Themes: Policy Development & Advocacy

The following community economic development champions ask that the City of Calgary explore how it can enhance social procurement. Social procurement leverages existing buying power to increase community benefits, which…

This report examines the key success factors for designing effective community benefits requirements for large transit infrastructure projects and how their success can be monitored, tracked and measured – particularly…

Advancing race equity and inclusion can sometimes seem daunting and often leaves many wondering how and where to start. One way to achieve social change in an organization is to incorporate…

The BC Rural Centre believes that a vehicle like Nova Scotia’s  Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF) would be an ideal way to repatriate a portion of the investment funds…

Communities across British Columbia require new ways to access capital for sustainable business development, social enterprise, environmental sustainability and local food systems. Rural, northern, indigenous and urban communities all face…

Employment and skills training programming and services in Canada are supported and delivered by both federal and provincial/territorial governments. The federal government provides funding to provinces and territories through four major bilateral…

The economic challenges of the 21st century are daunting. Rapid urbanization resulting from large-scale displacements of populations, with attendant crises of mass poverty and unemployment, threaten to persist well into…

We are at a pivotal moment in Canadian politics. In 2015, a new Liberal government was elected on a wave of public desire for more: more empathy, more investment, more…

This second edition of Job Creation and Local Economic Development examines how national and local actors can better work together to support economic development and job creation at the local…

Languages are more than demographic or cultural characteristics. Canada’s official languages are gateways to new markets, innovative partnerships, and strategic business and labour market information. Canada’s two official languages and…

This report of the Commission Expert Group on Social Entrepreneurship (GECES) represents a call for action issued to the European Commission, Member States and social enterprises organisations. It argues for…

First Nations reconciliation has to include rebuilding local economies. Problem solvers such as social enterprises, social entrepreneurs and the small farm movement are demonstrating we can tackle society’s most stubborn…