The ILO and its partners held the second meetings of two Technical Working Groups (TWGs) on June 25 and July 1, 2025, focused respectively on statistics of the social and solidarity economy (SSE) and the economic contribution of cooperatives. These TWGs, under the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE) and Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), are working to develop harmonized statistical frameworks to enhance the visibility and comparability of SSE and cooperative statistics, with outcomes feeding into the 2028 International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS).
Advancing common understanding through SSE typologies and core statistical principles
The TWG on social and solidarity economy Statistics (TWG SSES) met on June 25 to advance discussions on developing a statistical definition of the SSE. Marie J. Bouchard (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada) gave a presentation outlining the distinction between legal and statistical definitions. She underlined that while some countries have legal definitions of SSE, many do not. A statistical framework should accommodate this diversity. The group discussed how to translate SSE's core values - such as democratic governance, autonomy, mutual aid, and the primacy of people over capital - into empirical criteria.
Members explored developing a typology of SSE entities that includes cooperatives, associations, mutual societies, social enterprises, and other hybrid or informal entities. There was general agreement on the need to adopt a modular and inclusive approach that reflects both formal and informal organizational forms operating under SSE principles.
Addressing statistical gaps through a multidimensional approach to measure cooperatives' economic contributions
On July 1, the Technical Working Group on Measuring the Economic Contribution of Cooperatives (TWG MECC) focused on refining the framework and indicators that can meaningfully reflect the unique economic role of cooperatives. Madeg Le Guernic (Rennes School of Business, France) started out by drawing attention to enduring issues, like how cooperatives' contributions are undervalued in traditional national accounts. Olivier Frey, lead author on measuring the economic contribution of cooperatives, then presented a suggested measurement strategy that focused on three main areas: cooperative economic operations with members, surplus allocation and redistribution, and volunteer or unpaid labour. Participants emphasized the need to develop indicators that balance methodological rigor with practical implementation across different statistical systems. Several experts proposed incorporating multi-level indicators - ranging from member-level impacts like income gains and service access, to community-level outcomes such as local value retention and crisis resilience. The importance of aligning cooperative-specific measures with broader frameworks like the System of National Accounts (SNA) was also discussed.
Next steps
The next round of meetings is scheduled for September 2025, followed by a joint in-person deep-dive workshop in Bordeaux in October 2025. In particular, the workshop will enable cross-fertilization of ideas between the two groups and further enhance the coherence between SSE and cooperative statistical methodologies. The workshop will also serve to integrate insights from a wide range of stakeholders.
These efforts are being advanced within the multilateral framework of the UNTFSSE, which the ILO currently chairs, and COPAC in collaboration with other UN agencies and global stakeholders, in line with UN General Assembly Resolutions A/RES/77/281 (2023) and A/RES/79/213 (2024). Through continued collaboration, the TWGs aim to ensure that the diverse and people-centred contributions of SSE entities and cooperatives are better represented in global statistics systems. The TWGs underscored that improving measurement is not solely a technical exercise, but a means to recognize and value the people-centred and rights-based contributions of cooperatives and SSE entities in general to inclusive and sustainable development.
