September 24, 2019 

9:00am - 12:00pm

The WestEnd Commons 

641 St. Matthews Ave,

$25 members | $75 non-members

Register for Social Innovation, CED, and the Social Economy: Understanding Where We Fit 

In Manitoba, community builders use a range of approaches, theories, and tools to do the work of creating inclusive and sustainable communities. We have a long tradition of using community economic development, social economy enterprises, and community-based organizations to create systemic social change. Over the past few years across Canada, new language and approaches for social change have been popping up, often called ‘social innovation’.

While this language is gaining ground and, in the past year or so, has been promoted by the federal government in particular, it isn't common here. What does it mean? And what can the language of social innovation offer to community economic development and social economy approaches? 

This session is an opportunity to have an open discussion about this work. Jill and Sarah will use a 'fishbowl' method to discuss their understanding of this work as well as opening it up to questions and group discussion. Following discussion, we’ll explore and practice some commonly used techniques for facilitating social innovation in groups. 

Learning Objectives: 

• Leave with a deeper understanding of social innovation, community economic development, and the social economy. You’ll be able to relate your work to these frameworks, making it easier to know if related resources are a good fit for you.
• Catch up on developments at the federal level, so you can be engaged and hopefully benefit from resources emerging through the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy.
• Learn a new practice for working on systems change that you could take away and use in your community building work. 

FACILITATORS 

Jill Andres designs and facilitates processes that bring people from across backgrounds and sectors together around a complex challenge to effect meaningful, systems-level change. These diverse stakeholders find shared understanding and a common purpose, co-create and test new models, and implement high-potential solutions. As a certified coach, Jill takes a coaching approach to all her work, seeking to ensure that any initiative she is involved in strengthens the capacity of the group to move forward autonomously.

Jill’s own background bridges sectors and disciplines. She has worked in the public, private and community sectors, and brings this range of experience to her work facilitating across boundaries and systems. Just prior to moving back to Winnipeg in December 2018, Jill was the founding director of the social innovation centre at Mount Royal University. She appreciates time on her yoga mat, paddling, running, skiing or snowshoeing with family and friends.

Sarah Leeson-Klym is Manitoba Regional Director for the Canadian CED Network. In her role there, she works with a staff team and the regional network to build knowledge, capacity, and skills for community development and social enterprise, as well as promoting community solutions to our collective challenges to governments and public audiences. She started studying community economic development and the social economy as part of a degree through the Department of Urban and Inner City Studies at University of Winnipeg, and since then has been steeped in these methods through the network. In the past year, she’s been increasingly involved at the national level, supporting CCEDNet’s involvement in the emerging Social Innovation & Social Finance Strategy. 

As part of her role at CCEDNet, she serves on the board of the Social Enterprise Council of Canada. Outside of CCEDNet, she’s an active community member in the West End of Winnipeg and the volunteer administrative director and production team co-leader for Rainbow Trout Music Festival.