What's New

October 9 - BCSER Provides Feedback on Government Procurement
The BCSER along with the Enterprising Non-Profits Program participated in a feedback session with Minister Michael Fortier and Parliamentary Secretary James Moore from the Ministry of Public Works and Government Services Canada. The session was to provide feedback to the minister on the challenges small and medium enterprises face when doing business with the federal government. A short briefing note was prepared on issues facing social economy enterprises.  Click here for the media release.  Click here to download the briefing note.

September 7, 2007 - Business and Economics Textbooks Overlook Co-operatives
A September 5th Toronto Star article highlights a recent study conducted through the Social Economy Centre at the University of Toronto. The research by professor Daniel Schugurensky and MA student Erica McCollum of OISE/University of Toronto, examined the contents of 22 business textbooks.  In general, these textbooks had very little about non-profits and co-operatives. When all of the materials referring to co-operatives were totalled, they amounted to 35 pages, or 0.3 per cent of the 11,375 pages in the 22 books. A similar study in 1995 (by professor Jack Quarter and then PhD student Alison Davidson also of OISE/UT), upon which the current study was based, had strikingly similar findings. Read the article by clicking on this link: www.thestar.com/article/253481

July 18, 2007 - enp Orientation Dates Announced
Enterprising Non-Profits (enp) has announced the dates for its Fall Orientation sessions.  To find our more about the sessions and enp, visit their website.

April 16, 2007 - Southern Ontario Social Economy Node Launches eZine
Learn about the the Social Economy Centre at OISE/UofT and read about the work of the Southern Ontario Social Economy Node. The E-Zine updates the Node's projects (including the census and mapping project carried out by On Co-op), interesting resources, and much, much more. Click here to download the eZine.

March 28, 2007 - CSEHub To Host 4th Telelearning Session on Policies in Québec and Manitoba
How has Community Economic Development (CED) policy evolved into a larger social economy agenda? How could it evolve in the future? To explore the answers to these questions and more, join John Loxley, from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and a second speaker (to be announced), in this exciting telelearning session. Click here for more details.

March 27, 2007 - 2007 Bologna Summer Program for Co-operative Studies Details Announced
Today the BC Co-operative Association, along with Vancity and the Faculty of Economics, University of Bologna, announced details for the 2007 edition of the Bologna Summer Program on Co-operative Studies. The program is a highly anticipated event, a unique opportunity to pursue advanced level co-op studies in one of the world's most elegant cities. Click here for more details.

March 27, 2007 - CCEDNet National Conference Less Than A Month Away
The 2007 National Community Economic Development (CED) Conference is being organized by the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet), in partnership with local host Futures in Newfoundland and Labrador's Youth (FINALY!). Click here for more details.

March 12, 2007 - Sign Your Social Enterprise Up with the Canadian Social Enterprise Marketplace
The Marketplace was created to encourage purchasers to support social enterprise business growth to help achieve our local social goals! Your social enterprise will benefit from enp's webpresence - we had over 118,000 hits and 10,000 visits in February alone. Your listing will also help ENP in its sector building and policy work by demonstrating the value, vibrancy and diversity of social enterprise across Canada. Click here to sign up today.

January 31, 2007 - Charting the Right Course Paper Online
Prepared for the BCSER round table discussion hosted at the 2007 Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise, this paper outlines the main issues facing the social economy in BC. Click here to download this five-page paper (in PDF format).

January 11, 2007 - Federal Government Grants $22.8 Million for the Growth of Quebec Social Economy Enterprises
The Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of Labour and Minister of Canada Economic Development, today announced that an agreement has been signed with the Fiducie du Chantier de l'économie sociale to formally establish an investment fund for social economy enterprises. Click here for more details.

December 8, 2006 - New Statistics About Canada's Nonprofit Sector
Statistics Canada today released the Satellite Account of Non-profit Institutions and Volunteering 1997 to 2003. It provides statistics about economic activity from 1997 and 2003 in the “core non-profit sector” and in the whole sector (including hospitals, colleges and universities). The study showed that in 2003, the core nonprofit sector accounted for 2.6% of Canada's economy, which is a GDP of $29.1B - about twice the size of the motor vehicle manufacturing industry and larger than the accommodation and food services industry. Click here for a summary. Click here for the full report (PDF format). Both CBC and CanWest News Service covered the release.

November 29, 2006 - SSEC Pushing Social Enterprise Onto Political Agenda
The Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition (SSEC), an advocate and think-tank for social enterprise in Scotland, is calling upon politicians to bring the issue of social enterprise to the forefront of upcoming campaigns.As part of their formal appeal, the lobby group released a manifesto at the Scottish Parliament on Nov 15 entitled, “Bigger, Better, Bolder – Social Enterprise Solutions for Scotland.” SSEC is pushing the notion that social enterprises are key to overcoming challenges the country is experiencing in economic growth, public services, and sustainable development. To learn more, visit the Scottish Social Enterprise Coalition.