Nogales. « Solidarity Finance », Universitas Forum, vol. 3, no. 2, juin 2012.

Cet ouvrage rend compte de la diversité de l’économie sociale à Montréal à travers les dynamiques, globales et sectorielles, qui la caractérisent. Il le fait par la présentation des résultats de six recherches réalisées dans le cadre d’activités partenariales entre chercheurs universitaires et praticiens de l’économie sociale. Les recherches portent sur des secteurs d’activités révélateurs – tels que la médiation culturelle et les services de proximité d’aide domestique – de la réalité de l’économie sociale. Leclerc, P. et Marguerite Mendell. « Regard international et canadien sur les politiques urbaines d’appui à l’économie sociale », dans Dumais, L., D. Bussières and A. Béchard (dir.), L’économie sociale à Montréal, Montréal, Éditions Vie économique (EVE), 2011, pp. 87-106.    

Social enterprises, at least in the United States, internalize a hybrid mix of public, private and civil society activity, each and all of which are constituent and confluent. Is social enterprise re-embedding the market in civil society through its engagement to generate social wealth, or is it contributing to a process of dis-embedding, as a market-based approach to address societal issues imposes a strategy of commercialization? Simply asking this question demonstrates how difficult it is to capture this phenomenon in a homogeneous “new welfare mix” paradigm that realigns state, market and civil society relations. Not only do national contexts matter, but degrees of marketization or commercialization do as well. This article provides a broad overview of social enterprise in the North American context. In examining the literature on social enterprise, one navigates through a lexicon of numerous terms and definitions. Mendell, Marguerite. « Reflections on the evolving landscape of social enterprise in North America », Policy and Society, vol. 29, no. 3, août 2010, p. 181-282.

Although the vocabulary is new, the social economy has been well established in Quebec for more than a century. Its development has been an integral part of Quebec’s social and economic history. The cooperative movement has a long and established presence and has contributed to the well-being and economic growth of Quebec. Numerous associations and non-profit organizations have played a vital role in meeting socio- economic needs over the years. In Quebec, these collective enterprises, whatever their juridical status, are recognized as economic actors alongside the private and public sectors. What distinguishes the social economy in Quebec, however, is its broad reach that extends beyond these collective enterprises to include social movements and territorial intermediaries that identify themselves as part of the social economy. Together they are represented by the Chantier de l’économie sociale in Quebec, a multi-scalar and multi-sectoral institutional space that is unique in its diversity and in its unity. This does not imply consensus on all issues. Rather, the Chantier’s commitment to constructing an alternative model of economic development embedded in a process of deliberative democratic decision making is the basis for this innovative network of networks. Mendell, Marguerite et N. Neamtan. « The Social Economy in Québec: Towards a New Political Economy », dans Mook, L., J. Quarter et S. Ryan (dir.), Why the Social Economy Matters, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2010, p. 32-58.

Le portrait qui est présenté dans cet ouvrage permet aux auteurs d’affirmer que le Québec se révèle un territoire où, dans toutes ses composantes, les pratiques de la finance responsables jouent un rôle extrêmement important en termes d’Actifs et d’influence sur la vie économique, mais qu’il est néanmoins nécessaire de prendre conscience de l’urgence de la situation actuelle et de l’importance d’agir collectivement pour transformer les manières de faire l’économie. Bourque, Gilles L., Marguerite Mendell et Ralph Rouzier. La finance responsable au Québec : Portrait, enjeux et défis d’une finance au service d’un développement durable et solidaire, Québec, Éditions Vie Économique, collection « Recherche », 2009, 128 p.

What distinguishes the Quebec experience is that an institution like the Fiducie du Chantier de l’économie sociale doesn’t just supply capital to enterprises that pursue a triple bottom line. The Fiducie is one part of an overall development strategy that acts simultaneously to reduce the risk to investors and to increase the capacity of social economy enterprises and organizations to carry out their missions. By means of intermediary institutions, the suppliers and users of capital collaborate to design financial instruments and to expand the demand for the products and services of the social economy, and to advise the government about supportive policy, programs, and legislation. Instead of making isolated adjustments to the mainstream economy for the good of social enterprise, in Quebec actors from the private sector, government, and civil society are co-constructing an arena of economic exchange in which the public good is pre-eminent – the social economy. Mendell, Marguerite. « Financing the Social Economy in Québec. A Work in Progress », Making waves, vol. 20, no. 3, 2009, p. 46-50.

La participation active au marché de l’emploi n’offre plus aujourd’hui de garantie d’apper à la pauvreté, même dans les société industrialisées qui connaissent depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale des régimes de protection sociale. L’émergence dans le débat social et académique de la notion de « travailleurs pauvres » témoigne des mutations récentes, tant du marché de l’emploi, de la protection sociale, que des structures familiales et de la conjugalité. Qu’il s’agisse de certaines catégories de jeunes peu scolarisés, de femmes, de familles monoparentales, d’immigrants et de minorités visibles, ces travailleurs se retrouvent dans des formes d’emplois caractérisées par la faiblesse de la rémunération, le temps partiel imposles horaires variables, l’alternance chômage-emploi et les conditions de travail pénibles, bref par une ou plusieurs formes de précarité. Ulysse, Pierre-Joseph et al. « Les « travailleurs pauvres », témoins et acteurs des mutations sociétales en cours », Lien social et politique, no. 61, printemps 2009, p. 123-136.

In this special issue of Universitas Forum experiences of local social economy from Quebec and Latin America are situated in a post-crisis global environment. They may illustrate an alternative paradigm that embeds economic initiatives in their social, cultural, political and historical contexts. Mendell, Marguerite et Giancarlo Canzanelli. Local economy development and social economy : special thematic issue, Universitas Programme of the KIP Initiative (Knowledge, Innovations, Policies and Territorial Practices for the UN Millennium Platform), vol. 1, no. 3, 2009.

This chapter focuses on the emergence of financial instruments and enabling environments for social enterprises (SEs) in selected OECD countries, with particular attention on Western European countries, Canada and the United States, and possible strategies for supporting their development in Eastern European Countries. Mendell, Marguerite et Rocío Nogales. « Social enterprises in OECD Member Countries: What are the financial streams? », Source OECD Urban, Rural and Regional Development, vol. 2009, no. 2, janvier 2009, p. 96-148.