Rural Economic Summit of Ontario
The Rural Economic Summit, held from
April 30th to May 2nd, will bring together well over 200 delegates to tackle key sensitive economic themes for rural communities. These themes include rural economic development, promising economic sectors, agri-food industry challenges, the leadership of women entrepreneurs, international business development, the added value of social enterprises, networking and added value partnerships, and entrepreneurial succession planning initiatives. CCEDNet member Groupe Convexe is one of the planning partners in this exciting event, while other CCEDNet members like the Tamarack Institute and the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal will be engaged as speakers.
Don't miss the early bird registration deadline of March 15th!
Using Shipping Containers for Affordable Retail Space
No stranger to Toronto residents in the Dundas/Bathurst area, Scadding Court's Market 707 is an innovative approach to affordable retail space development. Now home to 17 micro-enterprises, market 707 has helped transform an underused space into a vibrant community market where individuals who cannot afford traditional downtown storefronts can get their businesses off the ground. Now, with a recent toolkit for replicating and scaling this model, communities across Canada have a guide for creating colourful low-cost space in low-income neighbourhoods. Also,
check out this recent video on Market 707 by Al Jazeera.
Metcalf's Opportunities Fund Helping to Create Inclusive Economy in Toronto
Did you miss the March 17th application deadline for Metcalf's Opportunities Fund? Not to worry, you can still get your ideas submitted for the next deadline of September 15th! Successful applicants to the Opportunities Fund are those with original ideas and compelling approaches to meaningful economic inclusion for low-income people and communities in Toronto. These applicants may be "building problem-solving networks for local micro-entrepreneurs, advancing policies and practices that support people to improve their economic standing, engaging employers to strengthen on-the-job training practices, or nurturing the organizing capacity of low-wage workers."
SET Starts Research into Social Enterprise Intermediary in Toronto
Toronto's social enterprise sector is growing and so too are the procurement opportunities for businesses that are finding innovative approaches to meaningful training and employment for people marginalized in our current economy. To best respond to these changing times the social enterprise sector needs an intermediary who can translate opportunity into sales and contracts. Social Enterprise Toronto has begun research on this very subject, tracking key timelines, dates, opportunities for procurement; analyzing the tools, capacity building and support needs of the sector; and figuring out the public and private sector messaging needed to make social enterprise an established and preferred way to do business. Findings should be shared by the end of this year or early 2015.
Canadian CED
Network News
Next in CCEDNet's Webinar Series: UN Sustainability Goals and Social Return Intelligence Suite
On March 28th, speakers from the North-South Institute (NSI) and the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS) will explore the process for developing the United Nations' post-2015 Development Agenda and the prospects for securing a greater role for the social solidarity economy in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Then, on April 8th, we are partnering again with GlobalMeasures Initiative to present the Social Return Intelligence Suite, a powerful tool for measuring your social impact.
Manitoba Budget 2014 Responds to CCEDNet Members
Leading up to Finance Minister Jennifer Howard's budget speech on March 6th, CCEDNet's Manitoba Regional Director, Brendan Reimer, published a series of three blog posts
anticipating the budget. If we view budgets as statements of values and priorities then the Manitoba government's commitment to invest in CED and poverty reduction clearly demonstrates a desire to put people and communities first.
2014 AGM - Call for Nominations and Resolutions
In advance of the May 29th Annual General Meeting, the Canadian CED Network is seeking nominations for four positions on the Board of Directors. Members with energy and a vision for the CED movement in Canada are encouraged to submit their candidacy by
April 8, 2014. Members are also invited to submit resolutions to be presented at the AGM.
Renew Your Membership Today!
All members of the Canadian CED Network should now have received an email containing an invitation to renew their membership and a review our accomplishments in 2013. Please take a moment today to renew your membership online, if you have not already. If you were not a member in 2013 now is a great time to join a growing movement to create more inclusive and sustainable communities.
CED Wire Updates
5 Things to Know About the New Alberta Social Innovation Endowment: Carolyn Davis of Momentum highlights what the Social Innovation Endowment means for CED | Read more >>- Twenty Years of Changing Lives, One Dollar at a Time: Brendan Reimer reflects on LITE's contributions to poverty reduction following 20th anniversary | Read more >>
- Manitoba makes wise investment in child care: Darcy Penner lauds provincial government's response to CCEDNet members' Child Care policy resolution | Read more >>
National CED News
Canada's Largest Social Innovation Endowment Created in Alberta
In the 2014 Alberta Budget the province announced that it will be creating what will be the largest Social Innovation Endowment Fund (SEIF) in Canada, with $1 billion earmarked for investment over two years. We got Carolyn Davis, Community Relations Director with Calgary-based CCEDNet member Momentum, to highlight
5 things you should know about the SEIF. The Fund will help advance Alberta's Social Policy Framework.
Impact Investing Made Possible with Community Finance Solutions
The new national initiative of MaRS Centre for Impact Investing is looking to help communities to set up a variety of impact investing funds and products. Community Finance Solutions was launched earlier this month by webinar. The online event shared the experiential knowledge of presenters Marguerite Mendell (Fiducie du Chantier de l'économie sociale in Québec) and Jane Bisbee (Social Enterprise Fund) to help inspire and guide those looking to apply for expert advisory support through the program.
CED Tool: Saving Money by Doing the Right Thing: Why 'Local by Default' Must Replace 'Diseconomies of Scale'
Public services work poorly. Every day the press carries stories of failure, waste and basic human needs unmet. Health, social care and children’s services are buckling, while local authorities cut discretionary spending on libraries, parks and other local amenities to the bone. This report shows why UK public sector organisations fail to meet people’s needs and why demand is rising. The two main causes, discovered empirically in the studies, are the belief in ‘economies of scale’ and the belief in the standardisation of services. Together, these beliefs prevent organisations from understanding and meeting people’s needs.
A Little Bird Told Us: Top Tweets of the Month
Here is a brief sampling of some of our most popular tweets from the past 30 days.
Click hereto follow us on Twitter.
- Is appetite for social procurement growing in Canada? Progressive purchasing policies are emerging across the country ow.ly/uur2L
- Small grants available to Canadian #youth to implement #CED ideas for @NewEconomics. Pitch your idea today! ow.ly/umSXP
- Manitoba to develop Social Enterprise Strategy to grow more jobs! One of many reasons to be excited for Budget 2014 ow.ly/umSGT
- Madawaska Maliseet FN & Edmundston had 2-day workshop on joint #CED initiative last week thru @CandoEDO & @FCM_online ow.ly/ucxFD
- Want to know what the @CanRevAgency considers a "related" business for CDN #charity? Register now for Mar 11 webinar ow.ly/u7JUJ
- Have you seen our new video yet? Check it out - a great introduction to the world of community economic development! ow.ly/u7EZ6
ImpactOntario
Following four months of community consultations with social enterprise practitioners, intermediaries, investors, and others involved in the social enterprise sector, Pillar Nonprofit Network has synthesized your feedback into 11 recommendations for MEDTE and the Ontario Open For Business Office. Only 5 items can formally be submitted so we need your support in ranking the recommendations so we know what is most important in your perspective.
