Social and Solidarity Economy – Thematic Units

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KAO50 Concepts and theories of Social and Solidarity Economy

Code: KAO50

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: First (1st)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The T.U. aims to introduce students to the field of the KAO. It is thus organized into two sub-sections: in the first the theoretical foundations and substance of the KAO are discussed and compared to similar concepts. The second comprises an overview of the basic, classic, and contemporary approaches to the KAO, and aims to introduce students to the relevant scholarly discussions.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of KAO50, students will have learned:

The content, history, and theoretical foundation of the concept of the KAO and its distinction from similar concepts.
The content of concepts often encountered in the study of the KAO.
The history of the theoretical discussion on the KAO and the significance of previous approaches to the issue on the modern discussion.
The fundamental theoretical and epistemological assumptions and central arguments of the modern approaches to the KAO

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

Conceptual clarifications of the Social and Solidarity Economy.
Classic and modern approaches to the Social and Solidarity Economy.

Evaluation: Completion of written assignments during the academic semester which constitute a 40 percent of each student’s grade, if a pass is obtained in the final or repetitive examination. Final exam grades constitute a 60 percent of the students’ final course grade.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this Thematic Module.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAO51 Organizational forms and types of the Social and Solidarity Economy

Code: KAO51

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: First (1st)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The T.U. aims to show how the different types of KAO, overcoming the strict profit logic, serve principles that promote the coverage of social – environmental needs and at the same time cover the whole range of needs that arise in the different phases of the economic cycle. The structure of the module is divided into 3 parts related to forms / types of businesses, remuneration of work and transactions. At the same time, examples are listed that help students to understand the wide range of projects that KAO includes.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of KAO51, students will be able to:

Distinguish the multiple forms and types of businesses included in the KAO.
They understand how the work provided under the KAO is remunerated.
Understand the multiple types of transactions within the KAO.

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

Forms and types of enterprises of the Social and Solidarity Economy
Forms and types of labor remuneration in the Social and Solidarity Economy
Forms and types of transactions in the context of the Social and Solidarity Economy

Prerequisites: To attend KAO51, the simultaneous attendance or completion of KAO50 is required.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAO52 The Commons: an alternative paradigm

Code: KAO52

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: First (1st)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The module aims to introduce students to the theories, practices and contemporary studies of ‘commons’ as an alternative paradigm of social organization in the economy, governance, political praxis, culture and communication.

Commons incorporate a number of concepts, including ‘common-pool resources’ (Ostrom, 1990), ‘commons-based peer production’ (Benkler and Nissenbaum, 2006) or simply the ‘common’ (Hardt and Negri, 2012) or ‘commun’ (Dardot and Laval, 2015). In plain terms it refers to goods or resources that are collectively owned, produced, managed or shared by a community of people.

These common goods/resources are of many different types: natural common-pool resources, such as pastures, fisheries, forests, irrigation infrastructures, etc., common means of production, such as capital assets of worker cooperatives, and digital commons, such as open-source software and wikis. In all these cases the members of the community have equable access to the common good/resource, whereas the overall access terms and conditions to non-members might be quite different from one commons to another, ranging between complete exclusion to outsiders and full open access to everybody. The commons community develops institutions of collective governance to manage the common good/resource, where all members participate on an equal footing. These institutions give rise to alternative forms of organization that go beyond the dominant structures of state (public/state ownership, bureaucratically managed) and market (private ownership, profit-oriented).

This module will outline the contemporary studies of commons to explore whether, and if so how, commons offer sustainable and constructive ways upon which social organization and social entrepreneurship can be built today, based on social values like sharing, equal cooperation, democratic participation, self-organization, solidarity, openness, community pluralism, sustainable development or degrowth.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the module students are expected to:

Be familiar with the contemporary literature of commons;
Have sufficient knowledge of the contemporary theories and practices of commons as well as the governance structures that give rise to commons enterprises;
Approach all the above in an interdisciplinary and multifaced way, combining theoretical knowledge with experiential and participatory learning processes;
Perceive the opportunities and challenges emerging for the new cooperative models in the provision of common goods;
Have adequate knowledge of the main theories of commons as a political concept, as well as the democratic principles and bases of governance that distinguish commons as an alternative paradigm;
Be capable of critical thinking and critical analysis of the contemporary theories and approaches to commons.

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

Fundamental principles and theories of the commons.
Digital commons and networks: technologies, governance, economy, and innovation.
Political theories of the commons.

Prerequisites: To attend KAO52, the simultaneous attendance or completion of KAO50 and KAO51 is required.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAO60 Spatial development, social innovation and the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE)

Code: KAO60

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: Second (2nd)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The thematic unit focuses on the relationship between the SSE, local/community development, and spatial development at all levels. Concurrently, the unit aims to demonstrate the social innovation that SSE enterprises cause as a primary factor in the aforementioned relations. For this reason, the unit is divided into three sub-sections. The first is a critical overview of a series of approaches to development, with emphasis on its spatial aspects. The second critically analyzes social innovation approaches. The third examines the interaction between the aforementioned factors and the SSE. Teaching in all three sub-sections includes examples.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of KAO60, students will have learned:

The various approaches to development and their spatial parameters.
The various approaches to social innovation.
The relationship between spatial development, social innovation, and the SSE.
To plan at the community level and above the organization of SSE ventures, aimed at producing social innovations.

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

Alternative approaches to spatial development and their relationship with the Social and Solidarity Economy.
Approaches to social innovation and their relationship with the Social and Solidarity Economy and spatial development.
Spatial aspects and planning of the Social and Solidarity Economy for the production of social innovation within the framework of spatial development.

Prerequisites: To attend KAO60-KAO61-KAO62, the simultaneous attendance or completion of the 1st semester’s T.U.s is required.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAO61 Public policies and legal framework for Social Solidarity Economy

Code: KAO61

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: Second (2nd)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) has been present in the public policy agenda by actors with often contrasting political standpoints and practices, such as, for example, the European Commission, national governments from across the political spectrum, and anti-austerity social movements. Why is SSE such an attractive prospect to representatives of such disparate politics? Is support for SSE an ideologically neutral position, as the public discussion often suggests? Are there competing reasons and different public policies for the promotion of SSE? What is the impact of SSE public policies? The present unit aims to utilize the experiences other states have gained over the course of the ongoing financial crisis in promoting SSE, in order to enrich graduates with the necessary knowledge and skills in contributing to the development and planning of KAO public policies in Greece. The comparative analysis of public policies attempts to deconstruct the perception of ideological neutrality that is often connected with the promotion of SSE, to denote the differences of experience in particular fields of development and implementation of public policy, and to demonstrate that scholarly disagreements regarding the definition of the field and the terms utilized to describe it (social and solidarity economy, social entrepreneurship) are not mere academic scholasticism, but instead encapsulate different visions and policies.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of KAO61, students will have learned:

To discern the different political orientations of public policies planned and implemented in particular states.
The factors that shape public policy, in addition to their objectives.
To contribute to the planning and implementation of public policy regarding the KAO.

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

Legal frameworks for Social Solidarity Economy
Welfare policies for Social Solidarity Economy
Employment and social protection policies and Social and Solidarity economy

Prerequisites: To attend KAO61, the simultaneous attendance or completion of the 1st semester’s T.U.s is required.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAO62 Social Movements, State and the Social and Solidarity Economy

Code: KAO62

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: Second (2nd)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The objective of TU is to connect the phenomenon of social and solidarity economy (SSE) with the wider social and political environment within which it has been historically developed. At the same time, it aims to study SSE in relation to the power relations on the one hand and to the processes of social change on the other.

For these purposes, the TU examines the relation between SSE and social movements and the state, both theoretically and historically. The element that connects these two factors is the question of power relations, which concerns a significant part of the literature on SSE. On the one hand, there is the state, as the pure form of power, which sometimes limits the possibilities of alternative ventures, sometimes strengthening or integrating them and sometimes suppressing them, and on the other hand social movements, which challenge various forms of power and seek social change.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of the thematic unit, students will have learned:

The commonalities and differences between social movements and social solidarity economy ventures in reference to the strategies for social change.
To use conceptual and methodological tools drawn from the field of social movements to better understand social and solidarity economy.
To critically analyze the various ways that took state policies about social and solidarity economy in different places and times.
The history of the political discussion about social and solidarity economy.

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

Social Movements and the Social and Solidarity Economy
State and the Social and Solidarity Economy

Prerequisites: To attend KAO62, the simultaneous attendance or completion of the 1st semester’s T.U.s is required.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAO70 Social and Solidarity Economy Business Planning

Code: KAO70

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: Third (3rd)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The T.U. KAO 70 seeks to provide students with the necessary planning skills and mind-set to identify and evaluate KAO-related business “opportunities”. Students are thus encouraged to familiarize themselves with business planning and analysis through teamwork, by forming teams developing a business idea. Concurrently the T.U. discuss various issues of entrepreneurship and innovation management.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of KAO70, students will have learned:

To recognize and evaluate “opportunities” for entrepreneurship and innovation.
The latest technological advances and their impact.
To analyze project issues and organize the appropriate management strategies.
To categorize consumers into individual groups through market segmentation methods.
To develop and promote the appropriate strategies for product and service placement and diversification.
To implement strategic analysis and planning models.
To transfer business ideas into concrete social enterprise projects.

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

The nature of the business idea in the Social and Solidarity Economy – Methods of producing original ideas
The business models of Social and Solidarity Economy enterprises
Product development and market research – Marketing
Business function planning
Development of Social and Solidarity Economy enterprise business plans.

Prerequisites: To attend KAO70-KAO71-KAO72, the simultaneous attendance or completion of the 2nd semester’s T.U.s is required.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAO71 Social Project Management

Code: KAO71

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: Third (3rd)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The primary components for the sustainable development of KAO enterprises are the composition of the founding members, their internal functions, and their democratic management. On the one hand, given the lack of other forms of capital, relations of trust between the founding members of a team have increased importance. On the other, KAO enterprises must balance various different functional principles and pressures (market competition, state regulation and oversight), while concurrently reinforcing the relations of trust between team members and their wider environment.

The objective of the present unit is three-fold: First, to explain how teams are formed and function. Second, to familiarize students with the plethora of decision-making models, practices, and methods of facilitating internal functioning. Third, to familiarize students with the management principles that apply to KAO enterprises.

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of KAO71, students will have learned:

The various types of teams, the terms and preconditions for team formation, and the stages of team development.
To identify issues connected with team dynamics (inclusiveness, team structure, inter-member relations).
To promote effective models of communication between team members.
To promote dispute resolution methods and reflective and self-evaluation proceKAOs for the team.
To plan proceKAOs for the formation of collective and solidarity teams and enterprises.
The variety of management models within a single KAO enterprise.
To support KAO enterprise team members in planning and implementing decision-making and management models.
To support KAO enterprise team members in the implementation and function of decision-making proceKAOs that facilitate the function of each enterprise, by evaluating the positive and negative aspects of individual choices.
To train the members of KAO enterprises and consult them regarding the facilitation of inter-group functions.
To organize the various management functions of a KAO enterprise.
To collectively coordinate KAO enterprise employees.
To program and oversee the implementation of production proceKAOs.

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

Team dynamics in Social and Solidarity Economy enterprises.
Models of democratic management, decision-making models and proceKAOs, methods of facilitating the internal function of Social and Solidarity Economy enterprises.
Human resource management in Social and Solidarity Economy

Prerequisites: The simultaneous attendance or completion of the 2nd semester courses is required.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAO72 Financial Management and Financing of Social and Solidarity Economy enterprises (SSE enterprises)

Code: KAO72

ECTS: 10

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: Third (3rd)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The T.U. aims to introduce students to the objectives of effective capital budgeting, to advance the goals of SSE enterprises. The unit aims, in particular to discuss methods of financial management with emphasis on capital investment budgeting, along with the management of SSE enterprise financial operations and financing, to introduce students to financial statements, investment budgeting and analysis, and overall financial management of SSE enterprises, as well as to explain the particularities of the products and services of social finance and financial management of SSE enterprises.

In contrast to the approaches corresponding to conventional business and financial instruments, the SSE approach regarding financial analysis and financing of business ventures emphasizes maximizing social impact (as opposed to maximizing profit).

Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of KAO72, students will have learned:

To manage the financial statements and determine the funding/financial requirements of SSE enterprises
The national and European policies in place for funding SSE enterprises
To identify and evaluate the available sources of alternative funding for SSE enterprises.
To assess the possible risks of alternative funding sources and their potential to facilitate SSE enterprises to meet their core objectives.
To make decisions in conditions of uncertainty and risk, ensuring the investment readiness of a social enterprise.
To negotiate and propose funding solutions appropriate to the objectives and targets of social enterprises.

Cognitive Objects of the TU:

Financial reporting
Use of cost data for planning and decision-making
SSE enterprise and organization funding
Socio-Economic evaluation of SSE investments

Prerequisites: To attend KAO72, the simultaneous attendance or completion of the 2nd semester’s T.U.s is required.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning.

KAODT: Post-Graduate Diploma Thesis

Code: KAODT

ECTS: 30

Type: Compulsory

Semester where it is available: Fourth (4th)

Delivery language: Greek

Module Outline

Module Aim: The subject of the post-graduate diploma thesis must relate to the Thematic Units and their individual sub-sections. The thesis may be based on primary research or on an original critical review of the existing literature.

The thesis is meant to combine theoretical and applied aspects of the research field of the OSP, and favors case studies on Social and Solidarity Economy ventures.

Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of the dissertation (DE), the student is expected to:

Be able to conduct original social research on issues related to Social and Solidarity Economy
Implement a literature review, which may be original and/or critical
Recognize, applies and combines the different methods and techniques of the social sciences (e.g quantitative social research by questioners, qualitative social research by semi-structured interviews, discourse and content analysis, etc) in the study of Social and Solidarity Economy,
Know and observes the principles and rules of ethics of social research.

General Regulation for the Preparation of Master’s Theses in postgraduate programmes with a six-month duration.

For more information regarding the Specifications – Useful Material for writing Master’s Theses and uploading a Thesis at the H.O.U. Repository, you can go to the Digital Training Area http://courses.eap.gr and especially to the Program of Studies section.

Prerequisites: The oral support of the dissertation requires the successful completion of all nine (9) Units of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd semesters of the Program.

Module Delivery Method: Distance Learning