English – Page 26 – Canadian CED Network

The Canadian CED Network’s Policy Council submitted a response to the federal government’s invitation for pre-budget submissions for the 2019 Federal Budget. This year, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance called for submissions that addressed Economic Growth: Ensuring Canada’s Competitiveness.

Read the full pre-budget submission

Our Recommendations for the 2019 Federal Budget

1. Advance Social Innovation and Social Finance
a.	Invest $375M to support the community priorities of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy
b.	Adopt framework legislation to embed a commitment to social innovation and social finance across the federal government, and create a multi-sectoral Social Innovation Council
c.	Create an Office of Social Innovation to promote interdepartmental collaboration in the implementation of the Strategy and coordinate reporting on progress
d.	Establish a National Social Innovation Knowledge Sharing Network
2. Make Canadian Businesses More Productive and Competitive
a.	Invest $5M over 2 years to expand the capacity and access of Canada Business Network services to social enterprise and co-operative sectors.
b.	Provide a supportive regulatory framework giving charities and non-profits more flexibility to pursue business models.
c.	Invest $75M over five years to support innovation networks and communities of practice
d.	Contribute to the capitalization of existing and emerging community-based social finance investment funds.
3. Help Canadians Be More Productive
a.	Invest $15M over three years for training, deployment and measurement to utilize social procurement policies.
b.	Engage stakeholders across sectors, including community leaders, to co-create a strong national strategy for Community Employment Benefits, with clear targets and common measures.
c.	Study the feasibility of a portable account, financed by contributions from workers, employers and the federal government, for Canadians to draw upon to pay for lifetime learning and job retraining.

Read the full pre-budget submission

The Manitoba Government has launched a Community Support Small Grant Program to provide funds for Manitoba’s non-profit and community-led organizations around the following key program objectives:

Build capacity within community organizations.
Support community driven goals that have a public benefit.
Prioritize innovative projects.
Increase the reach or effectiveness of successful projects.

Grants: Non-profit and community-led organizations can apply for one-time funding of up to a maximum of $20,000.00. Applicants must provide a minimum of 10% matching cash funding and only one application per organization per year will be considered. Projects must be completed by March 31, 2019.

Consultation Services: Recreation and Regional Services staff can assist community organizations with the application and the application process.

Eligibility Criteria: Non-profit and community-led organizations throughout Manitoba are eligible to apply for the Community Support Small Grant Program. Organizations must have been in existence for at least one year. Ineligible organizations include schools, hospitals, local governments and for profit organizations.

Eligible Costs:

Project labour and materials
Project supplies
Operational cost for equipment
Equipment and/or machinery lease costs
Promotional materials
Training
Rental/lease of project facilities for approved project
Equipment
Furniture / Appliances/Technology

Ineligible Costs:

Ongoing core operation costs
Vehicles
Music festivals
Competitions and tournaments
Centennials and homecomings
Travel costs
Projects that do not have public benefit

Grant Payment Process: Grants to successful applicants will receive an initial payment of up to 60% of grant upon receipt of signed agreement. A final payment of 40% of the grant will be made on submission of a final report. Grants of under $3,000 will receive full payment upon approval.

Application Process: Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis with notification made quarterly. If your community organization is planning a project, please contact your Recreation and Regional Services office to discuss how we can help.

Review the full program guidelines

Source: The Government of Manitoba

So a friend just shared an article with me about something called Localism. It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about these days. It’s a huge part of an organization I’ve mentioned before that continues to inspire me out of the UK called Locality.

But the paragraph my friend sent hits the nail right on the head of WHY this movement is so important:

It is a sleeper revolution. It flips the power structure. Under localism, the crucial power centre is at the tip of the shovel, where the actual work is being done. Expertise is not in the think tanks, but among those who have local knowledge, those with a feel for how things work in a specific place and an awareness of who gets stuff done. Success is not measured by how big you can scale, but by how deeply you can connect.

Another thing I’ve been thinking about is the SDG’s…

the_17_sustainable_development_goals.png

Has anyone even heard of the SDG’s? Not exactly top of mind these days. Should be. Every government in the United Nations is supposed to be promoting them, supporting them…

The idea is to create a better world for all by 2030. That’s not far off – and we’re really just starting to hear about the SDG’s now.

17 Goals. Yipes! That’s a lot. And seems very overwhelming. Where does one start? At the local level, of course.

Many communities are starting to do just that. Some great examples of how various municipalities are working to raise awareness of the SDG’s around the world are here.

In simpler terms though – the agenda for the SDG’s is about leaving no one behind. #leavenoonebehind

This is not new. An organization I’m on the board of called CCEDNet (Canadian Community Economic Development Network) and many other organizations have been working on this for AGES. BIG national conference on all this coming up in Moncton, NB in September too. Called EconoUs.

Whether we’re talking localism or the SDG’s – the point is to find ways to build strong, powerful and INCLUSIVE communities where everyone benefits from living in those communities.

What can we do? What role do the SDG’s have to play in all this?

It’s about the ‘sleeper revolution’. This is about each of us doing our bit. Connecting with each other on a human level – looking out for each other, our neighbours.

To me, this is what Localism, the SDG’s and all other rallying cries are really all about. Not that action at various other levels is not important – but we also need to realize we do have some power to make a difference AT. A. LOCAL. LEVEL.

So, what are you going to do? What can you do with your neighbours? What can you do at any level where you feel you have some power? Because we all do. It’s just a question of feeling it, and acting on it. We need to be the change we want to see happen in our communities – and we need to be it NOW.

Originally published as an article on Laurie Cook’s LinkedIn Profile

Laurie Cook is a Convenor with the Community Sector Council of Nova Scotia and project lead for the United Way Halifax‘s Hub Convening Project. She was also this past year a volunteer Member Liaison for the Atlantic Region of CCEDNet. Her passion is community development, and besides being active professionally in the field for a number of years as a facilitator and community developer, Laurie also lives in Musquodoboit Harbour which is a rural area of the city. In 2006, as a volunteer, she chaired a community visioning process which led to several community initiatives that she was also involved in co-founding. These included: redevelopment of an old school, design of a co-operative rural transportation service, development of a new women,s organization focused on economic empowerment for women and co-creation of a volunteer peer support group called Eastern Shore Mental Health.

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

The government needs to ‘do different,’ by rethinking the way they partner with social purpose organizations and empowering community-level responses to the challenges that matter to them. Let’s unleash the potential of social innovation and social finance to address Canada’s most intractable social and environmental challenges.

What is social innovation and social finance?

Many social purpose organizations are committed to finding transformative solutions, but we face barriers in our efforts.

That’s why the federal Government created a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy Co-Creation Steering Group. The Steering Group members – from across sectors and regions – led a nationwide engagement over the past year.

Find out what they heard in this brochure

Why is this important?

Social purpose organizations form a rich ecosystem as important contributors to both the economy and our collective-wellbeing. Our goal is to have a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy included in the 2019 federal budget, but we need your help!

So, how can you help?

Make your voice heard. Connect with your MP.

Inform them of your support for a Strategy.

Do you know who your MP is? Use your postal code to find out HERE

Participate in iMPact Day: Invite your MP to visit your organization

From August 15 to September 16, Imagine Canada is challenging MPs to visit social purpose organizations in their regions.

Sometimes the most convincing case is the one seen first hand. Use this opportunity to inform your MP about the real impact a government-supported Strategy could have for the challenges faced by their constituents. Learn more

Not able to participate in iMPact Day? There are other ways to get involved!

Send an email or mail a letter to your MP

To write an impactful letter, try to personalize it! Include relevant barriers you face, with examples of how social innovation and social finance improve outcomes.

For general tips to help you write a more effective letter, send an email to innovate4impact at sisfs.ca

Use Social Media

Tweet your MP using hashtags #innovate4impact #sisfs
Post in your riding’s Facebook Group
Share the video to spread the word about social innovation and social finance

benefits for workers and communities A new, landmark agreement for key public-sector infrastructure projects in B.C. will deliver good-paying jobs, better training and apprenticeships, and more trades opportunities for Indigenous peoples, women and youth around the province.

“With this agreement, we’re not just investing in roads, bridges and other infrastructure, we’re investing in good jobs and new opportunities for people who live in B.C. And with our focus on expanding apprenticeships for young British Columbians, we’re helping build B.C.’s next generation of construction workers.” Premier John Horgan

Highlights of the agreement include:

A targeted approach to maximizing apprenticeship opportunities on major public-infrastructure projects.
Focus on priority hiring and training of Indigenous peoples, and women.
Co-ordinated access to existing training programs, while identifying and addressing skills gaps.
Priority hiring for qualified individuals who live within close proximity of the projects.
Hiring flexibility for contractors, who can request named hires.
Wage alignment to prevailing industry rates to promote good wages for all employees.

The first projects to be delivered under the new community benefits framework are the new Pattullo Bridge, and the four-laning projects on the Trans-Canada Highway between Kamloops and Alberta. The request for qualifications (RFQ) for the Pattullo Bridge Replacement Project has been released.

Under government’s new Community Benefits Agreement, a diverse and qualified workforce will be supplied for select major public infrastructure projects through a newly created Crown corporation, BC Infrastructure Benefits Inc. (BCIB). BCIB will hire the project’s construction workers, and will work with unions and contractors to dispatch labour, as well as manage payroll and benefits.

Signatories to the Community Benefits Agreement are BCIB, and the Allied Infrastructure and Related Construction Council (AIRCC), which represents many of B.C.’s building trades. Contractors representing B.C.’s construction industry played an important advisory role as the agreement was developed.

Key benefits of labour agreement

The Community Benefits Agreement allows government to make sure that local people and communities get long-lasting benefits from public investments into major infrastructure projects, while maximizing the number of contractors that can bid on major infrastructure projects.

Key benefits of the negotiated labour agreement include:

Apprenticeships:

Increased apprenticeships in the skilled trades is essential to the development of British Columbia’s workforce.
Targets will be aligned with the Government Apprenticeship Policy to maximize work-based training and opportunities to grow the skilled workforce.

Training:

The development of construction skills for persons other than the Red Seal apprentices is essential to the development of British Columbia’s workforce.
Wherever possible, existing government training programs and services will be leveraged. Training needs will be assessed for each project, and a process will be established to co-ordinate the development of new training where gaps exist, in collaboration with training partners and building trades councils, as required.

Indigenous and under-represented groups:

This agreement provides incremental and prioritized opportunities for the participation of Indigenous peoples and other traditionally under-represented groups on government infrastructure projects, in a safe environment that is free from discrimination and harassment.
Government has an existing consultation and accommodation process to address impacted Indigenous groups on projects. This process will continue and not be affected by the implementation of a labour agreement.
In addition, Indigenous peoples, women, and other traditionally under-represented groups will now have priority access to employment and training opportunities.

Local people and businesses:

When local workers have greater access to work opportunities in their communities, local people can, in turn, build, invest and stay in their communities.

Wages:

Wages have been negotiated to align with industry wages, based on prevailing construction rates.
This provides good-paying jobs to workers on these projects, and provides cost certainty to government.

Source: BC Government News – Office of the Premier

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