Presented at: GSEF2016 Montreal

Organisation: Réseau des collectivités territoriales pour une économie sociale et solidaire - RTES (Government and public agencies)

Date: September 8, 2016

Presenter: Ms.Christiane Bouchart (Chairman)

Contacts: cbouchart@mairie-lille.fr

Summary: 

Local communities have a significant role to play in the development of the SSE. The Réseau des collectivités Territoriales pour une Economie Sociale et Solidaire (Network of Territorial Local Authorities for the Social and Solidarity Economy) has been working for more than ten years in order to strengthen the SSE’s position in public policies in France. Nowadays it gathers more than 130 French local governments (regions, departments, inter-communalities, cities of all sizes) that share a conviction: the SSE is the answer to economic, social, environmental and democratic challenges of the territories and must be developed through the implementation of public policy coconstructed with SSE stakeholders.  Amongst other things, these policies affect solidarity financing, the direct participation of the local government in solidarity enterprises (mainly through Community Interest Companies), the role of public purchasing (through the implementation of social or environmental clauses) and the link with universities and research.