3ci Researcher Sean MacKinnon, with the assistance of Urszula Adamik, Michelle Guevara and Heather Wood, have prepared a primer intended to provide insight and a brief introduction for organizations looking towards the possibility of starting a social enterprise. Please click here to access the primer.
Report on Social Metrics
Dr. Tessa Hebb's research study provides further insight into the use of social metrics in Canada and the ways in which the social metrics field can be further advanced in Canada. Please click here to access the report.
Academic Director Frances Abele collaborating with Dechinta Bush University
Academic director Frances Abele is a collaborator with the Dechinta Bush University, a community-developed northern study and learning centre. Click here to see a presentation by Erin Freeland Ballantyne on Dechinta.
Carleton Centre for Community Innovation receives $1-million SSHRC Grant for Responsible Investing Research
(Ottawa, May 25, 2011) − The Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3ci) at Carleton University has received a five-year, $1-million Community University Research Alliance Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to investigate responsible investing in Canada and around the world.
Building on a previous three-year Knowledge Impact in Society Grant, the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation is fast becoming one of the world’s centres of excellence in advancing our understanding of responsible investing and shareholder impacts on the environmental, social and governance standards of companies. Please click here for more...
Leveraging Private Capital for Public Good
On March 2nd, 2011, 3ci hosted a day‐long symposium on social enterprises and social finance solutions. Canada’s civil society organizations face increasing social and environmental challenges in a period of growing fiscal constraints. Lasting solutions to these challenges will require a commitment to
innovation. This symposium explored opportunities to address social and environmental challenges through social enterprise and social finance. Please click here to access the presentations and summaries of the day's discussions.
3ci Researchers present papers at ICASS VII in Iceland
Two researchers from the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation have the opportunity to present papers at the International Arctic Social Sciences Association meeting this June. This is the Seventh International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, the theme of which is “Circumpolar Perspectives in Global Dialogue: Social Sciences beyond the International Polar Year.” This meeting occurs once every three years, and will be hosted this year in Akureyri, Iceland by the University of Akureyri and the Stefansson Arctic Institute. Joshua Gladstone and Sheena Kennedy will be attending the event on 22-26 June, 2011.
Joshua Gladstone, a Ph.D. candidate at Carleton’s School of Public Policy and Administration will present his two papers, “Evaluating the Effects of Comprehensive Land Claims Agreements in Canada: An Aboriginal Policy Perspective”; and “Rationality and Justice in Arctic Development Policy: The Case of Nunavut.”
Sheena Kennedy, a graduate of the MA program at Carleton’s school of Public Policy and Administration will present her paper “Toward a New Development Framework: Modeling Northern Economies, a look at Igloolik, Nunavut.” This paper contributes to Sheena Kennedy’s ongoing research on the topics of social economy and economic development in northern communities.
The papers will be posted on our website in the coming weeks.
Learn more about the Seventh International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences here.
Nick Falvo & Arlene Haché
Launch Policy Report on Homelessness
June 3, 2011 – Last week, the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation’s Nick Falvo and his community partner Arlene Haché were in Yellowknife launching their recent policy report on homelessness. Falvo and Haché have been engaged with the project since 2009. The full report, entitled “Homelessness in Yellowknife: An Emerging Social Challenge.”, synthesizes local knowledge on the issue, compares and contrasts Yellowknife with other jurisdictions, and makes five policy recommendations “regarding the need for increased accountability, shelter standards, more housing options for the homeless, and a public health response to alcohol and drug use.” Homelessness in Yellowknife is an “important and timely topic” for the community, and the launching of Falvo’s report has received significant attention from media sources such as CBC News, CBC Radio, Northern News Services, and CJCD Mix 100 News.
See the full report here, and full video footage of the Policy Report Launch in Yellowknife here.
Also, see Nick Falvo and Arlene Haché’s presentation here.
Leveraging Canadian Shareholders to Effect Change in Corporate Governance: A Case Study
3ci Research Associate Heather Hachigian recently completed her research paper for her Masters program at the Carleton School of Public Policy and Administration under the supervision of Dr. Tessa Hebb and Dr. Graeme Auld. This paper is part of an ongoing research agenda at 3ci on the impact of corporate engagement. The paper focuses on the ‘Say on Pay’ engagement campaign of the Canadian PRI signatory SHARE. Interviews with investors and corporate representatives explore the impact of the engagement from a multi-stakeholder perspective.
The paper concludes that cooperation between the state and institutional investors leads to effective leveraging of the investor's legitimacy, urgency and power to coerce or encourage more corporations to change their ESG behaviour. Recognizing that public policy has a key role to play, the paper suggests avenues for enhancing corporate governance in Canada through a hybrid framework. Please click here to view the working paper.
Igloolik Socio-Economic Baseline Study Presented to the Hamlet Council of Igloolik
Sheena Kennedy and Frances Abele presented the final report for the 2009-2010 Igloolik Socio-Economic Baseline Study to the Hamlet Council of Igloolik in February. The study was a joint project between the Igloolik Hamlet Council and Carleton University. The purpose of the study was to document the economy of Igloolik as it was in 2009-10, taking into account all aspects of the economy including waged work, unpaid and volunteer work, harvesting, businesses, and artistic production. Two surveys were conducted by a team of community researchers led by Sheena Kennedy - a household survey of 95% of Igloolik households, and a detailed individual survey of two hundred Igloolik adults. Employment information was also collected from the businesses and community organizations in town; and focus groups were held near the end of the study to talk about the results in detail with different segments of the population.
The project was designed as a baseline study so that the Hamlet of Igloolik could repeat the project in the future to measure changes to the community over time, brought about by internal and external influences such as environmental changes, major resource development projects and shifts in demographics.
The information collected for the study will be available to the community in a variety of forms:
An Executive Summary Report available in English and Inuktitut, containing the highlights from the surveys.
A Reference Report that provides a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the data collected from the surveys, and the analysis developed from the focus groups.
A Presentation available in English and Inuktitut containing an overview of the project and some key highlights from the report.
Showcasing their Success: Alterna Savings' Microfinance Program
Please click on the above link to view the new Alterna short film on the impact of microfinance program at Alterna.
3ci Senior Research Fellow, Ted Jackson, along with Research Assistant Michele Tarsilla, undertook an evaluation of the Community-Micro-Loan Program of Alterna Savings Credit Union in Toronto. The research demonstrates the effectiveness of the program in helping to increase participants’ income, improve their housing, spur job creation and reduce their dependence on social assistance. For a summary of the findings of the evaluation, click here…
3ci is pleased to announce the launch of
aboriginal policy studies is a new online, peer-reviewed and multidisciplinary journal that publishes original, scholarly, and policy relevant research on issues relevant to Métis, non-status Indians and urban Aboriginal peoples in Canada. aps seeks articles by and for a wide audience of scholars, researchers, community activists, and policymakers. Though focused on the Canadian milieu, comparative work from an international Indigenous context pertinent to Canadian readers is welcomed. A similarly broad scope of methodological approaches is encouraged. Please click here to view the first volume, that features 3ci Director Frances Abele & 3ci Senior Research Fellow, Katherine Graham’s article, What Now? Future Federal Responsibilities Towards Aboriginal People Living in Cities.The journal also includes a review of the Heather McGregor book Inuit Education and Schools in the Eastern Arctic, by 3ci Research Associate Sheena Kennedy. Dr. Abele is also a member of the editorial board. Please submit your articles through http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps.
Yellowknife's Voluntary and Nonprofit Sector: A Portrait of a Northern Social Economy
3ci Research Associate Jerald Sabin has released a report on the state of the voluntary and nonprofit sector in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The report formed part of the community-led initiative started in June 2009 to examine the state of Yellowknife’s social economy, assess its current structure and organization, and explore its evolving relationships with Government of Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, and the City of Yellowknife. It argues that both federal and territorial governments have failed to provide an adequate public support system for the northern social economy, creating a universe of lost opportunity in a territory where the cost of social provision remains high and the needs distinctive. The report is being released in partnership with the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada.
Earthscan Announces the Launch of the Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment
In response to the growing need among scholars, policy-makers and investment practitioners, Earthscan has launched the Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment. The first of its kind, the journal provides for a broad debate on the meanings of investing and sustainability and how these might be played out in the financial markets.
Can Canada build a robust impact investing marketplace? It can—but it’s going to take a whole lot of working together.
Read the Canadian Social Finance Task Force’s report to find out what individuals and organizations across the country will have to do to:
• Mobilize new sources of capital
• Develop an enabling tax and regulatory environment
• Provide social entrepreneurs with the needed businesses to launch, operate and scale their innovative ideas
Twenty-five years ago, students from across Canada joined activists and politicians to push for divestment from apartheid South Africa. Today, their sights are on the Middle East. Carleton University's student union last week passed a motion calling on the university's administration to adopt socially responsible investment practices for its $700-million pension fund.
The motion doesn't single out any specific country or region, but instead specifies "illegal occupation" as one reason for divestment. Others include war crimes, crimes against humanity and poor labour or environmental records.
Carleton's current pension fund has no binding ethical-investment rules. Such practices encourage investment in companies that protect the environment, respect human rights and rights of oppressed groups and ethical labour and consumer practices. They also discourage investment in businesses involved in weapons, war, human rights abuses, oppressive regimes, environmental damage, unethical business and labour practices, animal exploitation, pornography, tobacco, gambling, and alcohol.
Frobisher Bay January 2011: Late June weather in early January.
Photo by Jack Hicks, Iqaluit.
For more on our Northern Research, please click here...
University Capital, Community Engagement and Continuing Education: Blending Professional Development and Social Change
Ted Jackson's article, "University Capital, Community Engagement and Continuing Education: Blending Professional Development and Social Change," was recently published in the Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education. The article argues that interest is growing in Canada in the responsible investing of university endowments and pension funds, and that there are new social-finance tools and instruments with which to channel prudent allocations of these capital pools into affordable housing projects and social enterprises, among other social investments. The paper proposes continuing education programs for university administrators, investment processionals, community activists and union members to advance this new area of community-development practice. Please click here to access the article.
Homeless in the Homeland:A Growing Problem For Indigenous People in Canada's North
3ci researchers, Dr. Frances Abele and Nick Falvo, have a short piece out on homelessness amongst Indigenous people in Canada's North. It appears in the current edition of Parity and is co-authored with their community partner, Arlene Haché (Executive Director, Yellowknife Women's Society). Please click here to access the article.
Webinar
3ci and the Canadian Community Investment Network (CCINC) hosted
Lessons for Community Finance for the 2008-2009 Financial Crisis
Webinar with Michael Swack
Update: Please click here to access the audio recording of the webinar as well as the PowerPoint presentation.
December 2nd, 2010 2 pm – 3 pm
Michael Swack is a Professor at the University of New Hampshire where he has appointments at the Carsey Institute and the Whittemore School of Business and Economics. He is convener of the Financial Innovations Roundtable (FIR) that he describes as “not only a think tank, but a “think-do” tank. Some of the most successful ideas developed at the FIR have been implemented, resulting in new tools, policies and practices that have resulted in millions of dollars being directed into investments in affordable housing, small and minority businesses, community facilities and other community development efforts.” Michael will bring insights from his new book, Capital Markets, CDFIs, and Organizational Credit Risk.
Jed Emerson has extensive experience leading, staffing and advising funds, firms, social ventures and foundations pursuing financial performance with social/environmental impact. He is an internationally recognized Thought Leader in sustainability and sustainable finance, blended value, impact investing, social entrepreneurship and strategic philanthropy. Emerson has played founder roles with some of the nation's leading venture philanthropy, community venture capital and social enterprises. He is a Senior Fellow with Generation Investment Management (David Blood and Al Gore) and a Senior fellow with the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School at Oxford University.
The hour and a half -hour session explored social finance, impact investing, mission-based investing, and social return on investment. See below for video excerps of Jed Emerson's presentation. Please click here for his PowerPoint.
Regrouping, Recalibrating, Reloading: Strategies
for Financing Civil Society in Post-Recession Canada1
Please click here to access Ted Jackson's article, prepared for publication in The Philanthropist. Parts of this paper were presented to the International Conference on the Financing of Civil Society Organizations in North America, Valle de Bravo, Mexico, March 2010.
Nick Falvo Presents at the 44th Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association
3ci Researcher Nick Falvo recently presented a paper on the Great Recession's impact on homelessness, at the 44th Annual Conference of the Canadian Economics Association (May 28-30, Quebec City). Please click here to access the paper.
New Working Paper, State and Society in a Northern Capital:
Yellowknife’s Social Economy in Hard Times
On June 1, 2010, 3ci Academic Director Frances Abele and Research Associate Jerald Sabin will present their work on the Yellowknife social economy at the Canadian Political Science Association (CPSA) Annual Conference in Montreal, Quebec. The paper, titled “State and Society in a Northern Capital: Yellowknife’s Social Economy in Hard Times,” explores the relationship between the state and Yellowknife’s voluntary and nonprofit sector. It argues that both federal and territorial governments have failed to provide an adequate public support system for the northern social economy, creating a universe of lost opportunity in a territory where the cost of social provision remains high and the needs distinctive. Click here to read the working paper.
The Canadian CED Network names Karim Harji June 2010 Practitioner of the Month
Research Associate Karim Harji has been selected by CCEDNet as their practitioner of the month for June, 2010. Please click here to access their profile on Karim.
The Canadian CED Network is a member-led organization committed to strengthening communities by creating economic opportunities that improve environmental and social conditions.
3ci Director Tessa Hebb and Research Associate Karim Harji guest editors of Special Edition of Making Waves "Capital for Communities"
3ci Evaluation Documents Positive Outcomes of Alterna’s Micro-Loan Program
An evaluation undertaken by the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation of the Community-Micro-Loan Program of Alterna Savings Credit Union in Toronto demonstrates the effectiveness of the program in helping to increase participants’ income, improve their housing, spur job creation and reduce their dependence on social assistance. The evaluation suggests that governments can play a role in expanding micro-loan programs among credit unions and other financial institutions across Canada. Supervised by Centre Chair Ted Jackson and carried out by Evaluator Michele Tarsilla, the study was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. For a summary of the findings of the evaluation, click here…
Labour Market Group of Refrew & Lanark Produces LEAP Video
The Labour Market Group of Renfrew & Lanark has produced a video with testimonials from LEAP program participants. Please click here to see particpants explain how LEAP works, how it has helped them improve their employability skills and how the after-program coaching assists them to achieve their goals.
Canada and New Zealand: Connections, Comparisons & Challenges
9-10 February, Pipitea Campus, Victoria University of Wellington
3ci Senior Research Fellow Katherine Graham was a member of Institutional Modes of Indigenous-State Relations panel at the international conference celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations between Canada and New Zealand. Please click here to access CANADA AND NEW ZEALAND: FORMULATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STATE AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, a working paper by
Frances Abele and Katherine A. H. Graham, or click on the image to access Katherine Graham's presentation.
Nick Falvo Presents Homelessness and Affordable Housing In the NWT to the Yellowknife Rotary Club
On Thursday, February 18, Nick Falvo was invited to make a presentation on his research to the Yellowknife Rotary Club. The presentation was very well-received. Following the presentation, Nick received multiple requests for meetings from interested Rotary members.
LEAP Program Launch, Cornwall Ontario
3ci – the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation is very pleased to announce the launch of its new LEAP Program in Cornwall, Ontario with its partners, the Stormont, Dundas, & Glengarry Community Futures Development Corporation and the Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre.
30 participants assembled in downtown Cornwall to take part in the program orientation and launch activity. For the next three months they will pursue weekly workshops and real-world activities designed to foster hands-on entrepreneurial approaches to their working lives. After the formal delivery of the program, participants will continue to receive coaching support from the LEAP team, as well as access to services from our partners. The high level of enrollment is a direct result of three exploratory workshops delivered in the region by LEAP Lead Coach Shawn MacDonell last fall, as well as subsequent word-of-mouth and vigorous grass-roots promotion by our partners.
With this LEAP pilot we are growing out of the pilot phase of our project with the commitment and active involvement and support from of our Stormont, Dundas, & Glengarry partner agencies dedicated to entrepreneurship and employability. Thanks especially here to Gay Hamilton’s forward-thinking approach and Alyssa Blais and Terry Besner’s energetic outreach, in taking the “leap” with us.
The LEAP Program is a project sponsored by the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (HRSDC) and is intended is to connect nationally with other organizations seeking to foster entrepreneurial culture in rural and remote Canadian communities. We want to change the way employability training and entrepreneurial development is delivered in Canada and link our project with other great work being done in partnership initiatives across the country. For those interested in learning more about the project, contact Peter MacGibbon.
The Next Generation of Responsible Investing
The UN PRI in conjunction with The Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3ci) hosted the international conference on "The Next Generation of Responsible Investing” on October 1st to 3rd in Ottawa. The successful conference brought together 90 of the world's leading Responsible Investment academics and practitioners.
3ci Director Frances Abele Receives 2010 Research Achievement Award
3ci Director Frances Abele is among ten Carleton faculty to receive the 2010 Research Achievement Award. Valued at $15,000, the annual RAA was established in 1989 to recognize and promote research excellence.
Dr. Abele’s proposed research will examine the changing role of federal, Aboriginal, territorial and local states in the northern economy in Canada to understand how public expenditure and natural resource development can be shaped to improve northerners’ capacity to sustain stable healthy local economies in over 100 small, Aboriginal communities of northern Canada.
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