SERC 3 WorkPlan – 2007-2008 Year

SERC 3 has identified the following broad priorities for our research agenda over the next four years. 1. Strategic Framing of Context – Contextual analysis that helps us understand the drivers, assets and deficits implicated in the evolution of the social economy. 2. Understanding the Development System – The web of supports that support the formation and expansion of enterprises that use business means to advance social goals can be understood as a development system. It involves development finance (equity and credit), human resource development, promotion planning, research, advocacy and technical assistance. Development systems can be analyzed at different scales. The extent to which such systems are organized, strategic and adequately resourced have a major impact on the scale and growth potential of the social economy. In addition, the extent to which linkages are strong (or not) between function focused organizations and territorial focused development organizations will be analyzed. 3. Tracking Impacts – Tracking progress at the enterprise, development system and policy level is necessary to improve practice, strengthen development systems and design more effective policy supports. 4. Policy Research Asset/Gap Analysis – It is evident from other jurisdictions that public policies and investment is one important component influencing the positive expansion of the social economy. Understanding selected jurisdictions and analyzing the specific contexts in Alberta and B.C. are an important area of research. 5. Community Development Finance – Community development finance is the provision of capital (in either equity or credit formats) for purposes of advancing community economic development and the social economy. It specifically integrates social goals into the financing equation, seeking a social and financial return on employed capital. 6. Leadership Formation – From how our children are socialized to the scarcity of development management talent (those social entrepreneurs and activists that mobilize, leverage and manage the processes that lead to community revitalization and advance of the social economy) is an area the SERC will be scoping out more clearly in the early stages of the BALTA evolution.SERC 3 has chosen to elevate key questions as being central to the strategic vision it advances for its work. Together they speak to context and how we understand the social economy – its drivers, the obstacles it faces and an analysis of its current efficacy in response to various specific contexts