When the Social Economy was introduced to the Canadian policy agenda in 2004, it aroused great interest among community-based stakeholders and policy makers. It also raised many questions of definition, scope and appropriate public policy.

The primary goals of this paper are to deepen the collective understanding of the Social Economy from the perspective of public policy and to support the development of a consensus among stakeholders on the appropriate next steps forward for the Government of Canada's social economy agenda.

Submission to the Pre-Budget Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance by the Canadian Community Economic Development Network, October 2007 

The information contained in this brief is intended to respond to the Committee's pre-budget consultations on enhancing Canada's productivity performance.

The Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) has received input from a number of its member organizations about difficulties they have experienced in recent months in their relationship with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC).

This document presents short profiles of 20 programs and instruments currently used to finance community-based rural initiatives. These programs and instruments were chosen among 70 studied either because they represent good examples of collaboration between different levels of government, including interesting formulas for cost sharing, or because they depict an innovative approach to solving problems associated with financing rural development at the community level, or both.