SOCIAL ECONOMY ORGANIZATIONS
WHAT IS THE SOCIAL ECONOMY?
The social economy refers to an ecosystem of organizations and businesses whose primary mission is to provide services to members and the community, rather than simply to make a profit.
The organization seeks to meet a community need and prioritizes human capital. Although they still strive for economic viability, social enterprises measure their success more in terms of positive spin-offs in their communities.
They also often operate democratically, sharing revenues or reinvesting profits in the organization. These organizations most often take the form of NPOs or cooperatives.
SCALING UP IN THE SOCIAL ECONOMY
Scaling up is one of the many stages in the development of a social economy organization. Once well established, the organization often reaches a point where it wishes to increase significantly its positive impact on society in line with its mission.
To this end, there are several possible avenues of development:
- Reach out to new constituencies or areas not currently served;
- Address new issues in communities already served;
- Become an agent of change in the rules, norms or values surrounding a social issue;
- Strengthen its financial position to ensure its sustainability and continue to fulfill its mission; or
- Strengthen an economic sector by developing new activities and creating new jobs through social economy principles.
Regardless of the age of your organization, scaling up is part of an organization’s life cycle and can involve you at different stages of development. For example, in the case of a young organization, it may need to consider new deployment strategies after its launch. For a more established organization, it may mean using its expertise to launch new projects and become a leader in its field.
HOW CAN ESPACE STRATÉGIES ASSIST YOU?
As for-profit businesses, social enterprises need to:
Adopt sustainable strategies, especially when planning a change in scale
Conduct feasibility and market studies for their projects
Market their products and services
Develop a marketing plan, communication plan or sales strategy and
Structure your organizational development.
We can also help you to find financing for certain funds, such as those offered by economic development corporations, which will consolidate your financial situation and contribute to your development.
SERVICES OFFERED
Espace Stratégies offers a number of consulting services to help you address the various growth themes. In the case of a social economy project, the most relevant are :
PORTFOLIO
AXIA
Axia Services is a social enterprise whose mission is to support the development of people with physical, intellectual or psychological disabilities. As a social enterprise, Axia Services faces a double challenge: to offer a competitive service and to manage the advantages and challenges of its mission. To succeed in these two areas, it called on Espace Stratégies to help it draw up an action plan that would facilitate strategic decisions and avoid spreading its ideas and projects too thinly.
