For the Canadian CED Network, 2022 was a year to build power and momentum.
We worked with all levels of government to unlock vital resources for CED approaches to thrive. We helped CCEDNet members develop the knowledge and capacity needed to effectively pursue their missions. And we empowered the CED sector to engage communities across Canada in becoming more sustainable, equitable, and inclusive directors of their own futures.
Internally, we adopted a new organizational structure based upon our Theory of Change, and hired nine new team members to help execute our vision (including CCEDNet’s first-ever Director of Human Resources). Staff and board members gathered together for our first in-person retreat since before the Covid-19 pandemic began. And we continued on our internal learning journey around the principles of anti-oppression and collective liberation.
PUBLIC POLICY & GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
CCEDNet’s Policy Council updated our Policy Priorities to focus on the full implementation of the federal Social Innovation and Social Finance (SI/SF) Strategy, which can provide pathways to well-being for all.
We recruited four new members to renew the Policy Council, which gets its policy agenda and mandate from CCEDNet’s membership, representing thousands of community initiatives working with tens of thousands of community members in every part of the country.
The People-Centred Economy Group (which CCEDNet convenes monthly) organized a meeting with the federal Regional Development Agencies (Atlantic, Quebec, Prairies, BC, the North), and Employment and Social Development Canada on the SI/SF Strategy and the Investment Readiness Program (IRP).
We mobilized members and partners to advocate for $330M over five years in the 2023 Federal Budget to fully implement the SI/SF Strategy (12 Inclusive Innovation recommendations), which can bring together individual
Canadians, social purpose organizations, businesses, and governments to merge profit and purpose and address persistent social, economic, and environmental challenges.
CCEDNet continued to advocate for the launch of the Social Innovation Advisory Council (which was announced in February 2023 with CCEDNet Executive Director Mike Toye being named Chair).
We supported the engagement of members and partners as speakers at MP Ryan Turnbull’s Sustainable Finance Forum, held on Parliament Hill on November 2 & 3, 2022, which included eight events, over 60 speakers, and over 200 participants including parliamentarians from across the political spectrum. The Sustainable Finance Forum Report, which summarizes sessions and outlines key recommendations for consideration by parliamentarians, also illustrates well the number of CCEDNet members and SI/SF partners who participated, and the strong political support for this agenda.
LEARNING & INNOVATION
CreateAction
CreateAction hosted two cohorts of youth work experience placements with 51 youths (82%) successfully completing their placements.
Throughout the 2022 cohorts, CreateAction hosted 23 peer learning sessions that not only facilitated learning for and between youth participants, but also fostered a sense of unity, belonging, and community for all youth participants. The learning sessions included topics such as: knowing your rights as an employee, maintaining trauma-Informed boundaries at work, youth leadership, financial literacy, career planning, and Indigenous CED.
Overall, our employers noted a positive experience with CreateAction. Here’s an excerpt from one of the employers, “I took a wild chance on [youth], and I am not regretting it now. Glad I did! She has evolved very quickly over just a few months. I’m so amazed at the power of mentoring. Every youth deserves a chance. Glad we’ve had the opportunity to serve alongside CreateAction!”
Synergia Transition and Resilience Climate Action Program (STARCAP)
CCEDNet launched the STARCAP program in partnership with Synergia Co-operative Institute and Athabasca University. The three-year program supports Canadian organizations in undertaking or strengthening long-term climate action in their communities in ways that advance community resilience and climate justice.
CCEDNet worked with three organizations from across Canada. The first cohort, known as our Community Partners, was SETSI (Ontario), BC Co-op Association (British Columbia) and New Dawn Enterprises (Nova Scotia), who participated in the program from Feb-Dec 2022.
SETSI reported that through its participation in the program: “Our community engagement work, activities and impact through the STARCAP project has raised awareness, established solidarity and positioned us well to advance climate action and justice work in Canada. We have collectively built community capacity, resilience and allyship amongst mainstream organizations, groups on the margins, and nascent initiatives across Canada.”
New Dawn Enterprises reported that STARCAP: “Strengthened our understanding of the climate change issue and its relationship to our evolving work in community economic development and enabled us to build stronger relationships with other local players seeking to address climate change in our community.”
STARCAP is designed as an iterative program with the experience of each cohort informing the design of the program for the next cohort. The feedback we received from the first cohort revealed both the strengths and weaknesses of the program, which led to an internal reflective process from the STARCAP team and set the stage for a stronger offering for the 2023 delivery.
The result of this process was a successful recruitment in Fall 2022 that led to the selection of seven Community Partners from across Canada, representing diverse geographies and identities, including BIPOC, Francophone, youth and diverse disability communities.
Work Integration Social Enterprise Research
In partnership with the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, the Toronto Enterprise Fund and five Toronto based social enterprises, CCEDNet completed a five-year longitudinal study on the impacts of work integration social enterprises on people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The results are a testament to the powerful role work integration social enterprises can play in transforming lives.
Community Data Program
CCEDNet’s Community Data Program continues to expand the library of infographics and dashboards provided to members, including updates to the Community Recovery Dashboard, a new Housing Solutions Lab dashboard and a range of supports for the analysis, visualization and use of community data.
Adopting Common Measures Community of Practice
CCEDNet launched the Adopting Common Measures Community of Practice (CoP) as part of the Adopting Common Measures Project delivered in collaboration with Social Innovation Canada. The CoP hosted two cohorts in 2022. Cumulatively, the CoP team facilitated 10 information sessions and 17 learning sessions on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the five essential practices that constitute the Common Foundations for effective impact measurement.
A total of 84% of the participants felt confident to apply their learning to their work as a result of their participation in the CoP, and 72.2% have stated applying their learning to their work before the end of their respective cohort.
Community Leadership Program
The Community Leadership Program entered its second year of online programming, hosting 5 Leading Through Change Sessions which engaged 90 participants to examine the qualities of an effective change leader and concrete paths towards organizational resiliency. CCEDNet also hosted three cohorts for the 6-day Leadership Intensive Program that supported 52 participants through 3 modules dedicated to leading and understanding oneself, leading and understanding others and leading an organization. Nearly half of the participants continued onwards attaining the International ILM accreditation “Award In Leadership”.
The Program has received a 98% recommendation rate to date. It has welcomed many regional, mid and top management leaders across the country from a wide range of social impact organizations, and it has ignited supportive and lasting peer-to-peer relationships.
COMMUNICATIONS
We launched a completely overhauled version of the CCEDNet website in September. The new site is beautifully designed, easy to navigate, and thematically structured around the Theory of Change.
Over the course of the year, we sent out three bilingual communiqués to our members. These mailers continue to be some of our most popular communications materials – for example, the October communiqué had an open rate of 58.7% and an average click rate of 22.2%, compared to an industry average of 42.6% and 4.8%, respectively.
We continued to sharpen our practice of storytelling toward collective liberation, sending out bi-monthly national newsletters to nearly 4,000 subscribers, applying a CED lens to themes such as Black histories, local enterprise development, climate joy, economic reconciliation, and the biodiversity crisis.
National Membership Engagement
CCEDNet launched its first annual national member survey. This data informed important indicators for CCEDNet’s Theory of Change strategies and allowed us to create baselines for annual tracking. We gathered valuable data on member engagement as well as climate action and community integration within member work. The survey also provided us with deep insights into the efforts, goals, and needs of our membership. The survey data is invaluable for helping us amplify member impact and advance our Theory of Change.
At the 2022 Annual General Meeting, we were thrilled to celebrate the vital work of our fourth annual Stronger Together Award winners: Momentum, Spence Neighbourhood Association and Ryan O’Neil Knight.
REGIONAL AND STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
CCEDNet Manitoba
The number of CCEDNet MB members dropped during the first years of the pandemic. However, in 2022, CCEDNet MB restored the size of its network to 90 members.
Network Weaving
- Throughout the year, the CCEDNet MB team conducted 157 meetings with members or close stakeholders. We also hosted three member meetings, including the annual Manitoba member meeting to set strategy for 2023, and discussed the Network’s plan for the provincial election.
- CCEDNet MB sent out 24 newsletters and 18 members only communications, handled 124 information brokering requests, conducted 22 external presentations and lectures, and contributed to 3 podcasts about CED. The team also contributed research to the CCPA’s Alternative Municipal Budget on CED, Social Procurement, and Employment/Training.
- CCEDNet MB hosted the 2022 Policy Summit for members. There are now 33 current policy resolutions with calls for regional and local governments to support CED policy, projects, and support actions that contribute toward CCEDNet’s vision.
- The CCEDNet MB team held 44 meetings with government (provincial & municipal) officials, and made 29 submissions (2 federal, 19 provincial, 8 municipal). The team also contributed to the development of a new provincial fund (Journey to Independence Fund) that seeks to support CED interventions to support long-term meaningful employment for people facing multiple barriers to employment.
- CCEDNet MB convened five community advocacy coalitions, hosting 73 coalition meetings.
- The We Want to Work coalition, made up of members and supported by the Network, had a policy victory with the adoption of a Sustainable Procurement Action Plan by the City of Winnipeg, and subsequent work on its implementation.
- CCEDNet MB led advocacy for supporting Manitoba’s community non-profits through a group of other networks/associations, including numerous lobbying activities to the provincial government.
- As a result of member policy direction, both the Make Poverty History Manitoba and Right to Housing coalitions led successful municipal election campaigns for more rent-geared-to-income housing, a homelessness strategy, and more.
Manitoba Learns
- Through the Manitoba Inclusive Economies Learning Series, CCEDNet MB hosted workshops such as Social Enterprise for Non-Profits, The Economics to Know for CED Success and Indigenous Economies & CED. We also supported leadership development through a group of capacity builders through Executive Director Breakfasts.
- CCEDNet MB hosted the 2022 Gathering of Community Builders in October 2022, welcoming almost 300 people back to St John’s High School for one of Canada’s largest CED events. The theme was Cultivating Joy and speakers spoke to how to ensure joy is at the centre of our work building stronger, healthier, and more inclusive communities.
Spark
- The Spark team handled 171 Requests for Spark assistance, which resulted in 20 providers giving pro bono assistance to groups and organizations through Spark matches. These matches included fundraising support, social enterprise marketing, HR related help, social media strategy, Executive Director mentorships, landscape design, and more.
- The matches leveraged a total of $59,185 worth of support (calculated as professional volunteer hours at $190/hr). 85% of the organizations that were matched felt very satisfied with the experience, with 15% reporting they were satisfied. Nobody reported feeling unsatisfied.
AB Seed
CCEDNet became the Administrative Partner for AB Seed, a collaborative of social enterprise and social finance leaders in Alberta. AB Seed hosted a Re-Convene event, bringing members of the local ecosystem together to hear from Diane Roussin and consider what is needed in Alberta.
AB Seed launched Namada, an online directory of resources for Albertan social enterprises which now has over 100 resources listed.
AB Seed was a community hub for the Social Enterprise World Forum, bringing local actors together to take in the international content and ground it with conversations about the field in Alberta.
Investment Readiness Program
We took on the role of partnership convener for the federal Investment Readiness Program, aiming to support the 27 program partners as a network of expertise grounded in inclusion, equity, and access.
- We began hosting irp-ppi.ca to raise awareness and document the IRP.
- We brought IRP partners together in a 3 day convening with plans to do at least two more. This leverages the program’s core objectives of supporting social purpose organizations as they become investment ready to also build a stronger ecosystem of support for social innovation and social finance.
Other
CCEDNet sits on the Steering Committee of the Ontario Social Economy Roundtable.
Sarah Leeson-Klym delivered a presentation as part of a panel session during ONN’s Nonprofit Driven “Social financing 101: Learning the language and seizing the opportunity”.
We began development of a new way to connect at the regional level, with a plan to open a call for Regional Initiatives in early 2023.
