GENEVA (ILO News) - On March 12, the ILO launched two Technical Working Groups (TWG) on statistics: the COPAC TWG on Measuring the Economic Contribution of Cooperatives (TWG MECC) and the UNTFSSE TWG on Social and Solidarity Economy Statistics (TWG SSES). The two technical working groups are tasked with an ambitious mission: refining and advancing cooperative statistics and laying the methodological groundwork for SSE statistics. They bring together around 30 members carefully selected for a balanced representation of a wide range of institutional, regional and sectoral perspectives.
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 led to significant gaps. The 2018 adoption of the Guidelines on Statistics of Cooperatives at the International Conference of Labour Statisticians marked an important milestone, yet challenges remain. More recently, a shared definition for the SSE emerged in 2022 with the ILO Resolution on Decent Work and the SSE, reaffirmed by the UN General Assembly in 2023.
Nawon Lee, ILO Technical Specialist, noted that our current task is to translate these conceptual advances into rigorous statistical standards. He also highlighted the significance of the launch, marking it as an important step in the journey toward better understanding and documenting the economic impacts of cooperatives and the SSE. He noted that “This collaborative initiative comes during the second UN International Year of Cooperatives 2025, with heightened attention to standardizing statistical approaches to cooperatives and the wider SSE.”
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