The 10th CIRIEC International Research Conference on Social Economy will be held from 27 to 29 October 2025 in the city of Bordeaux, France, under the theme ‘The role of the Social and Solidarity Economy in the socio-ecological transition’. This event, to be held on the premises of Sciences Po Bordeaux, represents a key platform for academics, researchers and practitioners seeking to explore the impact and contributions of the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) to major contemporary challenges.
The 10th Conference is a significant milestone because it marks a decade of academic and professional collaboration around the study and promotion of the Social Economy, with academic participants from more than 50 countries. This conference has established itself as a world reference event, being a key space to debate the challenges and opportunities of the sector in very dynamic and changing contexts.
Throughout its editions, the CIRIEC International Conference has contributed to consolidate the concept of Social Economy and its recognition as the third great pillar of the economy, between the traditional public sector and the more purely capitalist private sector, with the capacity to meet the needs of billions of people and to balance social, environmental and economic objectives.
On this occasion, the Bordeaux Conference will offer an interdisciplinary approach to analyse how SSE can address the socio-ecological transition, a critical transformation towards a fairer, greener and more inclusive economy. This event will also promote the debate on the role of SSE as a driver of change, seeking a sustainable development that leaves no one behind.
The relevance of this approach is amplified in the context of the growing climate and social crises, where SSE is seen as an essential pillar to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Thematic axes of the conference
CIRIEC-France and CIRIEC International invite submissions of papers and applied studies related the general theme of the conference and/or one of the following sub-themes:
- SSE statistics, reporting and social impact measurements
- SSE and the ecological and energy sectors
- SSE territorial ecosystems and transition
- SSE identities, hybridizations and innovations
- SSE financing and its organizations
- SSE networks and public policies
- SSE, education & civic rights
- SSE, decent work and the informal economy
- SSE and the fight against poverty and the care economy
- SSE and agri-food system
- Commons and cooperative public services
- SSE and intersectionality: class, race, gender
- Other related topics
Call for papers details
Abstracts must be submitted by 15 January 2025 via the Oxford Abstracts platform. Proposals can be submitted in English, Spanish or French and should be no longer than 700 words, with 5 keywords and at least 5 bibliographical references.
The organising committee will notify acceptance of papers by 18 March 2025, and full papers must be submitted by 26 September 2025.
Selected researchers will have the opportunity to present their findings in papers that will combine plenary sessions, round tables and workshops, fostering the exchange of ideas and the creation of global collaborative networks.
The largest academic event in the social economy
The International Research Conference on Social Economy are therefore a consolidated initiative in the calendar of CIRIEC International, which launched them 18 years ago, in 2007. They take place every two years (odd-numbered years), alternating with the CIRIEC International Congresses on public, social and cooperative economy (even-numbered years), such as the one held last October in Costa Rica.
Nine international research conferences have been organised so far: the first in 2007 in Victoria (Canada), the second in 2009 in Östersund (Sweden), the third in 2011 in Valladolid (Spain), the fourth in 2013 in Antwerp (Belgium), the fifth in 2015 in Lisbon (Portugal), the sixth in 2017 in Manaus (Brazil), the seventh in 2019 in Bucharest (Romania), the eighth in September 2021 in Costa Rica, and the ninth in July 2023 in Seoul, with a volume of participation of between 300 and 600 people at each of them.
More information about the Bordeaux Conference, registration details and guidelines for paper submissions can be found on the official Bordeaux Conference website.
