The following are links to research and position papers on social (purpose) enterprises, including co-operatives and microfinance initiatives, as well as the broader social economy.
BALTA, BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance
Mapping the Social Economy: Results, Reports & Papers
Social Economy: Analysis & Reflection
Social Economy Reader
BC Centre for Social Enterprise: Listings of current policy and research papers
Canadian Co-operative Association: Listings of over 1300 publications on co-operatives
CCEDNET, The Canadian CED Network: Database of publications searchable by term ‘social economy & social enterprise’
The Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, University of Saskatchewan: Publications including occasional papers, research reports, booklets and guides; most are available online as pdfs
EMES, The European Research Network: Research publications and position papers on third sector issues, including a large volume of material on work integration social enterprises
Enterprising Nonprofits: Select research papers related to social enterprises
ISIS Research Centre: Reports from social economy related research, including co-ops and social enterprises
Linking, Learning, Leveraging: Social Enterprises, Knowledge Economy, & Sustainable Communities: Final research reports from the Northern Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan Social Economy Regional Node
Microfinance Gateway: Searchable library of publications on microfinance from around the world
Mount Royal University, Nonprofit Resources: Research papers relating to the nonprofit sector in Canada, including reports from recent scans on the size, scope and scale of the social enterprise sectors in different regions of Canada.
On Co-op: Searchable library with information on co-op development, the various co-op sectors, and the socio-economic impact of co-operatives in Ontario.
REDF, The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund: Papers on social enterprises, venture philanthropy, measurement & evaluation, and other related areas; Free registration required to access full documents
Social Capital Partners: Presentations, papers, and reports
Social Enterprise Alliance- Knowledge Centre: Searchable database of research papers, toolkits/guides, case/models, and other material on social enterprises