Lucas Olmedo was a usual presence in Moura in recent months, where he developed research work under the RurAction project under the guidance of ADCMoura, one of the participating social enterprises.
Lucas is one of the authors of the scientific article “Community-based social companies promoting inclusive development in peripheral European rural areas“, in which ADCMoura appears as a case study, published recently on the online platform of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy.
” I have a degree in sociology from the Universidad Complutense of Madrid-MCU (Spain), a master’s degree in international migration and ethnic relations from the University of Malmö (Sweden) and in teacher training for secondary and professional education by the Universidad Nacional de UNEED (Spain).
Before taking this position as a researcher at the beginning of the career of the RurAction project, I worked as a research assistant, integrating interdisciplinary teams in national and international projects in the areas of migration, gender relations and public health, in the Department of Research Methodology Communication (Faculty of Sociology – Universidad Complutense de Madrid) and in the Department of Social Psychology (Faculty of Psychology – Universidad de Sevilla). In addition, for several years I have been working as a project manager at the Spanish National Research Council, as a research technician and volunteer in several non-government organizations related to migrations. Throughout my career, I have always tried to combine research and practice experiences, because I firmly believe in the role of social sciences to improve social justice and promote equality.
My research project is entitled “the Role of Community-Based Social Entrepreneurship in Promoting the Inclusive Development of Rural Areas”. In response to the increase in inequalities, both between social groups and between the territories of Europe since the 2008 crisis, social companies have been highlighted as a promising solution to promote more inclusive development.
This project focuses on the potential of a subtype of social companies, that is, community-based social companies (ESBC), because they are engines of innovative strategies promoting inclusive development processes in structural areas. Following the principles of the social and solidarity economy, the ESBC are characterized by combining economic and social dimensions and their participatory and democratic nature. In addition, they are organizations that operate in a defined geographical location, usually involving a wide range of community stakeholders, while setting up networks with external agents and institutions that transcend it.
These characteristics position ESBC as interesting organizations that have the potential to boost social innovations, that is, new processes, services and / or products, which improve access to resources and improve the needs of vulnerable groups; promote more active social relations and A level playing field within different social groups of a community and strengthening the socio-economic and political links of less.
This research aims to analyze this potential through case studies carried out in different structural European rural areas. Cases will be built from a combination of secondary data (statistics and reports) and primary data (interviews and participating observation) of different stakeholders in order to obtain a pluralist view of the phenomenon studied.
Click here to learn more about my project.
Thanks to ADC Moura for the interview and the picture!