English – Page 32 – Canadian CED Network

Social enterprise development in the Hub City received a boost Tuesday with the announcement of an investment fund and community accelerator.

Social enterprises are businesses created to further a social purpose, or solve a social problem, in a financially sustainable way. Social enterprises have been gaining ground across North America in recent years, including in New Brunswick.

The initiative consists of a two-prong approach to further the growth of social enterprises in Greater Moncton – the Community Accelerator and the Hub Fund.

“This truly is a community project,” said Dale Ritchie, president of McKenzie College, and instigator of the initiative, in a release.

“It takes a community to create real social change and this initiative will be successful because of community involvement. Investing in social enterprises will benefit Greater Moncton both socially and economically. It is our goal to be the social enterprise capital of Atlantic Canada.”

The Hub Fund is a community investment fund with a goal of $1-million. An independent board will govern the fund and any social enterprise in the region will be eligible to apply. Applicants will have the opportunity to present to an investment committee that will be in charge of making investment decisions.

The Community Accelerator is a program developed to help social entrepreneurs that have an idea for a cause or enterprise but may not have all the skills and resources they need to put it into motion. The accelerator will help them be successful in their problem-solving endeavours. The accelerator will be facilitated by McKenzie College.

“Social enterprise is one of the fastest-growing business models in the country because consumers, millennials in particular, are demanding that businesses be more actively engaged in solving social and environmental issues,” said Wendy Keats, Executive Director of the Cooperative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick.

“This new Community Accelerator and Hub Fund is a huge step forward in the development of an ecosystem in New Brunswick that will grow the social enterprise sector and we applaud them for their innovation and commitment to the community.”

SOURCE

Picture yourself in your favourite park on beautiful day, you’ve found a quiet shady place under a tree or perhaps you’ve snagged that coveted bench spot that is always taken. You’ve brought with you a beverage and of course the book you can’t wait to start, and have cleared the afternoon to do nothing but read.

The above scenario is where my mind goes with I think about all the interesting reading and listening I’ve planned to do this summer, although it seldom works out the way it is described above, I always expect to do more reading in the warmer months and set high expectations for the amount of “stuff” I’d like to dive into.

(Image: Silver Creek Park Guelph, ON)

Last year, we asked staff and board members to tell us what they were planning on reading this summer for work or pleasure, I suspect most of us try and make time for both. This year we have deliberately left the theme open. We have also added to the party and requested some ideas and top picks from workshop leads for this year’s EconoUs to help energize our minds for the upcoming conference.

Below you will find reading and listening suggestions from our board members, staff and Econous 2017 workshop leads. We hope that you will find something intriguing to add or push to the top of your summer reading list!

We’ve love to hear what you’re reading and listening to over the summer months. Join the conversation and share with us via Facebook or Twitter with the #CCEDNetsummerreads

Click on the contributor’s name to scroll down and see their summer reading suggestions.

Contributors:

Kaitlin Lauridsen– Senior Consultant, Centre for Race and Culture & EconoUs 2017 workshop lead

Marriane Jurzyniec – Board Member

Jeff Loomis – Executive Director, Momentum & EconoUs 2017 workshop lead

Wendy Keats – Board Member & EconoUs 2017 workshop lead

Candice Davis – CCEDnet National Conference and Communications Assistant

David LePage – Co-founder and Managing Partner, Buy Social & EconoUs 2017 workshop lead

Laurie Cook – Board Member & EconoUs 2017 workshop lead

Ryan Gibson – Board President

Kaitlin Lauridsen

Dancing on Live Embers – Challenging Racism in Organizations

by Tina Lopes and Barb Thomas

This is a must-have book for any organization working on challenging racism. “Dancing on Live Embers investigates how racism, White power and privilege work in the ordinary, daily moments of organizational life. It holds up familiar workplace interactions for scrutiny and analysis and looks for openings to advance racial equity and justice.”

Deep Diversity Overcoming Us vs. Them

by Shakil Choudhury

“The Deep Diversity model outlined in this book seeks to reframe the debate regarding systemic racism and discrimination in a practical, scientific and compassionate manner.”

White Like Me

by Tim Wise

Excellent read for White folks wanting to advance racial equity work. Wise encourages his readers to critically self-reflection on race and privilege by examining the way in which racial privilege shapes the lives of White Americans in every realm of daily life.

Online Reading: “Colorlines”

Colorlines is an award-winning, daily news site featuring investigative reporting and news analysis from the perspective of communities of color.

What I will be reading this summer:

Brown – What Being Brown in the World Today Means (To Everyone)

by Kamal Al-Solaylee

“At once personal and global, Brown is packed with storytelling and on-the-street reporting conducted over two years in ten countries on four continents that reveals a multitude of lives and stories from destinations as far apart as the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, the United States, Britain, Trinidad, France, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Qatar and Canada. It features striking research about the emergence of brown as the colour of cheap labor and the pursuit of a lighter skin tone as a global status symbol. As he studies the significance of brown skin for people from North Africa and the Middle East, Mexico and Central America, and South and East Asia, Al-Solaylee also reflects on his own identity and experiences as a brown-skinned person (in his case from Yemen) who grew up with images of whiteness as the only indicators of beauty and success.”

More About Kaitlin

Marianne Jurzyniec

The Rise of the Outsiders: How Mainstream Politics Lost Its Way

by Steve Richards

As you’ll note from the description below, there’s an endless list of questions surrounding today’s politics. As someone who is keenly interested in democratic institutions I feel this book will be just one of many with this focus on my reading list this year.

Something strange has been happening. All over the world, people are angry and rejecting the establishment like never before. Britain votes Brexit. Trump promises walls in America. Corbyn promises a new socialism in the UK. Tsipras in Greece. Podemos in Spain. Marine Le Pen in France. Norbert Hofer in Austria. The list goes on. Why has the mainstream lost support? Why are the outsiders flourishing on far left and far right? Do they have the answers to our problems? In this landmark book, political journalist Steve Richards provides a captivating account of the defining political phenomenon of this decade. Telling the riveting story of how eccentrics, ideologues, and strong men are breaking the political rules, he asks why they’re gaining support and examines the frightening implications of this new global rise in anti-establishment sentiment. Are we approaching a new age of populism, where democracy is eroded? The Rise of the Outsiders tackles all of these questions and more. Exploring how and if the mainstream can regain voters’ trust, this is a book that no politically engaged reader can afford to miss.

The Break

by Katherena Vermette

Katherena Vermette is a Métis writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. After learning more about her I have a great appreciation for her desire to lead change and advocate against the injustices faced by Indigenous people. This will be the first piece of her work that I’ve read but I’m already planning on taking in the rest of her collection.

When Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window one evening and spots someone in trouble on the Break — a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house — she calls the police to alert them to a possible crime.

In a series of shifting narratives, people who are connected, both directly and indirectly, with the victim — police, family, and friends — tell their personal stories leading up to that fateful night. Lou, a social worker, grapples with the departure of her live-in boyfriend. Cheryl, an artist, mourns the premature death of her sister Rain. Paulina, a single mother, struggles to trust her new partner. Phoenix, a homeless teenager, is released from a youth detention centre. Officer Scott, a Métis policeman, feels caught between two worlds as he patrols the city. Through their various perspectives a larger, more comprehensive story about lives of the residents in Winnipeg’s North End is exposed.

The Business Blockchain: Promise, Practice, and Application of the Next Internet Technology

by William Mougayar

The debate on who owns and controls our digital identity is growing and there are some that make the argument that blockchain technology is a solution to a more transparent system with empowered users. For this reason I’ve chosen this book to gain better insight on blockchains and how they can be applied.

Blockchains are new technology layers that rewire the Internet and threaten to side-step older legacy constructs and centrally served businesses. At its core, a blockchain injects trust into the network, potentially cutting off intermediaries from serving that function and creatively disrupting how they operate. Metaphorically, blockchains are the ultimate non-stop computers. Once launched, they never go down, and offer an incredible amount of resiliency, making them dependable and attractive for running a new generation of decentralized services and software applications.

More about Marianne

Jeff Loomis

Two books I recommend for people to read related to the workshop on microlending are:

Banker to the Poor

by Muhammed Yunus

It is a classic telling of the story of the creation of microlending. The roots of the microlending starting in Bangladesh has inspired the spread of microlending by Grameen Bank and now so many other organizations around the world.

Confessions of a Microfinance Heretic

by Hugh Sinclair

This book shares the downside of the microlending movement globally. The tension of focusing on financial return and social benefit is examined and the book provides a cautionary tale on the pursuit of profit when providing financial services to people living in poverty. It is interesting to think about the global microlending industry challenges in relation to the rise of ‘fringe financial’ services in Canada, like payday lending, that justify their existence serving the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ market demand that has largely been neglected by mainstream financial institutions.

Two books I’m planning to read this summer that are only marginally related to microlending are:

The Clean Money Revolution

by Joel Solomon

This is a hot-off the press book by a Canadian leader in social finance who founded Renewal Funds. I’m looking forward to an inspiring read on how money can make a positive difference in our world.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

by Carol Dweck

Mindset is based on the research that a ‘growth’ mindset can enable our brains to learn and solve problems.

Carol Dweck also has a popular TED talk if people aren’t interested in reading the whole book .

More about Jeff

Wendy Keats

Here are the three books I’m reading now and I would highly recommend them all!

13 Ways to Kill Your Community

by Doug Griffiths

If you want to know how to ensure CED doesn’t work, just do the things Doug Griffiths talks about in this book! Alternatively, you could do the opposite and build a strong local economy.

This I Know: Marketing Lessons from Under the Influence

by Terry O’Reilly

For those of us without big marketing budgets, this book offers concrete suggestions from one of Canada’s most experienced marketing gurus around how to get the messages of non-profits and social enterprises heard above the crowd.

Rework

by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson

This book is written by the two young entrepreneurs who developed Basecamp and several other hugely successful software products. However, their business model is totally different and throws away all the traditional ways of starting and running a business. My friend who recommended this book is a top consultant in medical technology startups and says the business approach and model of Rework is brilliant.

More about Wendy

Candice Davis

The Truth that the Wampum Tells – My Debwewin on the Algonquin Land Claims Process

By Lynn Gehl

I have always been curious about the land claims process and how it works (or doesn’t) for individuals seeking a claim. Lynn Gehl released this book in commemoration of the 250^th anniversary of the Treaty of Niagara. Despite this marker in history, the Algonquin Anishinaabeg still do not their full rights to land or resources. Gehl tells her story through the lens of her Debwewin Journey, which is an Anishinaabeg way of knowing that incorporates mind and spirit to bring out one’s own personal truth. The book is a refreshing approach and I recommend to anyone interested in reading an intriguing take on the land claims process from an insider.

More about Candice

David LePage

Dream Hoarders

by Richard Reeves

“How the American upper middle class is leaving everyone else in the dust. Why that is a problem, and what to do about.”

This is specifically to the theme of “Thriving Communities” how the American upper middle class is leaving everyone else in the dust.” The author reflects and assesses on how socio-economic opportunities and systems and who they serve (and who they eliminate). He moves the notion of privilege and economic power from the 1% to the 20%.

More about David

Laurie Cook

Neighbourhood Collective Agency

Connecting the Power of People to the Power of Place: How Community-Based Organizations Influence Neighbourhood Collective Agency

by Jessica Carrière, Rob Howarth, and Emily Paradis

NCRP Research Paper, December 2016

I would strongly recommend a report that just came out in December from the Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership. Very good report on how to facilitate neighbourhood collective agency which we also think of as building resident leadership.

Governing Good (blog)

by Grant McDonald

This a blog by an old professor of mine. He’s retired now – but it’s really good. “Grant McDonald is a long-time advocate for and resource person to non-profit and charitable organizations.” The blog is formatted to encourage interaction and dialogue. He covers a variety of topics including board dynamics, public policy advocacy, organizational culture, ethics and managing resources.

More about Laurie

Ryan Gibson

Rural Routes Podcasts – Cooperatives and Social Enterprise

Rural Routes provides great podcasts on why rural areas are still important in Canada. Episode 15 features none other than CCEDNet’s Wendy Keats discussing the role of cooperatives and social enterprise in sustaining and revitalizing rural areas.

More about Ryan

The Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3ci) is a university research centre based at the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, Ottawa. 3ci is working with the Ontario government and community organizations to develop an impact measurement standard for Ontario Social Enterprises.

Social enterprises are organizations that use business strategies to achieve a social or environmental impact. While generating revenues from the sale of goods and services, social enterprises also expressly intent to create positive outcomes, and measure their results. As the business grows, the social impact grows.

An impact measurement and reporting standard is a common way for Ontario Social Enterprises to understand and communicate the effects they have on society, community and the environment.

As part of Ontario’s Social Enterprise Strategy, the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth (MEDG), working with the federal government, Ontario Trillium Foundation, impact measurement experts, social enterprise leaders and other funders and foundations, convened an Impact Measurement Task Force to develop an action plan for a standard approach to impact measurement and reporting by Ontario social enterprises. The Ministry secured KPMG to facilitate the development of the Task Force and Action Plan.

The Ministry of Economic Development and Growth (MEDG) has provided funding for 3ci take the next steps toward the common approach to impact measurement for Ontario Social Enterprise.

3ci is working with the following community partners:

Center for Social Innovation (CSI)
Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario (CCO) – CCEDNet Member
MaRS
PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise (PARO) – CCEDNet Member
Pillar Nonprofit Network

Together they are convening Ontario Social Enterprises in conversation to answer 3 key questions:

To what degree to Ontario SEs feel that the proposed Action Plan is appropriate?
How much of the proposed solution could SEs implement today?
What is needed to be more ready?

Download Amplifying the impact of Ontario’s social enterprise community

Source

On 20th and 21st October the EUKN welcomed Holzmarkt to Amsterdam for our 2014 Annual Conference – ‘The Civic Economy: time to get ready’. Holzmarkt are a perfect example of the civic economy and area development in action. This unique and inspiring collaboration of neighbours and entrepreneurs demonstrates the potential when citizens decide to take matters into their own hands.

The collaborative neighbourhood

We are currently witnessing the rise of a new form of economy and social organisation throughout Europe and elsewhere which is broadly called the ‘civic economy’. A vast array of civic entrepreneurial initiatives have emerged due to developments, such as governmental retreat in civic duty, adversity to big business, distrust in the financial sector, the empowerment of citizens, technological innovation, and a rise of environmental and social consciousness. Holzmarkt – a creative village in the middle of Berlin – exemplifies these shifts in society and the economy.

How it began

Following the fall of the Berlin wall, a vacant space along the Spree River attracted developers wanting to build commercial and residential properties. In an attempt to preserve the green landscape as a free space for leisure and culture, local communities set up a cooperative and proposed an alternative plan. Thanks to a 2 million euro loan from a Swiss pension fund, the cooperative bought the land in the beginning of 2013 following a public competition announced by the local government.

The renaissance of a wooden market

The vision of the cooperative is to revive the old market Holzmarkt (literary wooden market) in harmony with nature. The only building along the river will be a restaurant offering local products. A village square will form the centre of the development. An important part of the village will be a Kidzclub for children to play. Various local entrepreneurs, such as designers, wine producers or craftsmen can use the place for their workshops. There will be function rooms on three floors which will serve as venues for festivals or different cultural events.

The civic economy at work

Since the opening in 2013, the new Holzmarkt project counts on local volunteers. Several festivals and cultural events as well as an urban garden and a market have already been held. Holzmarkt is a good example of the civic economy in operation. By means of exceptional organisational tactics, a sharing and collaborative approach to investment and technology, diverse change-makers tackled a pressing local and social challenge. The result was the development of a vacant place in a sustainable and beneficial way for the local community.

Originally published by the European Urban Knowledge Network on September 29, 2014

Carlo Capra Based in Milano, I currently work in real estate investments. Economist and Urban Manager by training, I worked the Urban Strategies and Planning department, of IHS developing connections with a wide range of initiatives in the city of Rotterdam and supporting IHS research and education activities. I also worked for the European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN), in research and communication activities. Previously, I was researcher for UN-ECLAC in Chile.

My areas of interest and expertise are urban economic development, innovative finance and social innovation.

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

Did you like this blog post? Check out the upcoming
Rebalancing Society event in Montréal on September 8

We function at three levels in society, not two: the collective level broadly and the individual level narrowly, as well as the community level in between.

At the collective level, we experience citizenship, and are reminded of it every time we vote and pay taxes, not to mention when we receive services and summons from our government.

These days, however, we are far more aware of the individual level—me, myself, and I. Thus, while the collective level gets only one “…ship”—citizenship—the individual level is so dominant that it gets two: ownership and leadership. We generally use the word ownership for what we own individually, as in MY house and MY car. And while leadership can be found in government and communities, the word always singles out the individual. If there is a leader, then other people must be followers.

Between citizenship at the collective level and ownership and leadership at the individual level is another kind of experience that deserves far more attention. Just think of how much of our lives are lived in our groups and communities, quite apart from conventional citizenship, ownership, and leadership. Yet this level doesn’t even get a single …ship. So some years ago I gave it one: communityship¹. Communityship designates how we pull together to function in our personal relationships.

Of course ownership too exists at the collective and community levels. It’s just that these take on quite different forms. Public ownership—what is owned by our government—is technically owned by you and me. But do we feel the same sense of proprietorship that we feel for our house or our car? (“I’m flying from MY airport”? These are MY VERY OWN tax collectors”?)

Ownership at the community level is called common property, or “the commons”², and where it does exist, we can feel quite attached to it, as do farmers that share water for irrigation.

The bad news is that common property is less common than it used to be. Take a walk on the “Boston Common.” This is where the landless people of that town used to graze their cows. (Some Bostonian should try that today! The sign at the entrance doesn’t even explain the name.) The good news is that the commons is making a comeback. Even, maybe especially, on the Internet. Take a walk on Wikipedia—it’s ours in common, technically owned by no one and therefore socially owned by everyone. It is ours to use, and to change. Walk too around our community gardens, and look at the research findings of our universities. Thankfully, these are all in the commons.

To drive home the idea of these three levels and four …ships, here are a few quotes to go with each, together with corresponding photos.

CITIZENSHIP

“The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.” (Flaubert, from Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes)

Elector, n. “One who enjoys the sacred privilege of voting for the man of another man’s choice.” (The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, 1906)

We are the unwilling,
Led by the unqualified,

Doing the unnecessary

For the ungrateful

(U.S. troops in Vietnam).

COMMUNITYSHIP

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead)

“The mainstream is a current too strong to think in.” (Paul Shepheard, in What is Architecture)

“Scout bees…fly out from the bivouac in all directions in the search for a new permanent nest site. When a suitable site is found…the scouts return and signal the direction and distance of the find…Different scouts may announce different sites simultaneously and a contest ensues. Finally the site being advertised most vigorously by the largest number of workers wins, and the entire swarm flies off to it…”(Edward O. Wilson)

LEADERSHIP

Queen bees “never participate in the ordinary duties of the hive such as cleaning cells, tending the young, or gathering food. After performing their nuptial flights, queen honeybees function as little more than egg-laying machines…” (Thomas D. Seeley, Honeybee Ecology)

“Management is the delusion that you can change people. Leadership is deluding other people instead of deluding yourself.” (Scott Adams, in Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel)

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” (George Bernard Shaw)

“Unhappy is the land that has no heroes,”’ sighed Andrea in Bertolt Brecht’s Life of Galileo. “No,” contradicted the astronomer, “Unhappy is the land that needs; heroes.”

OWNERSHIP

“I had reached the end of my journey. Everything that surrounded me seemed to be my own property. I was the King of Mont Blanc—the statue of this tremendous pedestal.” (Jacques Balmat, on being the first person to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, 1786)

Corporation, n. “An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.” (The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, 1906)

“We sold the patent for insulin to the university for one dollar. And come to think of it—I don’t believe I ever saw that one dollar.” (Charles H. Best, medical researcher, quoted by George Gamester in the Toronto Star, 22 July 1975)

To close, I believe that we shall have to reclaim democracy from private individualism at the expense of collective citizenship and cultural communityship. (See MY book Rebalancing Society, which is yours to have too, in the commons on mintzberg.org.)

This blog was originally posted on May 19, 2016 at Mintzberg.org, and appears here with permission.

Henry Mintzberg has been an academic most of his working life. After receiving his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal (1961), he worked in Operational Research at the Canadian National Railways, and then received a masters and doctorate fr

The Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet) has been a member of the Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of Social Solidarity (RIPESS) since 2002. Although not involved in the first two International Meetings on the Globalization of Solidarity (Lima, Peru in 1997 and Quebec City in 2001) CCEDNet played a leadership role in planning the 2005 International Meeting in Dakar, Senegal. It was at the first planning meeting for the event, in 2002, that it was decided the time was ripe to formally create RIPESS. Michael Lewis, who was then a member of CCEDNet’s Board, was in attendance at this planning meeting and took on the responsibility of chairing the Program Committee for the 3^rd International Meeting on the Globalization of Solidarity.

Since 2002, CCEDNet members have been constantly involved in RIPESS. CCEDNet has had representation through membership on the Board of RIPESS: Michael Lewis (2004 and 2005), Ethel Côté (2005 to 2009) and Yvon Poirier (2013 to today). CCEDNet has also supported International Meetings, which take place every four years: 2005 (Dakar Senegal), 2009 (Schifflange, Luxemburg) and 2013 (Manila, Philippines).

CCEDNet played an important role in encouraging English-speaking organizations to become involved. In the first years of RIPESS, members were exclusively from French-speaking organizations in France, Québec and Africa, and from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking organizations in South America. In 2007, the cultural and geographic representation of RIPESS was expanded further with the creation of a continental network for Asia, now called the Asia Solidarity Economy Council.

The continental network for North America (RIPESS-NA) is led by CCEDNet, the Chantier de l’économie sociale (Québec), and the US Solidarity Economy Network (US SEN). Canada and the United States both have designated positions on the Board of RIPESS, with CCEDNet and the Chantier alternating who represents Canada.

The Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) has gained recognition at the international level since the creation of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on SSE in September 2013. The Task Force brings together 19 agencies of the United Nations in recognition of the importance of SSE for sustainable development, lifting people out of poverty, creating decent jobs and empowering women. RIPESS is one of the Task Force’s six Observer organizations and since RIPESS is a grassroots network with members in all continents its contribution to the Task Force has been of strategic importance.

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the UN in September 2015, will be at the core of the work of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force and RIPESS in the next years. Since the SDGs are universal, Canada is also engaged in implementing the 17 SDGs in Canada and internationally. CCEDNet is also advocating Canada to include SSE in its international development programs.

Community economic development has many similarities to Social Solidarity Economy. In renewing its membership, CCEDNet reaffirms its support for RIPESS’ global vision of development, putting people and planet first.

Read the latest RIPESS newsletter

Every year, CCEDNet members are invited to submit nominations for CCEDNet’s Board of Directors. This year, there were four vacancies to be filled.

Six eligible nominations were received by the deadline, and online elections were held from May 5 to May 19, using OpenSTV for a ranked choice vote according to the Scottish single transferable vote model.

After reviewing the results, our Elections Officer declared the following candidates elected:

Wendy Keats
Diana Jedig
Carol Madsen
Kaye Grant

The results were ratified at CCEDNet’s Annual General Meeting of the members on June 7.

Congratulations to these amazing CED leaders from across Canada, who will be part of CCEDNet’s dedicated Board of Directors.

Wendy Keats

Wendy Keats is a co-founder and the Executive Director of the Co-operative Enterprise Council of New Brunswick, a leading CED agency in the province. Prior to this, she spent 18 years as a private CED consultant and trainer working with nearly 200 community groups in organizational development, strategic planning, governance, project management, and many other development areas. Wendy is a certified mediator and served as a senior faculty member of UPEI’s Centre for Conflict Studies for more than a decade. She provides training and mediation services to all levels of government, business and the community. Wendy sits on numerous boards and committees related to CED and has a special passion for youth engagement and renewable energy. She lives completely off-the-grid in the woods of Salisbury, tending her gardens and relaxing on the river whenever the hectic world of CED allows it.

Diana Jedig

Diana Jedig has been the Executive Director for the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations (OACFDC) since 1994. Her previous experience as General Manager of the Brant CFDC has been a key strength in ensuring the OACFDC responds to the needs of its members. Diana also 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). Diana has an Honours Bachelor of Commerce Degree and a Masters in Business Administration. She is also a Certified Association Executive through the Canadian Society of Association Executives.

Carol Madsen

Carol Madsen has been on the Canadian CED Network board since 2005. She has been teaching in Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Sustainable Community Development for nine years and has taught at Concordia’s School of Community Public Affairs and UBC’s School of Social Work. Previously she was the Manager of Pathways Information Centre, a CED project of Tradeworks Training Society located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the regional representative for the Canadian CED Technical Assistance Program for British Columbia and the Director of Bridging the Divides, a participatory action research CED project that took place in two rural communities in BC. She has been involved in CED, social justice and international development work for more than 25 years and it passionate about creating a more equitable Canadian society for all.

Kaye Grant

Based in Winnipeg, Kaye is the key Consultant with Reconnaissance Management Consulting Group Inc. Kaye is also the Communications Manager for the Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation (CWCF), a national, bilingual grassroots membership organization that supports the growth and development of worker co-operatives. Kaye has worked for over 20 years within the non-profit/social enterprise sector in a number of roles. Kaye’s experience in working with the non-profit sector and local community groups enables her to maintain working relationships within the community. Kaye sits on the Bike Winnipeg Board as Co-chair and the Manitoba Co-op Association Board as the CWCF representative. Kaye has been an active member of CCEDNet in Manitoba for nine years and has regularly presented at The Gathering event in Manitoba. Kaye has a passion towards poverty alleviation and has focused her work with organizations that contribute to this mandate.

The Government of Canada is moving forward in the development of a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy to support communities in addressing their most difficult problems and help more people, especially those most vulnerable contribute to and share in the prosperity of their community and society.

In support of this commitment, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced the members of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group.

Selected from 189 eligible applications from across the country, the Social Innovation and Social Finance Steering Group brings together 15 passionate and diverse leaders, practitioners and experts from multiple fields, including the community, philanthropic, financial and research sectors. Among the 15 steering group members are CCEDNet members David LePage, David Upton, as well as Lauren Dobell from CCEDNet member Vancity and Nancy Neamtan, who is founder and Strategic advisor with the Chantier de l’économie sociale, with whom CCEDNet has a long standing partnership.

Over the next 12 months the Group will co-create the Strategy with the Government of Canada. By drawing on its members’ broad range of expertise, know-how and ideas, and through consultation and engagement activities, the Group will begin developing policy measures to advance social innovation and social finance, and support the social enterprise sector and the social economy in Canada.

Steering Group members will be asked to share their perspectives on three key challenges. These issues have been raised during discussions led by stakeholders on social innovation and social finance in recent years:

the skills and capacity of community organizations and governments to pursue social innovation and social finance, including their capacity to measure social outcomes and impact;
federal laws, regulations and policies that have an impact on the ability of community organizations to participate in social innovation and social finance initiatives; and
access to the capital needed to fund, replicate and expand the reach of social innovation and social finance projects.

SOURCE: Employment and Social Development Canada

CCEDNet members gathered online last week to participate in the 2017 annual general meeting (AGM).

This was the third year CCEDNet has held an entirely virtual AGM. Our online platform allowed 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.

It was surely a technological feat and not without some mishaps. Apologies to those few that were unable to get the platform to work on their computers. Better navigating technical issues will a focus for improvement next year. But all told the event was a success – and we managed to pull it off in a tight 1 hour timeframe!

Watch the AGM Recording

Diana Jedig helped the meeting run smoothly as meeting chair, the second time she’s chaired one of our virtual AGMs. Feedback following the AGM has been very positive again this year. Here are a few things our members had to say about the AGM:

This is the second year I have participated. I think more organizations should adopt this format. Thank you for the opportunity to participate.
Very impressive technology. (This was my first AGM and first time seeing such a thing.) Also, as someone with deep non-profit treasury experience, I thought the financials were very well presented.
I very much like being able to do quick AGMs where I get the info I need to make informed decisions and can participate without having to leave the office!
Seeing the cross-Canada connections was great.
I think having web and phone in is very good combination. Bilingual is essential – works well.

CCEDNet’s Executive Director, Mike Toye, presented highlights from 2016 and presented the audited financial statements, noting that with the social enterprise ecosystem project (S4ES) grant approval and the success of the long awaited return of the national CED conference in 2016 with preperations for making it an annual National conference, 2016 was another year of investment for CCEDNet.

S4ES will connect training, marketing, and impact measurement resources for social enterprises anywhere in Canada. Funding for the project is provided by The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, Mental Health Commission of Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada.

CCEDNet members also approved a resolution tabled by Yvon Poirier to call on the federal government to speed up the implementation of the UN’s Social Development Goals and align public procurement to support them.

Members welcomed Kaye Grant to the Board and congratulated Diana Jedig, Wendy Keats and Carol Madsen on renewed Board mandates. Members alse expressed gratitude to outgoing Board members Bill Ninacs and Derek Pachal.

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.

Lead Bob Stilger Small communities can be amazing and High River, Alberta, Canada is at the top of my list right now. I’ve been with people in community there for three days. About 90 folks who care came out for one or more of four sessions of the Our High River Summit. That’s out of 13,000 people.

In the summer of 2013 torrential rains came and the river that runs through town peaked in a devastating flood. But the summit wasn’t looking back at the flood — it was looking towards new horizons. What’s the community we want? How do we build it together?

The Mayor walked in towards the end of our first evening together. We were talking about how communities change. He arrived just as I was saying, “Local governments don’t make change. Where did we ever get that idea? They keep the streets plowed and the garbage picked up and the water running, but usually when they try to change anything people just get pissed off. People — people like all of you in this room — are the one’s who make change.” A different Mayor might have taken exception to that comment. I’m told he was breaking into a big grin as he stood outside our circle, looking in. Later he said to me, “Do you know how amazing this room is? Can you feel the energy? I know the people in this room; I grew up with a lot of them. They are the ones who can lead our community.”

I shared stories that night from my work around the world. Start anywhere, follow the energy everywhere. Greet each other with curiosity, respect and generosity. Listen to each other as if you future depends on it — because it does. See your differences as strengths for the community. For the most part, I was just giving people some words for what they already knew.

Through the three days we used practices from Art of Hosting Conversations and FutureCenter work. We were in circles and in pairs and trios and world cafes and in silence. I’ll share the designs we started with later in this blog. I’m not going to try to summarize the meeting. If you want a glimpse, check the twitter feed: #OHR2016Summit, or in a few weeks checkout www.ourhighriver.com. But I do want to share a few things that that stood out for me.

One of the things we did on the second night was bring people into storytelling trios to share the story of a time they had stepped forward to offer their leadership. Afterwards, in our harvest circle, Shelly — one of the organizers — had this look of joy on her face. Her statement was simple: “This is amazing. I knew, but I didn’t really know. This community is filled with people with know how to step forward when the time is right.”

It’s a connected community. Earlier on the second day, Scott, a long time teacher in community, was saying to me, “So many here were my students. Jodi and Fawna were in my classroom. I had a sense of who they might become — and they have.” It was said with absolute pride. The next day I was listening in on a conversation when Bob said to another fellow, “I remember back when, you were a pretty good hockey player.” Throughout our time when I was asking people to form groups with those they didn’t know well, I’d hear some people commenting about how they knew almost everyone in the room. But it didn’t stop there because there were also many who were “new” to High River. They were welcomed with open arms. Some places that are community almost erect a barrier and subtly tell newcomers that they’re going to have to take several years to prove themselves before they’re really welcome. High River welcomes now. Maybe more so since the flood, but I am pretty sure this welcoming spirit has been around for a long time.

On the second day we did a world café around the question of what’s possible now in High River. Then after a break, I asked people to be in new trios and said, “How much of this is just blue sky crap? What do you really care about? Where do you want to place your attention and your work and your energy? What would you get behind?” We did a “sticky” harvest with post-it notes, asking people to write as many as they wanted — but with only one idea per sticky. And then we asked for a few volunteers to step forward over lunch to find the patterns in the notes. They found six:

Nourishment, Connection, Wellness, Vitality, Expression and Joy

Nourishment: food, farming, ecology
Connection: community building, especially with youth and seniors
Wellness: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
Vitality: economic development and tourism
Expression: arts and culture
Joy: events, parades, celebrations.

I loved the way they were thinking about their community. They didn’t create a list of projects; what they were really calling out were the characteristics of High River as a vibrant, thriving community. I was especially appreciative of how they talked about economic development — it was clearly and explicitly not an end in itself, it was a critical part of community vitality. Again and again I heard people affirming that they did not want to become a big box store town like Okotoks, a little to the north, and they certainly did not want to become a bedroom community for Calgary. They were determined to keep being a vibrant, healthy community.

Sure, there were projects in the room as well. There was Bob’s quiet and clear invitation that High River needs an attractive identity and he shared all of his brainstorming around bicycles to pedal that identity. Or Ted who lights up when he talks about even more possibilities with Christmas. Or Paula and Leslie who see what can and should be done to increase food sovereignty.

As we drew towards the end of our time on our third afternoon, I invited people into a NOW CAST, a new approach I created a couple of months ago in Japan. Looking back, I wish I had first invited people into an Open Space, springing forward from the patterns in our sticky harvest. This delving into specific projects and work will happen next through Our High River.

This is not complicated work. It is powerful work:

Convene People
Build Relationships
Find The Next Step
Illuminate What’s Happening

That is the work of Our High River. It, itself, is a growing self-organizing system. During the summit Our High River put out a call for “coaches” to support people in taking their ideas to action. Several stepped forward and said, “That’s my work.” Our High River put out the invitation for some to step forward to make meaning and make sense out of all the notes from these three days. People with that skill are stepping up. Meetings for next steps are already called by some people who are ready to go.

Is High River unique? Not so much. Is it special? Absolutely. Every community where people reach out across their differences and say, “We will do this together” is special. And there is something that inspires me. It’s the older woman who proudly announced on our third morning that she’s made her first Tweet (and the guy who said, he’d at least downloaded it to his phone.) It’s the moment of silence someone called in the circle for Dwight, a High River father of two, who had just taken his own life. It’s the man who said that he may not be alive much longer, and that he wanted to make at least one more difference.

This is a continuing story and it is the story of communities everywhere where people remember that anything is possible when they step out of isolation, let go of fears and judgments, greet each other with curiosity, respect and generosity, and roll up their sleeves to do what’s possible now.

For many years one of the principles I’ve worked with is: “Whatever the problem, community is the answer.” That shifted for me in High River: “Whatever the opportunity, community is the answer.” We’re living in an unusual time. Much is changing and the future is becoming more and more invisible. We just can’t see very far ahead anymore. When that happens, we have to bring our attention to NOW. To the people around us, to the resources we have at hand, and to the next steps we can take when we stand up and stand together.

For those interested in design: PDF of basic designs and flows we started with and which, of course, changed along the way

This blog was originally posted at NewStories.org, and appears here with permission.

Bob Stilger founded New Stories in 2000 because he needed new stories about true community transformation. Bob’s ideas and connections rippled into the co-creation of the Art of Hosting as well as the Berkana Exchange. He also pioneered the concept of Enspirited Leadership. In 2010 Bob was invited to introduce Art of Hosting to Japan — a spiritual home since his student days there in the early seventies. For the last five years Japan has been his main place of work.

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

A quartet of Atlantic Canada Liberal MPs are calling on their own government to sharply ramp up financial support for economic growth in the region even though the four Atlantic provinces already get more federal funding for economic development than Quebec, Ontario, or Western Canada.

The MPs, one from each Atlantic Canada province serving on what they’ve called the Atlantic Growth Strategy Subcommittee on Innovation, tabled the report Monday here. The MPs on the the subcommittee are Matt DeCourcey of Fredericton, Sean Casey of Charlottetown, Andy Fillmore of Halifax and Nick Whalen of St. John’s.

“Social enterprises, and not just businesses with potential for high growth, should be part of the federal government’s innovation plans”, says the federal Atlantic growth strategy innovation subcommittee.

The subcommittee makes a number of recommendations, including a stronger focus on supporting social enterprises.

The report says providing social enterprises with access to funding commensurate with that offered to for-profit companies will allow them “to demonstrate their value in reducing more expensive government intervention.”

The report notes social enterprises are not eligible for 95 per cent of federal programs and services, but are significant job creators. The report proposes a partnership including federal and provincial governments and private enterprise to create a new pre-seed capital fund. The fund would make investments in early-stage companies to support their growth.

A high-risk tolerance would be required for such a fund, the subcommittee notes, because there is a high failure rate in early-stage companies, but this can be offset by the possibility of greater successes.