Cooperatives and mutuals in the current situation: demands and debates in the "Panel of Expectations of Experts in Cooperatives and Mutuals" (2016-2017)

Abstract

This writing is based on the results of a research project developed during the years 2016 and 2017 by our UNVM work team, called "Panel of Expectations of Experts in Cooperatives and Mutuals". It was characterized by a novel methodology, which included a systematic and prospective perspective on the sector of the Social and Solidarity Economy.

            In this sense, this article is initially proposed, a reflection on the particularities of the current economic situation and then, an analytical instance in relation to current studies linked to public policies, their analytical scope and capacity. Secondly, the main results of the research are exposed, the obstacles that impede the development of the social and solidarity economy sector in Argentina and the challenges for the coming years in terms of state policies. In this framework, the main proposals of the experts identified as necessary inputs for decision making in the field of national, provincial and local public policies are outlined, due to their "expertise" based on an accumulated experience in relation to the management of associative companies of the sector or to the "practical" knowledge of their personal and collective trajectories.