11:55am to 1:00pm Eastern Time

So many great minds working in community development are talking about the need to change, the urgency to transform services and operations in ways that not only fit our chaotic environment but influence its future as well. We tend to be rather good at seeing what should change and why, however, life becomes much more difficult when trying to figure out the how.

Upside Down Thinking is both a mindset and a tool that we can use to challenge the things that are so true for us that we don’t even question them anymore. It is a cognitive-creative methodology and is about more than crafting inquiry; it goes further to pose new realities or potential realities that run contrary to how we think and how we see our own identities within the context of our work.

Join Tamarack Thought Leaders Mark Holmgren and Elayne Greeley on January 22nd as they take a closer look at how what we create can stop us from creating, how what we think is good sometimes actually has negative impacts, and how we can become more innovative in our work by using purposefully ambitious thinking.

Register here

Speakers

Mark Holmgren’s consulting practice has delivered social housing, strategic plans, new programs and services, innovations, evaluations, and research and analysis for a wide variety of organizations and departments including governments, human service agencies, funders, arts and culture groups, health organizations, educational institutions, and faith communities.

In early 2014, Mark was recognized by Tamarack Institute as one its national thought leaders and appointed to the Mayor of Edmonton’s Task Force on Eliminating Poverty.

Currently he is the CEO of Bissell Centre, a position he has held since the spring of 2011.

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Possibility aficionado, big picture thinker, collaborative team player, unabashed optimist and lover of natural history, that's Elayne Greeley in a nut shell along with all that ​i​s exciting and messy. By day Elayne has the privilege of working with a grand group of career practitioners and their ​community agencies in a partnership called CCEPP in St. John's, Newfoundland (www.ccepp.ca). She arrived at this work from the cultural sector and inserts as much creativity as she is allowed to by hosting groups differently and driving curiosity and learning within ​the sector.

Public policy is a key focus for CCEDNet.  Since our first National Policy Forum in 2001, we have actively engaged our members in identifying the most strategic policy changes that would create a more enabling environment for CED and contribute to stronger, more inclusive communities.

In anticipation of the 2015 federal election, CCEDNet's Policy Council has updated our policy priorities and we sought your input. 

This session was an opportunity for CCEDNet members and others to provide feedback on the proposed new priorities, and consider strategies for getting CED into party platforms for the election in 2015.

Download the Draft National Policy Priorities

PRESENTERS

Diana Jedig, Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations (OACFDC)

Diana is CCEDNet Board Chair and represents CCEDNet on the People-Centred Economy Group, a national coalition of leading groups in the social economy, CED and impact investing fields.  She has been Executive Director of the OACFDC since 1994, she volunteers on the Board of the Community Futures Network of Canada and is a founding member of The Ontario Rural Council (now the Rural Ontario Institute)

David LePage, Accelerating Social Impact CCC

David is a member (and past Chair) of CCEDNet's Policy Council.  He is a Principal with Accelerating Social Impact CCC, Ltd. (ASI), one of Canada’s first incorporated social purpose hybrid corporations. Through ASI David provides direct support and strategic advice to blended value businesses, social enterprises and social finance developments. He is involved in multiple public policy initiatives and research projects to support the social enterprise ecosystem across Canada. ASI is a partner in launching and building the Buy Social Canada campaign.  He is the former Team Manager of Enterprising Non-Profits, where he led the effort to expand the enp social enterprise development and training model across Canada. He initiated Canada’s first Social Purchasing Portal in 2003.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Draft National Policy Priorities for 2015
• Previous CCEDNet Policy Priorities
• National Summit on a People-Centred Economy (2010)
• CCEDNet's 2014 federal pre-budget brief
• More policy resources from our website toolbox

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Dr. Ryan Gibson, a researcher from Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, will be presenting (via video) the results of two studies investigating where philanthropy, rural development, and public policy come together in rural Canadian. Ryan will share the research findings showing the:

• substantial financial capital held by community foundations in rural Canada;
• creation and influence of local-based funders;
• re-balancing of the relationships with government; and
• disconnect between philanthropy and other local actors with similar local priorities.

We hope you can join us in person or via webinar at this Rural Development KX event.

To RSVP:

Contact Elin Gwyn: elin.gwyn at ontario.ca or Ramona Cameletti: ramona.cameletti at ontario.ca

Session Description

Rural communities are at a critical turning point in Canada. Rural communities and regions have witnessed decades of dramatic changes: the dismantling of rural institutions, the out-migration of young people and skilled labour, economic restructuring, and the continued investment on infrastructure to bring resources out of rural areas. Rural regions, and consequently their development, have largely been viewed as being dependent on external actors and funds. External actors have largely taken many forms, such as provincial agencies, federal agencies, and the private sector. Philanthropy, through the platform of community foundations, provides an opportunity for rural regions to utilize existing local resources to facilitate sustainability and revitalization. Community foundations, as one type of registered charity, can play a substantial role in rural and regional development.

Philanthropy through community foundations is explored as a mechanism to facilitate and sustain rural development. This discussion shares findings from two research initiatives investigating the intersection of philanthropy, rural development, and public policy in the Canadian context. The findings focus on: the substantial financial capital held by community foundations in rural Canada; the creation and influence of local-based funders; the re-balancing of the relationships with government; and the disconnect between philanthropy and other local actors with similar local priorities. The research findings enhance our current understanding of philanthropy and its potential roles in regional development.

About the Facilitator

Ryan Gibson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Since 2009, he has served on the board of the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation/Fondation canadienne pour la revitalisation rurale (www.crrf.ca), serving as President from 2012-2014. CRRF/FCRR is a national non-profit charity focused on enhancing the lives of rural Canadians. Ryan also serves as an elected board member with the Canadian Community Economic Development Network and holds appointments with the Rural Development Institute (Brandon University), the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development (University of Saskatchewan), and Assiniboine Community College.

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An analysis of Manitoba’s Economic structure suggests:

• 35% of Manitoba’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is generated in non-metro areas. At the Canada level, non-metro areas contribute about 30% of the GDP.
• Within non-metro Manitoba, the goods-producing sectors generate about 43% of the GDP, compared to 29% of Manitoba’s overall GDP being generated by the goods-producing sectors.
• The four largest sectors in non-metro Manitoba in terms of employment are: - Health and social assistance; wholesale and retail trade; manufacturing; and agriculture.
• Manitoba’s agricultural GDP ranks 5th among Canadian provinces and Manitoba’s share has been declining slightly which means other provinces are growing slightly faster.

What are the structure and trends of these economic changes in Manitoba and how might they impact the province's economic strategy and your work?

On December 10th, founding editor of Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin, retired from Statistics Canada and also past-chair of OECD Working Party on Territorial Indicators, Ray Bollman, will present an online webinar to discuss the significance of Manitoba rural economic structure and trends looking at its national and provincial implications.

Register now

RSVP by December 8, 2014

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Before the glass condominiums that crowd Toronto’s downtown skies rose, the city was already home to a veritable concrete jungle of apartment buildings.

Twelve hundred towers house nearly one million people today – with many providing affordable options in the city’s core, a place that is becoming more and prohibitively expensive. Built following the Second World War, however, these towers are far from beacons of sustainability and certainly not immune to disrepair.

Tower Renewal is a program to drive broad environmental, social, economic, and cultural change by improving Toronto’s concrete apartment towers and the neighbourhoods that surround them. Their vision is to work with residents to reinvigorate these important neighbourhoods, making them more liveable and energy efficient, while bringing new community amenities to the sites.

Toronto’s Tower Renewal program is a great example of the kind of project Cities for People and SiG are interested in exploring for our Social Innovation and Resilience in Cities Series. Using it as a case study, we will explore how communities can identify problems and opportunities together, how they can be part of decision-making processes, and how partnerships and attention to positive social and ecological resilience can bring life and long-term vitality to urban systems.

Register now

About the Presenters

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In this webinar, Towards Employment, a community-based nonprofit organization in Cleveland, OH, will share three innovations in programming developed through WorkAdvance initiative, a regional sector-specific career pathway program in manufacturing led by Towards Employment. Drawing on case studies developed through a Strategic Venture Fund grant from the National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP), Towards Employment will highlight the role that it has played in (1) an industry association partnership that led to accelerated outcomes; (2) a training cohort customization that increased access to training for low-skill individuals; and (3) a partnership with a local business to create a strategy for low-wage incumbent worker up-skilling and backfill with candidates from distressed neighborhoods. Each of the efforts highlighted broadened career pathway access through deeper collaborative partnerships and created additional advancement opportunities for low-wage and low-skill participants, and each case study will present realistic, complex, and contextually rich situations that showcase specific sector partnership opportunities that the WorkAdvance team leveraged to advance programming.

Panelists:

• Rebecca Kusner, Director of Policy and Special Initiatives, Towards Employment

Register now

Or register for the full 2014 NNSP Virtual Conference (more details below)