In November 1997, the Swedish Government decided to appoint the Working Group on the Social Economy and its Development. This was assigned the task of “reviewing the conditions under which the Social Economy operates and demonstrating its importance for society. The working group, which has been in operation from March 1998 to December 1999, was made up of public officials from five ministries, special advisers and experts.

The working group was instructed to study three areas.

• The relationship between the Social Economy and the public sector.
• Financial support to the Social Economy from the Swedish Government and the EU.
• Legislation and economic conditions that may have an impact on the Social Economy.

The working group was also instructed to highlight such issues as employment, the delivery of services, education and research and rural development.

In its report The Social Economy – a third sector for prosperity, democracy and growth? the working group proposes the following Swedish definition:

“The concept Social Economy refers to organised activities which primarily aim at serving the community, are being built on democratic values, and are organisationally independent of the public sector. These social and economic activities are run mainly by associations, cooperatives, foundations and similar groups. The main driving force of the Social Economy is the benefit of the public or the members of a particular association, and not the profit motive.”

Social Economy was adopted as an official EU term 1989. Sweden has primarily used the term with reference to the Community ’s structural funds. More recently it has been used in connection with comprehensive employment and regional policy measures.