This webinar highlighted key findings from Enterprising Change: Report of the 2015 Social Enterprise Survey for Ontario. We shared many of the most relevant sector-wide results with a particular focus on the role social enterprise plays in reducing poverty through generating employment. This survey is the first research of its kind in Canada to include analysis of both for-profit and nonprofit social enterprise. Comparisons between the two models will be shared. The webinar also featured comments on the survey findings by the Government of Ontario’s Social Enterprise Branch.   

We invited practitioners, policymakers, and enthusiasts from across civic, public, and private sectors to take part in the webinar.

This webinar was brought to you as part of ECONOUS2016, the National CED Conference, that took place in Montréal on May 18-20, 2016.

Watch the Webinar now

BACKGROUND

Enterprising Change provides a snapshot-in-time of Ontario’s social enterprise sector in order to increase awareness and inform actions to support its development. This report builds on previous research that the Canadian CED Network conducted in 2012, titled Inspiring Innovation: the Size, Scope and Socioeconomic Impact of Nonprofit Social Enterprise in Ontario. Enterprising Change also contributes to the national profile being created through similar surveys that have been conducted across the country. All of these reports contribute to a better understanding of a national entrepreneurial movement within the nonprofit sector.

SPEAKERS

Paul Chamberlain, Ontario Regional Director with the Canadian CED Network

Before joining CCEDNet, Paul spent 18 years working as a department director with Dixon Hall, a multi-service neighbourhood centre in downtown east Toronto. Paul also initiated and chaired the Downtown East Community Development Collaborative in Toronto, which created an inclusive, integrated and comprehensive model for the delivery of employment services. With CCEDNet Paul's work has focussed on both national and Ontario-based projects, demonstrating the effects of CED on poverty, youth peer mentoring and immigrant social enterprise. Currently he supports the development of the Ontario network through involvement on the Ontario Social Economy Roundtable, managing seontario.org, and conducting the provincial survey on social enterprise in 2012 and 2015.

Muska Ulhaq, Program Coordinator with the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing

Muska Ulhaq works on reporting, policy issues, updating finance records and contact management for the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing. She also provides the MCII team with events and covening support. Muska is also the Co-Chair of MaRS Social Committee and manages various initiatives and leads the team on organizing events for MaRS staff. Prior to joining MaRS, she worked as a Policy and Research Analyst with Humber Bay Shores Condominium Association and as a Policy Analyst with the Ontario Ministry of Revenue. Muska has a master’s degree in Public Policy from University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance, and an undergraduate degree in Political Studies and Psychology from Queen’s University. Muska is passionate about social policy and is an active volunteer with TAIBU Community Health Centre. She is fluent in Farsi (Dari), Hindi, Pashto and Urdu.

Katie Gibson, Director with the Social Enterprise Branch at the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure (MEDEI)

Katie is a lawyer and MBA graduate with extensive Canadian and international experience in consulting, advocacy, and social innovation. She worked with the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing from 2013 to 2015, building and leading the Community Finance Solutions program. Katie has been involved in social change and innovation for over 15 years, including serving as the Deputy Director of an international advocacy organization. She previously ran a consultancy in Cambodia helping local and international non-governmental organizations increase their impact. She has also practiced law and clerked at the Supreme Court of Canada. Katie studied Anthropology at Harvard University and received her law degrees and an M.B.A. from McGill University.

HOST

Ethel Côté, mécènESS founder, co-chair of the Alliance économique francophone, specialist in social enterprise with the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal, Director at CoopZone, the Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario and the Centre Espoir Sophie, and President of Vox Théâtre

Over the last 30 years Ethel has assisted the development of numerous social enterprises in a variety of sectors, including agricultural, agrifood, cultural, housing and childcare. In addition to teaching college and university, Ethel has mentored hundreds of communities and social entrepreneurs throughout Canada, is a member of the Canadian CED Network, and founding member of the Social Enterprise Council of Canada. She supported capacity building missions in Mali, Niger, Senegal, Republic of Congo, Romania and Morocco and is involved in the International Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy-North America (RIPESS- NA) and the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF). A few years ago, Ethel joined the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal (CCCR), committed to crafting solutions and adaptations to the critical challenges stemming from climate change and peak oil.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Enterprising Change: Report of the 2015 Social Enterprise Survey for Ontario
• Inspiring Innovation: the Size, Scope and Socioeconomic Impact of Nonprofit Social Enterprise in Ontario
• Social Enterprise Sector Survey - reports from across Canada

Joint Conference of the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation (CASC) and the Association of Cooperative Educators (ACE)

The theme of the 2016 CASC/ACE Congress, Energizing Communities, encapsulates in a sense what co-operatives do. Cooperatives have historically arisen from communities, channelling their energy to meet collective needs. As organizations, co-operatives build community among their own members, as well as engaging with larger communities in relations of mutual support. What has been distinctive about the relationship within cooperatives and between co-operatives and communities is the co-operative principles which underlie these relationships, especially the commitment to democratic practice. The commitment of co-operatives to democracy – across economic, political, social, and cultural practices and institutions – is essential in creating and sustaining vibrant communities in which all members can actively and fully (equally) participate. Energizing communities through democratic practice, however, is challenging. Co-operatives engage in a wide range of activities in a variety of institutional arrangements. How (and even whether) democracy should be practiced in this diversity of contexts is not always immediately evident. A variety of questions are involved, including the recurring issues of whether there are trade-offs and/or tensions between the practice of democracy and other co-operative values and the promotion of desired outcomes. During this joint conference we hope to examine these broader questions in a variety of specific contexts and gain deeper insights into the practice of democracy by cooperatives and how it might more effectively promote the communities in which we want to live.

Sub-themes - Specific sessions within the conference will be organized around themes. Below is a list of conference themes and some of the topics that might be addressed under these themes.

Co-operatives, Democracy and Education

• Co-operatives as sites of democratic education
• The relationship between co-operative participation and member political engagement
• The role of co-operative education within the formal education system

Democracy within Co-operative Enterprises

• Democracy and co-operative boards
• Injecting democracy into management structures and practices
• Collective entrepreneurship as democratic practice
• Financial accountability as democratic practice
• Intergenerational cooperation
• Democratic practice within co-operative associations
• Democratic practice with co-operative networks
• Co-operatives, democracy and business relations

Co-operative Development

• Co-operative development for community and economic development
• Developing co-operatives in increasingly diverse communities
• Curriculum for co-operative start-ups

Co-operatives, Democracy and Engaged Communities

• Co-operative and the promotion of civic engagement
• Co-operatives as social actors
• Co-operatives, culture and democracy

Co-operatives, Government and Policy

• Co-operatives and public policy
• Co-operative involvement in political alliances and coalitions
• Co-operatives as counter-weight to corporate political influence

Registration

As the conference is being held as part of the Annual Congress of Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (CFHSS) 2016, registration will occur on the CFHSS website.

Contact Information: Sarah Pike, pike at ace.coop

3pm to 4:30pm Eastern Time

On February 10th, join an exciting webinar with Nobel Prize Winner Joseph Stiglitz and Stan Greenberg for an in-depth look at Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy.

Register for Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy

Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy (www.rewritetherules.org), authored by Roosevelt Institute Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz and other Institute staff, provides:

1. The story of how we got to this point of severe inequality,
2. An evidence-backed economic frame to combat trickle down and the idea of perfect markets, and
3. A comprehensive policy agenda.

Senator Elizabeth Warren called Rewriting the Rules groundbreaking. Vox lauded it as "a far-reaching indictment of economic policy as it’s been conducted in recent decades, which have resulted in sluggish growth and booming inequality, with wealth growing considerably faster than incomes."

Learn about the report first hand from Nobel Laureate Joe Stiglitz, and get briefed on how to talk about the key messages within the report from pollster Stan Greenberg, who has conducted focus groups and polling on the report. Elected officials are expected to be particularly interested in some of the findings of the poll.

The presentation will focus on messages relevant to state and local elected officials.

1pm - 2pm Pacific Time

Think that the New Economy smells like the Old Economy? Then check out this super cool + informative webinar featuring voices from emerging economies is northern BC.

WATCH LIVE STREAM HERE

WHY WE ARE HOSTING THIS WEBINAR:

We are tired of hearing the same old story that pipelines, mines, and yer creepy ol' uncle, Site C, are going to save the Northern BC economy! We are tired of leading economic organizations ignoring legitimate concerns of area Indigenous land defenders who have inherent rights to lands typically used for exploitative economic practices and decision making power over those lands. We are tired of an economy that disregards real concerns about climate change.

PERKS:

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear voices from those working in emerging economies across the region – people who have multiple experiences based solidly in community. It's an opportunity for new information + hearing about new opportunities and ideas!

Source: Home Sweet Home Grocery

1:00pm to 2:30pm Eastern Time

The "People, Power, Planet Partnership (P4): Best Practices and Knowledge Mobilization in Community Energy Development" was formed to assess, document and share the experiences and lessons of community energy developments across Canada and beyond, with the goal of increasing the level of awareness and rate of implementation of such projects nation-wide. Launched in May 2014, P4 is a two-year research and knowledge mobilization initiative generously funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The project's co-leads are Dr. J.J. McMurtry from York University and Dr. Judith Lipp, Executive Director of TREC Renewable Energy Co-operative.

On behalf of P4, you are invited to join a presentation of recent research, analysis and strategic discussion about community energy as part of the launch of the P4 website. P4 was formed to assess, document and share the experiences and lessons of community energy developments across Canada and beyond, with the goal of increasing the level of awareness and rate of implementation of such projects nation-wide. 

Register for the People, Power, Planet website launch

P4's research efforts to-date focused on:

1. The latest status of Renewable Energy (RE) and Community Energy (CE) project and policy developments in each jurisdiction across Canada
2. Indigenous communities’ involvement in RE and CE projects in each jurisdiction across Canada
3. Different ownership models under which CE projects are developed
4. The intersections between Social Finance (SF) and CE

The community of practice, policy and research around community-ownership of energy projects is growing across Canada and P4 has been contributing to that work as well as creating a hub for it, through the P4 website.

This launch and following discussion comes at a very exciting time for renewable and community energy in Canada with: 

• New Federal leadership committed to addressing climate change; 
• Aggressive provincial renewable energy target announcements; 
• Fast moving clean technology advances and falling costs; and 
• Growing interest and participating by by citizens and Indigenous peoples in taking charge of their energy needs for social, environmental and economic gain. 

Join this important discussion and help spread the word to others in your network.

If you have any questions or comments, please direct them to Derya Tarhan, P4's Project Co-ordinator at derya at trec.on.ca

12:00pm - 1:00pm Eastern Time

The complex environmental challenges we face today require us to look critically at how we might transform our economies to reduce pollution, use less land, and regrow natural spaces. As a result green jobs are increasingly the centre of economic development conversations. Community economic development (CED) is a strategy that can be used to help ensure that the benefits of a green economy are shared with those that are so often left out of the mainstream economy.

This webinar features two organizations that have taken a CED approach to finding green solutions for affordable housing while also developing local leadership and employment opportunities. Building Urban Industries for Local Development (BUILD) is a social enterprise in Winnipeg providing trades-based training for people with limited formal labour market experience. Work that trainees undertake includes retrofitting homes with insulation and high-efficiency toilets as well as water-and-energy-saving devices. People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH Buffalo) is a local membership-based community organization fighting to make affordable housing a reality on Buffalo’s West Side. PUSH Buffalo has been active in reclaiming empty homes for redevelopment as low-income housing and in the process is helping to develop community leaders to maintain local control of the redevelopments.

SPEAKERS

Aaron Bartley, Executive Director and co-founder of PUSH Buffalo

Aaron is a Buffalo native and proud product of the Buffalo Public School System. Over the years, Aaron has organized labor and student campaigns for economic justice, including the Harvard Living Wage Campaign and the Boston Justice for Janitors Strike in 2002. Aaron is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and has appeared in major media outlets as an advocate for low-income individuals.

Sean Hogan, Production Manager with BUILD

Sean Hogan is the Production Manager at BUILD, an award winning social enterprise and training program in Winnipeg’s North End. Since 2014, he has been leading the social enterprise teams of BUILD, helping navigate the choppy waters of professional contracting, as well as looking for new ways to create training and employment opportunities for individuals with multiple employment barriers. He is also a husband, father, and children’s entertainer.

HOST

Michael Lewis, Executive Director of the Canadian Center for Community Renewal (CCCR)

Mike is well known in Canada and internationally as a practitioner, author, educator, and leader in the field of CED and the social economy. His experience cuts across the full range of functions connected to community renewal and development. He has built and advised a wide range of businesses, organizations and governments all over Canada and internationally as well. Mike is an innovator, activist and thinker with a penchant for linking practice with policy and the micro and macro. He also co-authored The Resilience Imperative with Pat Conaty, which explores how we might forge a steady-state economy that is socially, ecologically and economically sensible and sustainable.