The International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched two new Technical Working Groups (TWGs) dedicated to statistics: the COPAC Working Group on Measuring the Economic Contribution of Cooperatives (TWG MECC) and the UNTFSSE Working Group on Social and Solidarity Economy Statistics (TWG SSES). These groups are tasked with refining and advancing cooperative statistics, as well as establishing methodological foundations for statistics on the social and solidarity economy (SSE).
Both groups bring together around 30 members selected to ensure a balanced representation of diverse institutional, regional, and sectoral perspectives. Among them are David Hunter from StatClass Consulting Services, and Marie J. Bouchard, Professor Emerita at the Université du Québec à Montréal and member of CIRIEC.
Historically, while the need to measure the size, impact, and contributions of cooperatives and the SSE has been acknowledged, the absence of internationally agreed standards has created significant gaps. The adoption in 2018 of the Guidelines concerning Statistics of Cooperatives by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians marked an important milestone, as did the ILO Resolution on SSE and Decent Work (2022), which introduced a shared definition of the SSE later reaffirmed by the UN General Assembly in 2023.
According to Nawon Lee, ILO Technical Specialist, the current task is to translate these conceptual advances into rigorous statistical standards. Lee highlights the importance of launching these working groups as a key step towards better understanding and documenting the economic impacts of cooperatives and the SSE. He recalls that this collaborative initiative comes during the second United Nations International Year of Cooperatives in 2025, “with heightened attention to standardizing statistical approaches to cooperatives and the wider SSE.”
Simel Esim, Head of the ILO’s COOP/SSE Unit and Chair of the UNTFSSE (United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on the Social and Solidarity Economy), emphasized the historical trajectory of this work within the ILO since the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians in 2013. In her view, the formation of these two TWGs represents a significant milestone, and she underlined the importance of a collaborative vision: “We look forward to working together, learning from each other, and advancing this critical agenda in the months and years ahead,” she stated.
The Road Ahead
For Hyungsik Eum, ILO Consultant on cooperative and SSE statistics, this initiative promises to enhance the visibility and impact of these entities in the global economic discourse, paving the way for informed public policy and sustainable economic development. Eum affirms that the discussions and outcomes of these TWGs will contribute to the development of a statistical manual on cooperatives and guidelines on SSE statistics, which are expected to be presented and discussed at the 22nd International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in 2028.
