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Food and Shelter: Scaling Innovation in Community Land Trusts

2pm-4pm Pacific, 5pm-7pm Eastern

You are invited to join us for an upcoming presentation in our new SIS Project Webinar Series! 

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

Across the globe, community land access models for food production and housing have been described as a "proven innovations" to overcome challenges to individual and market-led access to these essential resources.
 
This session will describe how the community land trust (CLT) model can be used as an example of "scaling up innovation" where lessons learned from distinct farmland and housing access models can be shared across sectors and contexts.

[REGISTER HERE]

Highlights:

  • Key principles and components of the CLT model
  • Experiences and examples from farmland and community housing trusts in British Columbia 
  • Stakeholder engagement in the community land trust model: identifying issues, opportunities, and barriers to project establishment and implementation
  • Featured Presenters

Presenters:

Hannah Wittman is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia.  She conducts research on land trusts and farmland access with the Community Farms Program in British Columbia and the Landless Rural Workers Movement in Brazil.
 
Michelle Colussi - for over 20 years Michelle's work with the Canadian Centre for Community Renewal (CCCR) has included community development, research, strategic planning, facilitation and training related to community based development and resilience.  She was a member of the team that created the Community Resilience Manual and led CCCRs comittment to the delivery of Transition Town Training in Canada.  She is a co-founder of Transition Victoria and the Resilient Neighbourhoods pilot there. She is learning about Community Land Trusts as she accompanies Mike Lewis in the  community animation and engagement process.

[MORE INFO]

The ICA Principles in Large Co-ops | Free Webinar

 

The ICA Principles in Large Co-ops:  "Just for show" or integral to success?

April 25
12:30 - 1:30pm

Through adherence to the seven ICA principles, small community-based co-operatives can enhance their members’ experiences of empowerment in running their business.  For example, according to Principle 2 – Democratic Member Control, each member should be active in setting the co-op’s policies, and making important decisions.    

[REGISTER HERE]

When a co-op becomes very large however, are these principles difficult to follow? For instance, what happens when a co-operative becomes so large that the vast majority of members don't exercise their voting rights? Is the principle of Democratic Member Control still relevant? 
 
In this webinar, Ghislain Paradis of IRECUS (s.coop/1fdz9), and formerly of Desjardins, argues that some ICA principles are based on idealism rather than realism; he suggests that large co-operatives cannot effectively adopt these principles in a way that would allow them to meet their needs in the global marketplace.
 
In response, we will hear from the MCDRN’s own Sonja Novkovic, of the Sobey of School Business at Saint Mary's Univeristy, whose research involves working with worker co-ops to improve their ability to operationalize the ICA principles and values.  Dr. Novkovic will argue that the ICA Principles remain just as valuable and relevant as co-ops grow.
 
After we hear from Ghislain and Sonja, two respondents will give their own input on the debate:
  • Carol Hunter from The Co-operators.
  • John Restakis on his research on large consumer co-ops in BC.
 
Note: All participants should be prepared to phone in as well as join online (for the visuals). Please prepare to join online 10-15 minutes before the webinar starts in order to allow the driver to load.

Measuring Co-operative Impact | Free Webinar

 

Measuring Co-operative Impact:
Methodologies for capturing the economic, social and environmental impact of co-ops. 

April 10, 2013
12:30 - 1:30pm

The webinar will provide an opportunity to understand the various ways to capture the impact of co-operatives. Many researchers have tried to measure impact in order to explain the full contribution of an economic activity and this webinar will provide a detailed overview of these various approaches. Co-op advocates have always championed the many layers of value that co-ops create in their communities, and with the proper research, there can be solid evidence to support these claims. 
 
George Karaphillis of Cape Breton University is currently undertaking a project measuring the economic impact of co-operatives in Nova Scotia. Nicoleta Uzea is a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Western Ontario and is undertaking a methodology scan of the various ways to capture economic, social and environmental impacts. Both of these projects are part of a larger research initiative within the Measuring the Co-operative Difference Research Network, the National Study on the Impact of Co-operatives. Dr. Fiona Duguid, Research Officer for the Canadian Co-operative Association will provide an overview of this new project. 

[REGISTER HERE]

Speakers:

George Karaphillis is an Associate Professor as well as Director of the MBA in CED Program. He received his MBA from Virginia Tech. and his B.Eng from McGill University. George has previously been involved with the Social Economy and Sustainability Research Network, leading a project on financing the social economy. He is currently a Project Lead with the Measuring the Co-operative Difference Research Network. 
 
Nicoleta Uzea is a post-doctoral research associate with the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario. She holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Saskatchewan.

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