The BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA) is seeking an intern to work with our Scaling Innovation for Sustainability Project. We are seeking someone who is interested in developing their skills and experience towards a longer term career in community development and/or research, and who is currently unemployed or under-employed. Applicants must be 30 years of age or younger at the time of hiring, have a post-secondary degree or diploma and be out of school. This internship is part of the Canadian CED Network’s CreateAction Work Experience Program, which is funded by Service Canada.

Internship Position: Assistant Facilitator, BALTA Scaling Innovation for Sustainability Project

Hosting Agency: BALTA and its lead agencies, the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal and Athabasca University, will host the intern and provide the internship work experience. The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) is the formal employer for all interns. The internship position includes some time and tasks associated with the national CreateAction program as well as the principal responsibilities with BALTA’s Scaling Innovation for Sustainability (SIS) Project.

Location of Work: BALTA works on a dispersed basis. The geographical location of the
intern’s place of residence is not critical. Work location will be determined during the hiring process. The intern may work within the office or one of BALTA’s member organizations or possibly from a home based office.

Start Date: Early May – May 6 is the latest possible starting date

Length of Position: The internship will continue until September 30. There is a possibility the
position may be extended for a few weeks with other funding.

Description of the Program and Position:

BALTA is a research collaboration amongst CED/social economy organizations, universities and colleges in Alberta and British Columbia that also includes research partners in other parts of Canada and other countries. The network focuses on research related to the social economy and its role in society. Research has taken place within Alberta and B.C., across Canada, and in several other countries. BALTA began in 2006 and has conducted approximately 50 research projects since then.

Research related to sustainability has assumed increasing importance within BALTA’s work in recent years. The Scaling Innovation for Sustainability (SIS) Project is being developed to explore this challenge through a longer term research program. The SIS Project is in the early stages of a three year development process. The period from now until October is a particularly critical time in this process. CED organizations and academic partners in the project are working to explore, conceptualize and develop the basic framework and plans for a longer term (5-6 years) research program starting in mid-2015. This work is happening in three research clusters (RCs):

• Micro, Mezzo and Macro Dimensions of the Research Framework
• Community Based Research Approach
• Financing Transition

The work of the three RCs will be synthesized over the summer and September into a draft research framework and plan for discussion, debate, refinement and approval at a BALTA symposium in October. Following that, work will begin on a research funding proposal to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and other funders and partners.

The intern will provide support to this process, including support for one RC and support related to synthesizing the work of the RCs and assisting in development of the framework and research plans for consideration at the symposium. The intern will also assist in planning and organizing for the symposium. The intern will also have a role in knowledge mobilization related to the project. BALTA is sponsoring a series of webinars on topics relevant to the project themes. While these are primarily intended to build understanding and ideas as a contribution to the research program development process, the content of these webinars will also be of potential benefit to wider CED audiences. The intern will assist in re-packaging the webinar content for wider dissemination.

For further information about BALTA’s Scaling Innovation for Sustainability Project, see:
https://balta-sis.ca/

For further information about BALTA’s earlier research programs, see:
https://www.socialeconomy-bcalberta.ca:443/

Responsibilities of the Position:

The responsibilities associated with this internship position include:

1. Participating in and supporting the work of one of the three research clusters (RCs), both as a learning experience and to contribute to project development;
2. Assisting in identification of points of convergence between work in the three RCs and assisting with means to facilitate cross-fertilization and joint work across the RCs on specific cross-cutting themes;
3. Conducting specific pieces of data mining research to feed into the work of the RCs and the overall SIS Project;
4. Participating in and supporting webinars on themes related to the SIS Project, both as a learning experience and to contribute to project development;
5. Assisting in wider knowledge mobilization drawing on content from the webinars, e.g. turning webinar content into articles for professional and popular media;
6. Supporting the steering committee in synthesizing the work of the RCs and drafting the research framework and plans for consideration at the BALTA symposium;
7. Assisting with planning and organization for the symposium; and
8. The internship will be structured to enable the intern to participate in CCEDNet coordinated peer learning and joint project development for one day per week.

Qualifications:

• An undergraduate degree or diploma in a field relevant to this project.
• Some knowledge and/or experience and/or degree studies with one or more thematic aspects of the project (social economy organizations, sustainability, environment, transition towns, community development, economics, etc.) would be an asset.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Strong basic communication skills. Comfort with working in a virtual/online community and using internet mediated communication.
• Demonstrated ability to learn quickly.
• Comfort with working in a community-university research partnership milieu.
• Experience and demonstrated ability in being self-managing while accepting broad supervision.

To be eligible to participate in this program applicants must also meet the following conditions:

• between 15 and 30 years of age (inclusive) at the time of intake/selection;
• graduated with a degree or diploma from a post-secondary institute, college, university or CEGEP;
• out of school;
• a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person on whom refugee status has been conferred;
• not in receipt of Employment Insurance (EI) benefits;
• can demonstrate a lack of labour market attachment to field of study (under-employed or unemployed);
• can demonstrate that working in the field of community economic development is a career goal; and
• has not previously participated in a Career Focus work experience placement.

Contribution of the Internship Experience to Career Development for the Intern:

This internship will expose the intern directly to a range of experiences and learning with respect to CED, both in practice and with respect to research and study of CED. BALTA includes both directly and indirectly a wide range of CED organizations and academics studying CED and the social economy. The internship experience can thus introduce the intern to a range of career options.

Salary and Hours: $15.00/hour for 35 hours per week

Travel: Some travel will likely be required as part of the intern’s work
responsibilities. The costs of this travel will be borne by BALTA.

To Apply: Please submit a current resume, cover letter explaining your
qualifications for the internship and the relevance of the internship to your longer term career goals and a list of 2 references to:

Stuart Wulff at: swulff@athabascau.ca