CAPSE project partners

ESS France

The French Chamber of the Social and Solidarity Economy (known as ESS France) is the leading voice of the SSE in France. Recognised as a representative structure of the SSE since the 2014 Law on the Social and Solidarity Economy, it represents and carries the interests of SSE companies and organisations. It federates the national SSE organisations representing the various statutory forms of SSE (associations, cooperatives, mutual societies, foundations, social business), the 17 regional SSE Chambers (CRESS) and any other legal entity wishing to become involved in its activities.

With around thirty members and fifteen employees, ESS France's activities are organised around 5 operational divisions: public affairs and communication, European and international affairs, economic development, ecological transition and the National SSE Observatory.

Pour la Solidarité (PLS) - Belgium

Created in 2002 and based in Brussels, POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ (PLS) is an independent European think & do tank committed to a Europe of solidarity and sustainability, working to defend and consolidate the European social model, a subtle balance between economic development and social justice.

The PLS team, with its solid skills in research, consultancy, coordinating European projects and organising events, works in the public area alongside businesses, public authorities and civil society organisations under the motto: Understanding in order to Act.

PLS focuses its activities on five main themes: Social Affairs, Social and Environmental Responsibility and Diversity, Civic Participation, Sustainable Development and the Social Economy.

ConcertES - Belgium

ConcertES is the consultation platform for organisations representing the social economy in the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia (Belgium). It was set up nearly 17 years ago, based on the observation that players in the social economy lacked a place to meet and discuss the movement's crosscutting issues. As a single point of contact for regional and federal authorities, ConcertES provides an innovative and stimulating forum for reflection for its 21 member organisations, which include a wide range of players active in both territories.

Under its articles of association, its mission is to represent the voice of the social economy to politicians, to promote the social economy model to citizens and to communicate statistics relating to the social economy through the social economy Observatory.

La Chaire Territoires de l’ESS / Sciences Po Bordeaux - France

Sciences Po Bordeaux is a selective, multidisciplinary and international training and research institution in the humanities and social sciences, located at the heart of Bordeaux University. Founded in 1948 in the capital of Gironde, the school now has almost 2,300 students, from first-year students to doctoral students, including those preparing for competitive examinations and continuing education. A major centre for political science research in France, Sciences Po Bordeaux has 2 Joint Research Units (UMR) in the humanities and social sciences with an international reputation. The « Territoires de l'ESS » (Terr'ESS) Chair, created in 2020, aims to consolidate and develop at Sciences Po Bordeaux a genuine centre for initial and continuing training in territorial project engineering in the social and solidarity economy and action research methods, in close collaboration with the SSE ecosystem.

COCETA - Spain

COCETA is the organisation representing worker cooperatives in Spain. In its more than 35 years of existence, it has established itself as the platform for the representation, coordination, promotion, information and training of Spanish worker cooperatives. Coceta currently employs 6 full-time staff and has a wide network of experts around it.

The Confederation's work and mission are aimed at promoting the cooperative principles that characterise the cooperative management model and which make worker cooperatives enterprises with different characteristics from other business formulas. COCETA represents 17 federations of Spanish cooperatives at regional level and around 17,350 worker cooperatives in Spain, involving around 255,000 workers.

COCETA is a member of CEPES, which brings together all the Social Economy organisations in Spain.