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On June 14, CCEDNet members gathered online to participate in the 2018 annual general meeting (AGM).

CCEDNet has held an entirely virtual AGM for 4 years running. Our online platform allows for moving, seconding and voting on resolutions, a chat room for written comments and questions, integration with an English teleconference line and a French teleconference line and simultaneous translation between the two lines.

Watch the AGM Recording

Board Chair, Ryan Gibson, helped the meeting run smoothly and within the hour timeframe. Feedback following the AGM has been very positive again this year. Here are a few things our members had to say about the AGM:

The use of the various features available online enhanced the meeting experience. A wonderful and accessible way to include everyone. Well done and congratulations.
Excellent chairing by the president! A very efficiently run meeting. Very impressive. Job well done!
Wonderful job! Truly enjoyed the fact that the virtual AGM eliminates geographical barriers to participating.
I appreciated Mike Toye’s update and report. This overview of the past year demonstrates some of the incredible work being pursued by CCEDNET.
I love it! At times it seems more interactive than an in-person meeting. It’s great to see who all is attending – a good reminder of who members are.
I find this way of working for the AGM very pertinent given that the organization is pan-Canadian: no travel costs, only one hour, etc. Continue the billingual platform.

CCEDNet’s Executive Director, Mike Toye, presented highlights from 2017 and CCEDNet’s Treasurer, Diana Jedig, presented the audited financial statements.

Check out the Highlights from 2017

Members congratulated Emmanuel Bertrand-Gauvin, Ryan Gibson, Carol Anne Hilton, and Luc Morin on renewed Board mandates. Members alse expressed gratitude to outgoing Board members Christine Landry and Élodie Grunerud.

Many thanks to the members who participated, the staff who organized the logistics, and to CCEDNet’s Board members who guide the Network throughout the year.

@HonAhmedHussen The Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, have announced a new measure aimed at ensuring that when building new infrastructure projects, proponents take into consideration the social and economic impact their project will have on the community and how they can encourage inclusive participation.

As part of the Investing in Canada plan, recipients of federal funding for new major public infrastructure projects will now be asked to consider how their projects can create training and job opportunities for under-represented groups and procurement opportunities for small-to-medium sized and social enterprises.

The Community Employment Benefits requirement will see targets set for major projects to provide training, job opportunities and/or procurement opportunities to a broader array of Canadians. A General Guidance document has been prepared to explain the requirements of the initiative.

Applicants for major projects will now set and pursue targets for training and employment opportunities for groups that are identified as under-represented in the workforce or that face challenges entering the workforce, including:

Indigenous peoples
women
persons with disabilities
veterans
youth
apprentices
recent immigrants

The new requirement will also see projects providing procurement opportunities for small-to-medium sized and social enterprises. These are businesses operated by a charity or non-profit organization or that are designed around the delivery of social value.

For each project over a $10 million threshold (for most jurisdictions), provinces and territories will identify at least three of these target groups to benefit through training, employment or procurement opportunities. Projects are posted on the Investing in Canada Plan Project Map on the Infrastructure Canada website and will indicate when the Community Employment Benefits requirement has been applied. In cases where the requirement cannot be applied, a rationale will be provided.

Along with the Investing in Canada plan bilateral agreements being signed between Infrastructure Canada and the provinces and territories, this new requirement also applies to all projects under the recently launched Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund and to all final proposals submitted for consideration to Smart Cities Challenge.

Source: Infrastructure Canada

Over the last 30 years or so, Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) organizations and businesses have grown all over the world. Sometimes they are classified as local development, community development, solidarity economy or social economy but they all have similar approaches; they are all led by community or civil society. In many cases, SSE projects have developed in disadvantaged sectors of society, where the actors of market driven neoliberal globalisation have no interest; but not only. Today the SSE exists in all sectors of the economy: production, finance, distribution, exchange, consumption and governance. A partial history of SSE initiatives can be found in “Social Solidarity Economy and related concepts Origins and Definitions: An International Perspective” published in 2014 by socioeco.org, and other definition elements are included in RIPESS’ “Global Vision for a Social Solidarity Economy“.

As the sector has developed and structured into networks, interaction with public authorities at all levels has increased. An increasing number of governments and local authorities have signed contracts to deliver products or services produced by SSE initiatives. In many countries, this has evolved into full scale public policies supporting programs such as day-care, waste management, cooperative housing, etc. Legislation on cooperatives already existed in many countries, however, in most cases, the focus was strictly on cooperatives and did not include non-profits. New laws are embracing a much wider perspective, while including cooperatives.

Over time, this has evolved into the notion of co-constructing public policies, including legislation. By co-constructing, we mean working hand in hand with ministries and other public authorities to build policies and programs. Over time, many governments and local authorities have come to realise that this participatory approach is the best way to build effective policies that will have a much better chance of success. A lot of advocacy work by SSE actors was, and still is, necessary to achieve this result. Public institutions generally do engage in consultation, although often in a very formal manner and not always within a participatory co-construction mindset.

RIPESS has adopted and promoted this participatory approach ever since it was first founded over 20 years ago. The concept of co-constructing public policies was widely discussed in the 3^rd Globalisation of Solidary forum organised by RIPESS in Dakar (Senegal) in November 2005. After the 2008 global crises, many countries adopted policies and legislation that recognized the SSE. Since then, RIPESS, among others, has been working to increase the visibility of the progress made in different continents, at the local, national or global level:

Socioeco, RELIESS and RIPESS partnered to be able to map existing and emerging public policies. The map is a work in progress that geolocates and describes public policies that support the SSE throughout the world (in French, English and Spanish).
A 2016 paper, “Legal and political recognition of social solidarity economy (SSE). An overview on SSE public policies and guidelines” describes different policies.
In January 2018 another paper, “Legislation and Public Policies in support of Social Solidarity Economy (SSE). First steps & Elements of a practical Guide“, was published and presented to the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on SSE for advocacy purposes.

In 2016 RIPESS established an alliance with GSEF (the Global Social Economy Forum) to strengthen its approach to promoting the SSE. GSEF is an international association uniting local governments (mainly cities) and civil society stakeholders, who recognize the Social Economy as a key factor in local economic development, to promote SSE public policies. This partnership insures that both the local government perspective (GSEF) and the SSE actors’ perspective (RIPESS) are taken into account. RIPESS has also formed a formal partnership with the FMDV (World Fund for the Development of Cities). These partnerships are important for promoting public policies at local and regional levels of governments. It is also key for localizing the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The next important partner meeting will be held in October for the GSEF2018 Forum in Bilbao.

In the coming months and year RIPESS and its members plan to deepen the understanding of the process for the co-construction of public policies in order to ensure SSE networks learn from existing experiences and contribute to the promotion of its expansion. We hope to document case studies and, over time, describe in detail how SSE actors are advocating and collaborating with public actors for the successfull design and implementation of public policies. The national SSE public policy adopted in Mali in 2014 and the Framework Law adopted by Quebec in 2012 are a good starting point. We will also be organizing webinars in order to present and discuss different examples in detail.

Originally published by RIPESS

Yvon Poirier has a long history of involvement in the labour and social movements in Québec and Canada. He was founding President of the Corporation de développement économique communautaire de Québec in 1994, and member of the organizing committee of the Global Meetings on Community Economic Development in Sherbrooke, Québec in 1998. From November 2003 to July 2013, he co-edited a monthly international e-newsletter on sustainable local development published in four languages. He has been a CCEDNet member since 2003 at first as an individual and since 2012 he represents the CDÉC de Québec. He has been involved in tnternational representation for CCEDNet since 2004. His most significant international involvement has been in the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS). He has participated in many RIPESS conferences in different continents and since October 2o13 is a member of the RIPESS Board of directors. He has also participated in different World Social Forums and he represents RIPESS in the UN Inter-Agency Taskforce om SSE.

*The opinions expressed in blog posts are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of CCEDNet

It’s our pleasure to release our newest report, Connected and Ready: The Impact of the Manitoba Social Enterprise Strategy. This report is an impact analysis of the Manitoba Social Enterprise Strategy (MSES), a 3-year partnership between the Government of Manitoba and the Canadian CED Network – Manitoba which sought to develop and nurture an ecosystem that facilitates the strengthening and growth of social enterprises creating job and training opportunities for individuals facing barriers to employment.

Read the MSES Impact Evaluation Report

Summary of Findings

The feedback from the stakeholders involved in the impact evaluation suggests that:

Social Enterprise Manitoba as the project manager of the MSES played a critical “backbone” function much in the way that an industry association supports the work and members of any sector through information dissemination, professional development, bridge-building, advocacy and sector innovation.
The MSES was seen as vital to “ecosystem development” in that significant preparatory work was needed in the sector to allow the true potential of the sector and its member organizations to emerge and be realized. This involved bringing diverse stakeholders together, developing a shared understanding and language, identifying barriers to implementation, defining new market opportunities and beginning to work on possible solutions to problems all while expanding capacity in both the supply-side and the demand-side of the sector. Based on feedback from stakeholders and the frequency of certain responses, this development work seemed to be following the typical AIDA path of creating awareness, interest, desire and then action. There was a strong sense that the MSES had accelerated awareness, interest and desire for further business development opportunities in the social enterprise sector, but that so much more was possible.
Based on all feedback, the most significant impacts of the MSES were in the areas of:
- Formal and informal learning for organizations
- Networking between organizations and between stakeholder groups
- Awareness-raising and advocacy with the public and with decision-makers
- Supply chain engagement and market development for social purchasing
- Sector Readiness

Summary of Recommendations:

Based on a review of impact, activities, and a final community consultation, these recommendations begin to form the basis for a new phase of sector development.

#1: Sector development requires investment

The Province of Manitoba should tap into the potential and momentum built by the MSES by investing $200,000 per year for at least 5 years in a second phase of the MSES.

#2: Co-create with Social Enterprise Manitoba as a sector backbone

The proposed investment should be a partnership with Social Enterprise Manitoba, acting as a sector “backbone” to support work integration social enterprise through information dissemination, professional development opportunities, bridge-building, advocacy and sector innovation.

#3: Build a second phase of activities from what we learned

a. Organizational Development in business development, evaluation, accessing capital and financial management, scaling and replication of proven models/activities and marketing.

b. Market Development through Social Procurement:

Social Enterprise Manitoba should continue to incubate a social procurement intermediary while also supporting the developing Buy Social Prairies¹ model.
The Province of Manitoba should develop and implement a social procurement strategy using co-creation principles.

c. Networking and Relationship Building

d. Investments in Strategic, Time-limited Opportunities

#4: Make sure a second MSES phase also considers unanswered questions

a. How the social enterprise model can best support problem solving in rural and northern Manitoba.

b. How to ensure social enterprise opportunities better serve women.

c. How to strengthen connections with Manitoba’s Indigenous communities.

d. What are the gaps in wrap-around supports, and what are the limitations of the WISE model?

e. How to offer a wider range of career options and open up untapped markets by developing new social enterprises in new industries.

f. How to capture the monetary and non-monetary outcomes and results of social enterpise.

¹ Buy Social Prairies (affiliate of Buy Social Canada) is a newly established initiative to certify social enterprises and promote social purchasing by individuals, governments and companies.

It’s my pleasure to release our newest report, Connected and Ready: The Impact of the Manitoba Social Enterprise Strategy. This report is an impact analysis of the Manitoba Social Enterprise Strategy (MSES), a 3-year partnership between the Government of Manitoba and the Canadian CED Network – Manitoba which sought to develop and nurture an ecosystem that facilitates the strengthening and growth of social enterprises creating job and training opportunities for individuals facing barriers to employment.

Read the MSES Impact Evaluation Report

A total 133 events, workshops, meetings and presentations.
47 presentations and meetings to advocate for social enterprise.
59 meetings to engage and support the social enterprise sector.
17 capacity building events.
Over 700 attendees at events and meetings, representing over 400 organizations.

Supported by the work that the MSES has done on sector development so far, more work integration social enterprises are turning interesting, exciting ideas into reality faster and better, thereby making demonstrable progress especially in lower income communities. The activities of the MSES met sector training and development needs leading to a greater impact by social enterprises in Manitoba.

Key areas of impact included:

Organizational development
Network development
Awareness-raising and advocacy
Market development
Sector readiness for future growth

The MSES provided the opportunity to pilot strategic programming to support work integration social enterprises, and yet there is much more possible if the needs for organizational development, networking and market development are met. Many of the MSES initiatives were of great value. There are initiatives that made a clear impact and show potential for replication, while other initiatives did not address the sector need as well as intended. In these instances, a sector need remains and a better understanding of how to address it has been gained.

Social enterprise isn’t just about poverty reduction or workforce development, it’s also about great business models and ideas that have many positive spin-off effects in our communities, the environment and local economies. We know there are barriers to address as we strive for the next level in Manitoba, but the engine is warmed up and ready to go.

Staffing Changes at CCEDNet Manitoba

It’s also bittersweet to announce my last day at CCEDNet will be June 7. It has been an honour to work alongside so many inspiring people doing phenomenal work since I started here in 2013. Everyday I’ve seen the impact of our member’s work in our communities, and I’m grateful to all of you for all you do. Keep up the incredible work and I’m sure we’ll cross paths soon enough.

Frank Atnikov will continue to provide social enterprise development supports, and CCEDNet Manitoba is now hiring for a new policy coordinator.

Until next time…

Darcy Penner has been working in community economic development since graduating from the University of Winnipeg with a BA (Honours) degree in Politics. Starting at CCEDNet in 2013, his role has seen him work with member-organizations to pursue a broad policy agenda through workshops, presentations, budget submissions, policy papers and community-organizing, while specializing in supportive social enterprise policy and research – including being the Project Manager for the Manitoba Social Enterprise Strategy being co-produced with the Province of Manitoba, and coordinating the Manitoba Social Enterprise Sector Survey.

Sheldon Pollett, Executive Director at Choices for Youth, speaking
at the release of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Social Enterprise
Action Plan

On May 30, 2018, the Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, released the Social Enterprise Action Plan to increase the number of social enterprises in Newfoundland and Labrador and enhance services for existing social enterprises in the province. Minister Mitchelmore was joined by Lisa Browne, CEO, Stella’s Circle; Sheldon Pollett, CEO, Choices for Youth; and Penny Rowe, CEO, Community Sector Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Mark Browne, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

Social enterprises use innovative business models to contribute to the economy by advancing social, community economic, cultural, and/or environmental needs. Operating in sectors such as tourism, construction, the arts, culture, fisheries, homecare and social housing; social enterprises successfully operate in all regions of the province helping to create employment, reduce poverty, and develop entrepreneurial skills.

To support the development of the Social Enterprise Action Plan, engagement sessions were completed as well as a public online questionnaire. During this process, the Provincial Government heard views and perspectives from individuals and organizations about the direction government should take to support social enterprise development.

The five pillars that form the basis of the Social Enterprise Action Plan include:

Policy Development;
Business Skills and Organizational Development;
Research and Opportunity Identification;
Promotion and Awareness; and
Access to Financing and Capital.

Download the Social Enterprise Action Plan

The action plan outlines 25 actions to be implemented over the next three years. One of the actions include an ongoing engagement approach where leaders who work in the social enterprise sector will be invited to participate in determining how things continuously move forward.

Increasing the number of social enterprises and enhancing services for existing social enterprises delivers on commitments in The Way Forward to strengthen the province’s economic foundation. The Way Forward outlines all actions the Provincial Government is taking to achieve a strong, diversified province with a high standard of living, and can be viewed at thewayforward.gov.nl.ca.

Source: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA) has announced the recipients of the 2018 National Credit Union Awards. Canada’s credit unions have always played a significant role in the well being of the communities they serve. CCUA recognizes and rewards these accomplishments through an annual awards program that acknowledges credit unions that exemplify the true nature of the co-operative spirit. The National Credit Union Awards highlight fresh and effective programs that emphasize local economic initiatives, innovative solutions that improve the effectiveness of the credit union, and the ambitions of tomorrow’s young leaders.

CCEDNet member, Vancity, was the recipient of the Innovation Award. Also recognized as Young Leaders were CCEDNet board member Marianne Jurzyniec of Affinity Credit Union and Maggie Leung of Alterna Savings.

Vancity Credit Union

Vancity’s Fair and Fast Loan™ Online program won the National Credit Union Innovation Award for responding to an identified opportunity in the community, and implementing the detailed and focused planning process to bring the product to market, strongly demonstrating the intent of the Innovation Award. The Vancity team carefully considered how to build a tool that would quickly and easily meet the needs of the potential users, as well as delivering results for the credit union. By combining Vancity’s values with the needs of members, this project hit all the right notes for innovation.

Source: National Credit Union Awards

Manitoba’s Economic Growth Strategy The Province of Manitoba is creating a new Economic Growth Strategy that will aim to deal with current challenges in the province’s economic development system as well as leverage opportunities in the future. This strategy is framed as being an overarching, guiding roadmap that other economic development, labour force support, and sector development work will be aligned against.

Policy development like this strategy present an important opportunity to engage with the Province on a wide-ranging community-based economic approach that builds community and individual wealth, encourages more local ownership, and takes into consideration the range of social supports required to ensure economic growth is inclusive and sustainable for all Manitobans.

CCEDNet Manitoba is submitting a written brief to this process which you can see here.

The call for submissions is due May 25

Find out more about the strategy and how to add a submission online or in writing at the Province’s website.

For more information, get in touch with Sarah Leeson-Klym, Regional Director at 204-943-0547 or sleesonklym at ccednet-rcdec.ca.

The International Centre for Innovation and Knowledge Transfer on the Social and Solidarity Economy (C.I.T.I.E.S.) has opened its new headquarters at the Maison de l’économie sociale in Montréal’s Centre-Sud district.

With more than one hundred guests in attendance—including local and foreign government representatives, Gerardo Pisarello, deputy mayor of Barcelona, and Alvaro Porro, Barcelona’s political commissioner responsible for the social economy—C.I.T.I.E.S. presented the vision and policies that will position it as a tool for international collaboration serving innovative cities that are committed to the social economy, also marking the official launch of the organization’s activities in Montréal.

C.I.T.I.E.S. supports territorial development and promotes the social economy through cooperation, sharing of knowledge and adoption of good practices at an international level. The centre fosters the emergence of common and multi-territorial projects through exchange, transfer, training and consultation on public policy and mechanisms for collaboration between local governments and civil society.

The organization is comprised of government, academic and practitioner members from Seoul (South Korea), Barcelona (Spain), Bilbao (Spain) and Montréal.

These territories are internationally recognized for their social and solidarity economy practices. C.I.T.I.E.S. also works with stakeholders in other territories that are seeking to improve their practices.

Implemented to capitalize on the mobilization that resulted from GSEF2016—the third Global Social Economy Forum co-organized by the City of Montréal and the Chantier de l’économie sociale[1]—the decision to set up the organization’s headquarters in Montréal was a logical move for the founding partners.

“Not only will the city benefit from recognized social economy expertise and leadership, its cultural diversity, its status as a world-class university hub and its tradition of cooperation between governments and civil society were also considered when selecting a location for the C.I.T.I.E.S. headquarters. The financial support of the governments of Canada and Québec and the City of Montréal also played a key role in launching the organization ,” said Martin Van Den Borre, Executive Director of C.I.T.I.E.S.

C.I.T.I.E.S. mobilizes the expertise of partners in different territories to develop and adapt validated practices conducive to social economic development, including the production and adaptation of public policies. In addition to transfer and support activities, it is also a useful tool for international solidarity, fostering inclusive and sustainable development for communities. “Our transfer activities with Seoul and Barcelona are already underway, and thus far have focused on solidarity lending, housing and youth entrepreneurship. Our team is also in discussions with other cities in Asia, the Americas and Europe that are looking to become an active part of our network,” explained Béatrice Alain, President of C.I.T.I.E.S.

“Montréal is already home to 65 international organizations—the largest such community in Canada and North America, after Washington, D.C., and New York City. The arrival of a leading organization such as C.I.T.I.E.S. helps strengthen and promote this unique ecosystem, and boosts Montréal’s profile in international discussions on the social and solidarity economy ,” said Hubert Bolduc, President and CEO of Montréal International. “We understand just how strategic international organizations are to Montréal, and we are determined to help them expand in our region.”

Source: Montreal International

Province Supporting Community Benefits with Approval of Five Infrastructure Projects

Ontario is ensuring that local communities benefit from infrastructure development before, during and after construction, helping to support economic growth and new job opportunities for people across the province.

The province is moving forward with five new community benefit projects, which will employ a range of options designed to bolster local communities during the development of major new public infrastructure, including employment and training opportunities, environmental protections, poverty reduction measures and small business supports.

The projects are:

Finch West LRT, a new light rail transit line in Toronto
West Park Healthcare Centre, a hospital providing specialized rehabilitation and complex-continuing care
Halton Region Consolidated Courthouse, a new 21-courtroom facility
Macdonald Block, a reconstruction of a government complex in Toronto
Thunder Bay Correctional Complex, to replace the city’s existing jail and correctional centre.

These projects build on progress already being made on the Eglinton Crosstown LRT and are the next step toward Ontario’s commitment to have all major public infrastructure projects comply with a community benefits framework by 2020.

Ontario’s plan to support care, create opportunity and make life more affordable during this period of rapid economic change includes free prescription drugs for everyone under 25, and 65 or over, through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, and free preschool child care from 2 ½ to kindergarten.

Community Benefits is an initiative in which social and economic needs of a community are more closely linked to infrastructure investments and could include workforce development, social procurement and/ or supplementary benefits identified by the community such as the creation of space for more physical public assets (e.g., child care facilities, a park), or design features to reduce noise pollution.

Source: Ontario Newsroom

Watch the AGM Recording

Check out the Highlights from 2017

Read the MSES Impact Evaluation Report

Summary of Findings

Summary of Recommendations:

Read the MSES Impact Evaluation Report

Key areas of impact included:

Staffing Changes at CCEDNet Manitoba

The five pillars that form the basis of the Social Enterprise Action Plan include:

Download the Social Enterprise Action Plan

Vancity Credit Union

The call for submissions is due May 25

Featured Speakers:

Register for the Economic Reconciliation and Social Enterprise Workshop

Who should attend?

The projects are: