The Social Economy In BC

The social economy, by definition, is influenced a lot by the environment and context in which it exists. Therefore the social economy, although grounded by many common principles, will look different in British Columbia, than it does in other Canadian provinces, and also different than elsewhere in the world.


BC Talks About the Social Economy

In the summer of 2005, the BCSER hosted a number of regional forums across the province to discuss the social economy. These discussions were part of the Roundtable's foundational work.

There were nine one-day forums that engaged participants (community economic development and social economy organizations and practitioners, and those people/organizations wishing to know more and get involved) in a dialogue on how to grow and strengthen capacity of the social economy sector and social enterprises within their community/region.

Read the summary report (in Word format) for each forum to see how the social economy (and the understanding of it) differs even within the province:
Abbotsford
Courtenay
Kamloops
Kelowna
Prince George
Vancouver
Victoria
Terrace
Trail

Explore the BC Social Economy

Also in 2005, the BCSER undertook an extensive mapping process, attempting to document the breadth and depth of social economy activity across BC. Click here to explore the resulting directory (or “online map”). It is a great way to find out who is doing what around the province and to connect to social economy catalysts as well as some of the exciting activities taking place throughout the province.


BC Stories

Nothing illustrates the impact of the social economy clearer than reading some of the amazing BC stories. We’ve collected a number of social economy stories and examples and you can read them all in the Some Examples section.


How Does BC Differ From Elsewhere?

Have a look for yourself. Click here to go to our Links section, where we have compiled a list of social economy websites in other areas.