DOI: 10.4018/IJEP.2016100104 Copyright © 2016, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. International Journal of E-Politics Volume 7 • Issue 4 • October-December 2016 Conducting Video Research in the Social and Solidarity Economy: Empowering the Cinderella Economy Towards Social Justice Sara Calvo, Middlesex University, London, UK Andres Morales, The Open University, London, UK ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the potential use of visual research for the study of the social and solidarity economy, by presenting some of the methodological insights and challenges that arise for the use of video research in the study of such initiatives reflecting on the authors experience of the Living in Minca project. This paper contributes to advancing the debate on the use of non-conventional research methods and the impact that visual researchers can make by empowering small and local practices, which are part of the so-called ‘Cinderella’ economy towards social justice and reaching audiences outside academia. KEywoRdS Cinderella Economy, Social and Solidarity Economy, Social Justice, Video Research, Visual Methods INTRodUCTIoN Recent years have witnessed a growth in the use of visual research methods in the field of organisation and management studies (Bell et al., 2014; Meyer et al., 2013; Fele, 2012). It is often suggested that this growth is somehow related to the increasing importance of visual images in contemporary social and cultural practice (Heath & Hindmarsh, 2002). However, the relationship between ‘visual research’ and the ‘social and solidarity economy’ (SSE) has not yet been interrogated. The aim of this paper is therefore to present and justify the use of visual research, and video research in particular, as a method which can enable researchers within the SSE field to ‘push further into the felt, touched and embodied constitution of knowledge’ (Crang, 2003, p. 501). The concept ‘SSE’ is used throughout this paper to refer to forms of economic activity that prioritise social and often environmental objectives, involving producers, workers, consumers and citizens acting collectively, driven by values such as solidarity, equity and democratic governance, fostering social cohesion and favouring decentralisation and local development. The sector includes cooperatives, mutual health and insurance associations, NGOs with earned income generated activities, fairtrade networks, community-based organisations and self-help groups organised to produce goods and services, associations within the informal or popular economy, and various forms of solidarity finance such as complementary currencies and digital crowdfunding, as well as sharing schemes associated with ‘the sharing or collaborative’ economy. Tim Jackson, in his 2009 publication, ‘Prosperity without growth’, introduces the concept of the ‘Cinderella’ economy 1 to refer to an economy 40