***Apologies for cross-posting***


Ethnographies of the Social Economy: Practices in Place


We are writing to draw your attention to a new ESRC project, based at
the Department of Geography, Durham University (UK).

This two year research programme centres upon a grounded investigation
into the social enterprise sectors of two UK cities, Manchester and
Bristol(additional details below).

At this stage we are interested in:

- Initiating contact with researchers, policy makers and practitioners
worldwide.
- Current documents and articles, around 'social enterprise' and 'the
social economy'.
- Expressions of interest from organisations in Manchester and Bristol.

Please respond to this email: [log in to unmask] (Full contact
details can be found at the foot of this email)

For contributions relating to Manchester or Bristol, please contact:
- MANCHESTER - Chris Hewson ([log in to unmask])
- BRISTOL - Dave Land ([log in to unmask])

A project website is currently in development, further details will be
sent out when this resource is fully operational.

Please forward this email to any individual, or organisation, that might
be interested in ongoing developments within this project.

Many thanks

Chris Hewson & Dave Land (Research Associates - EoSE Project)



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Ethnographies of the Social Economy: Practices in Place

A research project of the Department of Geography, Durham University, UK


Background
----------

This two year project, supported by the Economic and Social Research
Council(ESRC), focuses on the micro relations of the social economy. The
social economy has been defined as: 'non-profit activities designed to
combat social exclusion through socially useful goods sold in the market
and which are not provided for by the state or the private sector. The
social economy generates jobs and entrepreneurship by meeting social
needs and very often by deploying the socially excluded' (see, Amin et
al, 2002). 

Hitherto, most research in this area has neglected the detailed
ethnographies of entry into, trajectories within, and exit from social
economy organisations. This has led to inadequate understanding of the
dynamics of this sector, at a time of considerable policy interest in
promoting social economy initiatives towards the alleviation of
unemployment and social exclusion. 

The social economy has been seen both as an alternative economy;
alternative to the state or the market, and as an economic sphere in its
own right, thus enabling an enlarged conception of the economy, and
consequently raising questions about what the economy is, or might
become. Moreover, as a distinctive sector of the economy, with its own
procedures and institutions, the social economy is distinct from other
'third' and voluntary sector
activities which exist primarily for civic or charitable purposes.
Therefore, in contemporary understandings, both academic and public
policy focused, the social economy is presented as a means of generating
new and alternative forms of work and service delivery that meet a range
of social goals.

The research builds upon previous ESRC and EU research led by Professors
Ash Amin and Ray Hudson at Durham University.


Aims
----

This project will analyse the complex relationships through which the
social economy is 'constituted in practice' in different places. The
research will be conducted via detailed empirical analysis of the
micro-social relations of social economy practice, through an
ethnographic study in two UK cities - Bristol and Manchester. In
response to a perceived lack within current understandings of what makes
the social work or fail, in its everyday practices, the project will
seek to reassess the complex and fluid inter-personal relationships and
spatialities through which social economy projects are constituted.

The research will aid better understanding of three key issues: 
1. The potential of the social economy in local regeneration, 
2. A rethinking of 'the economy' and how it can be adequately theorised 
3. How the policy community might respond to the possibilities offered
by the social economy. 


The research will involve a fine-grain ethnography of each city,
involving semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant
observation.

Findings from the previous stages of research on the social economy are
laid
out in: Amin, A., Cameron, A., and Hudson, R., (2002). Placing the
Social Economy.
Routledge, London.


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Contact Details
----------------

Chris Hewson & Dave Land
EoSE Project
Department of Geography
Science Laboratories
University of Durham
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
United Kingdom

[log in to unmask]

+44 (0)191-334-1829 (Office - Direct Line)
+44 (0)191-334-1953 (Project Secretary)

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