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CED Tools: A Prototype as Applied Research

 

 
The University of Alberta’s Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities (ACSRC) invites you to “CED Tools: A Prototype as Applied Research”, a free public lecture (abstract below) by Dr. Bill Ashton, Director, Rural Development Institute, Brandon University on March 7, 2013 from 12 PM – 1 PM in  the General Service Building 5-50, North Campus, University of Alberta. Refreshments will be provided.
 
For more details please contact the ACSRC email: acsrc@ualberta.ca phone: 780-679-1672

CED Tools: A Prototype as Applied Research

Bill Ashton, PhD
Director, Rural Development Institute, Brandon University
 
Central to applied research is involvement of stakeholders to define the issue matched with a method and a genuine interest to invest in influencing practice and public policy. Rural Development Institute was 18 months into a 24 month project with 100s of CED tools favoured by practitioners and development agencies. Then it happened! They wanted change.  Their continued participation was now contingent on a different deliverable – not a report but a product with immediate utility.  A rapid proto-type approach led to ChoiceMatrix – a web based response and a promising future reaching a range of practitioners and adding more tools.  This presentation takes you inside a project to give you a unique glimpse of applied research in action.

Developmental Evaluation

Developmental Evaluation

Using real-time feedback when addressing complex problems.

Developmental Evaluation (DE) helps community organizations increase the impact of their work by providing real-time data and feedback to help them develop and adapt an intervention as it unfolds. It is particularly well-suited to initiatives that are being implemented in constantly and quickly changing contexts, including groups that are:

  • Creating an new program, strategy or policy from scratch
  • Adapting a model in constantly evolving contexts
  • Replicating a model that emerged and is proven to work in one context, and adapting it to a new context
  • Developing a rapid response in the face of a sudden major change or a crisis
  • Trying to encourage major systems change

DE serves a different purpose than traditional forms of evaluation. In contrast to formative or summative evaluation, developmental evaluation supports the creation, development or radical adaptation of a model in real-time. This might mean:

  • Documenting actions, the short-term results and consequences of those actions, and their connections to the initiative’s goals
  • Identifying emerging processes and outcomes and make sense of their implications
  • Determining when and if an initiative is ready for formative evaluation*

Groups using DE conduct a series of analyses to better understand how the initiative is being implemented, how well it is working, and how it should be adapted.

A Developmental Evaluation might use a range of different data-gathering techniques, such as interviews, surveys, or focus groups. Organizations typically work with an experienced internal or external developmental evaluator to customize the design of the evaluation to their particular situation. The evaluator then gathers data and provides feedback to decision makers in real-time.

In determining whether to use DE, organizations should consider both whether their intervention is suited to DE, and whether the organization itself is ready to adopt DE.

Content for this module has been developed by SiG@Waterloo and Here to There.

*adapted from Michael Patton’s comprehensive book on DE - “Developmental Evaluation; Applying Complexity Concepts to Enhance Innovation and Use”, pg 46

Social Finance

Social Finance

Accessing capital to purchase an asset, launch a new initiative, scale up, or better manage financials.

Social finance is an approach that enables community organizations to borrow money to enhance their impact. Organizations can complement grants, contracts, and other forms of earned income by accessing repayable investments to fund future work. These investments can be used to generate savings or income to repay investors. In many cases, repayment terms are negotiated to meet the needs of the organization.

Foundations, credit unions, and other social finance investors are excited by new ways to use their capital to generate a social return as well as a financial return. Many are looking for opportunities to make repayable investments in community organizations.

Social finance tools can help diversify financing sources. As investors require repayment, these tools are a source of cash, but do not replace revenue requirements. They are intended to complement grants, government contracts and contribution agreements, donations, and earned income.

In determining whether and how to use social finance tools, community organizations should consider:

  • What they need financing for, or how they would use the money
  • How the money will be paid back at a later date
  • How the financing opportunity fits with their mission, values, and capacity

The Innoweave Social Finance Workshop helps leadership teams of community organizations assess how social finance tools can work for them. Leadership teams will leave with an understanding of how to:

  • clarify how they might use financing;
  • develop and assess options to access financing;
  • prepare their board and senior management to make decisions related to the use of social finance;
  • and take the next steps towards implementation.

Content for this module has been developed by 

and

Strengthening Alternative Systems through Diffusion of Innovations | Webinar

Monday, March 18th
9am (PST); 12pm (EST)

 

Discussing: How do we successfully diffuse and  scale what is working for other contexts into our own?

This presentation will focus on social innovations in differing contexts, such as fair trade, community waste, social franchising, and co-operative banking, schools and social care. Participants will walk away with insight regarding the significance of particular types of intermediaries and federated structures as means of expanding (and defending) these systems.

Featured Presenter:

Robin Murray is an economist whose work has recently focused on co-operative development and social innovation.  He was author of ‘Co-operation in the Age of Google’ a report on strategy for Co-operatives UK (the umbrella body for co-operatives in Britain), a co-author of ‘The Open Book of Social Innovation’ and is currently working on a text on Co-operative Accumulation.  He is a Fellow of the Young Foundation, for whom he co-authored two books on social innovation, and is also a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics.
 
This webinar will continue the discussion from BALTA’s recent webinar with Pat Conaty, which focused on how innovations develop and spread within the social economy.
 
Robin prefers not to use the word ‘scale’ because of its association with mass production, and finds it more helpful to think in terms of generative diffusion and the gradual development and strengthening of alternative systems.  Pat discussed this process in the case of community land trusts, community finance, and local energy projects.
 
Robin will look at differing experiences in such fields as fair trade, community waste, social franchising, and co-operative banking, schools and social care. They suggest the significance of particular types of intermediaries and federated structures as means of expanding (and defending) these systems.
 
 

Champions for Change: Leading a Backbone Organization for Collective Impact

Collective Impact results when actors from different sectors commit to a common agenda for solving a complex social issue. Backbone Organizations play a complex, behind-the-scenes role in the success of these collective impact initiatives. The Backbone Organization's role spans six major activities, requires a diversity of skills and is essential to maintain alignment across the partners. The effectiveness with which a Backbone Organization fulfills its role often determines the success or failure of the Collective Impact Initiative as a whole.
Champions for Change: Leading a Backbone Organization for Collective Impact is a multi-day interactive workshop designed specifically for the leaders of Leadership Roundtables, Coordinating Committees or Backbone Organizations of mature collective impact initiatives. The Tamarack Institute and FSG have partnered to develop this dynamic learning experience to offer leaders of Backbone Organizations an advanced learning opportunity designed exclusively for collaborative leaders.

As a participant you will:

  • Strengthen your ability to guide your collective impact initiative toward results;
  • Learn from, and build connections with, other experienced leaders of backbone organizations across a range of social issues; and
  • Participate in creating new resources and tools for the field of community collaborative and collective impact practitioners, which will be disseminated after the workshop

Workshop sessions will include topics such as:

  • Deeply understanding the roles and impact strategies of the backbone organization;
  • Developing and learning from shared measurement;
  • Community Engagement to build the will of your community;
  • Making Collaborative governance effective;
  • Sustaining funding for collective impact over the long term;
  • Working in complexity and the importance of adaptive leadership; and
  • Getting to true impact and systems change
Learn how your team can benefit from this amazing learning opportunity. Special rates are available for teams of three or more who attend together.

A Spotlight on Young Social Entrepreneurs: Webinar

 

 

March 26
12:00 - 1:00 pm PST

Young people the world over are leading a new wave of social innovation and social entrepreneurship- creating social change, supporting community economies and forging new ways of work. Learn from young people in our communities about what motivates them and inspires them about social entrepreneurship, what are some of the successes and challenges they’ve faced along the way. This webinar is especially relevant for anyone interested in applying for our partnership training and business development program with Community Micro-Lending, Launch!

Presenters: 

  • Kanika Gupta: founder of Social Journal (SoJo), a web based learning tool geared towards youth passionate about social change and building social ventures. The development of SoJo was influenced by Gupta’s master’s thesis experience in Canada-wide study on the factors influencing the start-up of youth-initiated social ventures.
  • Julia Norman: founder of social enterprise, the Didi Society, which is working towards empowering women through fair, direct trade and educating local youth on social justice issues and using marketing, sales strategies and traditional cooperative values.
  • Adam Olsen: is one of the Olsen family members who started local small business Salish Fusion Knitwear, producing modern knitted products with inspiration from Coast Salish art. The small business is providing employment opportunities for the local knitters and supporting the local art. 

[REGISTER HERE]

Youth Social Entrepreneurship Webinar Series

This webinar is being hosted as part of the Youth Social Entrepreneur Webinar Series:

Are you a young person interested in social entrepreneurship? Or an organization working with young people interested in learning more about how you can incorporate social enterprise into your work? 
 
Starting March 2013, The Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria is launching a new webinar series on Youth Social Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the Canadian CED Network. The webinars are an opportunity to learn about how young people and youth serving organizations are using social enterprise in creating sustainable livelihoods. The webinars will reflect on the successes and challenges of operating successful and well-functioning youth-led and youth serving social enterprises. Presenters will discuss a variety of local, regional and national best practice examples.

Who should attend: 

  • Young people interested in social entrepreneurship
  • Non-profit or other youth serving organizations interested in using a social enterprise model with their clients
  • Funders, community partners, local government stakeholders interested in learning how to scale up the sector.
UPCOMING:  
Also look out for our third webinar on ‘Animating Youth Social Enterprise’: the Role of Funders and Partners, coming in April.
 
This webinar will look at some best practice examples of what funders and community partners can and are doing to support strengthen opportunities for youth social enterprise, locally and nationally.

 

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