This paper was prepared on behalf of Social Development Canada to support the department and its partners in developing an evaluation framework for potential federal investment in the social economy. It also informed the efforts of government partners in their formulation of a horizontal Results Based Accountability Framework for the social economy initiatives announced in the 2004 federal Budget.
The report discusses the nature of the social economy, identifies issues and challenges involved in evaluating its activities and proposes a learning-oriented approach to its evaluation. The paper also presents a logic model for conceptualizing the work of the social economy, including the broad societal objectives it seeks to achieve, major types of investment and support to sustain this activity, and results for households, organizations, communities and the social economy sector as a whole.
