As I ponder how we analyze a community economy, I think I am starting to understand my continual aversion to the on-going efforts to ‘map social economy’ or ‘mapping social enterprise’. And it may not be just my irrational obstinate character!

This new perspective comes from having just spent some time reading about “the map is not the territory,” a phrase coined in 1933 by the father of general semantics, Alford Korzybski; and following Dr. Peter Hall’s suggestion, reading the book “Seeing Like a State.”

I am realizing the difference is simply between static pictures of what is there in a snapshot at the time of the mapping and being able to express the dynamic relationships of what is happening among the components of the map.

The ‘territorial relationship’ perspective also appears in an academic review of business guru Peter Drucker’s organizational analysis. The concept reflects the early ecosystems analysis by author Fritjof Capra (The Tao of Physics & The Turning Point particularly). And I am learning it is common in some therapeutic models.

One author describes mapping alone as an Aristotelian view of reality (cause & effect), rather than the capacity to reflect the vibrancy offered by a Quantum analysis (relationships). The framework is so much broader than I had anticipated.

Peter Pula of Axiom News in a blog adds “Over lunch one day, a day in which David Cooperrider was incredibly generous with his time, we were discussing the work of discovering strengths in people, organizations and systems as an approach to constructive journalism. He said, it’s about even more than discovering strengths these days; it’s about discovering where the energy is in a system. Another clinker. Where is the energy in the system?”

Anne Jamieson of TEF and Chair of the Ontario Social Economy Roundtable helped my understanding as well: “My thoughts are that mapping can be useful – for people who are new to the sector and are trying to navigate the ‘who’s who’ of the social economy/social enterprise sector. I have always worried about ‘mapping’ being a distraction, and requiring an investment of resources far greater than the benefit. Not to mention, that maps are static, quickly out-of-date, and in no way able to explain the dynamic relationships that exist.

Let’s avoid ‘mapping’ and focus building our networks, so that newcomers can join them and learn about the relationships that way. Let’s also build good directories that are targeting specific audiences (consumers or corporations, geographic regions), and are commonly accepted in the business world; keep them simple, and as up-to-date as possible, and avoid worrying about duplication – again, businesses are used to registering on many different directories, and purchasers are used to searching in a variety of places.”

All of these discussions are leading to some fascinating and evolving considerations of how do we map, design, and participate in the dynamic relationships, the “territory” of a community economy. So more to follow…

​This post was originally published on the Accelerating Social Impact CCC’s website on November 17, 2014.

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David LePage is a Principal with Accelerating Social Impact CCC, Ltd. (ASI), one of Canada’s first incorporated social purpose hybrid corporations. David is the former Team Manager of Enterprising Non-Profits, where he led the effort to expand the enp social enterprise development and training model across Canada. He initiated Canada’s first Social Purchasing Portal in 2003. He is currently involved in multiple public policy initiatives and research projects to support the social enterprise ecosystem across Canada. 

Originally published on Momentum’s blog Engage on December 16, 2014

Momentum’s Self Employment program has offered business training to Calgarians since 1998. Because our participants face barriers such as disability, income level, or low education, they would have difficulty starting a business on their own. Still, we know that with the right supports, these individuals can be successful launching a business that will improve their livelihood and maybe even create jobs for others. After 20 years and 700 participants, we have a fine-tuned model that comes with a powerful promise.

With Momentum, you can launch a business in 10 weeks. And it will pay off—for you, and for those that invest in you.

We aren’t into empty promises, so this fall Momentum commissioned Dr. Emery and Dr. Kneebone from the University of Calgary to conduct an economic evaluation of the Self Employment program. Specifically, we wanted to know the impact on incomes of participants, and on the budgets of the Government of Canada and Province of Alberta. Why these governments? Because they invest the money needed to operate the program, and because they get the benefit of increased tax payments and reduced dependency on social services.

The results are in, and they are astonishing:

• The average participant’s income grew by 250%.
• For every dollar invested, between $7 and $19 is generated and returned to the community.

Not only do participants experience big growth in their earnings, but they grow in other asset areas as well. Here are some comments I heard first-hand at a recent business launch event.

“As a new person to Calgary, my classmates are the first people I befriended here.”

“Momentum’s Self Employment program has changed my perspective on life.”

And my favourite:

“Even my MBA didn’t teach me this much.”

In fact, the results show that even an MBA can’t provide this powerful an economic return, either. Here’s Dr. Emery’s perspective:

“Over the past 30 years, when comparing the income gains of university and college graduates (over a high school graduate) to the cost of those degrees and diplomas, the Internal Rate of Return is generally less than 10% but the investment in that education is considered a good one since it yields double the return of a benchmark asset like a government bond at 5%.

When applying the same methodology to evaluating the return to investment on Momentum’s Self Employment program the annual returns are between 96% and 400%. This reflects the high social costs and impacts of barriers to employment for the population the Momentum program is serving. For not a lot of money invested, society gets a very high rate of return.” – J.C.H. Emery, PhD

What Dr. Emery is saying is that not only do our participants earn higher incomes after the program, but they contribute 10 times the economic value to the governments that invest in them, when compared to the return on investment of a university education. And it only takes six months.

I feel great admiration for my colleagues that work in the Self Employment program. They are truly remarkable change-makers. Congratulations, everyone, on these results.

We have published a summary of the research on our website if you’d like to learn more.

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Carolyn Davis is the Community Relations Director at Momentum, a Calgary based CED organization and founding member of the Canadian CED Network. Momentum partners with people living on low incomes to increase prosperity and inspires the development of local economies with opportunities for all.

 

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