Announcing the First CIRIEC World Research Conference on the Social Economy!

From October 22 to 24, 2007, researchers, senior practitioners and government officials will meet at Victoria’s Fairmont Empress Hotel to hear about the latest research on the Social Economy and discuss its implication for public policy and the development of Social Economy organizations.

The conference will focus on the theme Strengthening and Building Communities: The Social Economy in a Changing World, and will also examine four sub-themes:

1. The Social Economy in communities: an international view
2. The Social Economy and governance
   
3. The Social Economy facing globalization
   
4. The Social Economy facing the reconfiguration of the State

In addition to the two days of conference, pre-conference study tours will be held for Social Economy organizations in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. A Call for Papers will be sent out in late September 2006. If you are interested in participating, more information on the Conference can be found at: www.socialeconomyhub.ca/conference

The Fairmont Empress Hotel has made rooms available for conference participants at a special conference rate ranging from $99 to $139 per night. Make sure you reserve your room in advance to get access to these rates.

This Conference is organized by the Canadian Social Economy Hub, CIRIEC International and CIRIEC Canada.

CIRIEC is the International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy. It has branches in a number of countries and its headquarters is in Belgium. www.ulg.ac.be/ciriec and www.uquam.ca. In 2006, CIRIEC is celebrating its 60th birthday as an organization. CIRIEC publishes working papers and Annals of Public, Social and Cooperative Economics. The Annals are available through Blackwell Publishing www.blackwellpublishing.com. The working papers are available through CIRIEC.

Social Economy and the Federal, Provincial, First Nations and Local Governments: One-Day Forum

A one-day forum will be held on October 25, 2007 following the First World Research Conference on the Social Economy to discuss the role of the federal, provincial, First Nations and local governments in the Social Economy. This forum will build on the knowledge gained from the CIRIEC conference to engage policy makers, practitioners and researchers to discuss the implication of the Social Economy for each level of government.

This Conference will also be held at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria BC.

The Canadian Social Economy Hub, in partnership with the BC/Alberta Node and other partners will organize this Conference. More information on this conference will be available at: www.socialeconomy.ca/conference

CIRIEC Congress in Istanbul, Turkey

The 26th International Congress of the International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy (CIRIEC) was held from June 19 to 21 in Istanbul, Turkey. The theme of the Congress was to consider how the public, social and co-operative economy might contribute to creating a more responsible solidarity-based economy within an era of increased globalization. The Congress was held in Turkey as this country begins the process of becoming a member of the European Union.Turkey has a strong agricultural co-operative sector. The Social Economy in Europe is made up of many more participants than in most parts of Canada with trade unions, municipalities and state governments involved. The European Union Secretariat in Belgium is also a key player in the research and promotion of the Social Economy. Is globalization providing more of a role for Social Economy organizations or less of a role? This was the topic of a number of sessions. Of particular interest to Canadians was the presentation by Avner Ben-Ner from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Professor Ben-Ner argued that developments associated with globalization tend to erode some of the comparative advantage of non-profit organizations as providers of trustworthy alternatives to for-profit organizations.

Conversations with delegates from many countries revolved around what is happening in Canada on the Social Economy and the Canadian government support for research in this area. Discussions on who should be providing “general interest services” or common good services generated a lot of interest. Just like in Canada, governments are devolving services to market or social economy organizations.

Announcing Tele-learning Sessions on Research on the Social Economy!

The Canadian Social Economy Hub and CCEDNet are organizing a series of tele-learning
opportunities for practitioners. The objectives are to:
Familiarize practitioners with the research
Provide a forum for practitioners and researchers to communicate
Engage practitioners with researchers in discussions on the research
Help practitioners understand how research will impact public policy and practice
Allow practitioners to connect across regions on specific research topics of interest
The tele-learning sessions will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month.
The dates for the first three telelearning sessions are:

• Thursday, September 28 (English)
• Thursday, October 26 (French)
• Thursday, November 23 (English)

Sessions will alternate between French and English. Calls will last about 1.5 hours and willbegin at Noon EST.

Topics for the call will be chosen from among the following:

• Defining the Social Economy
• Public Policy and Social Economy Research
• Social Economy and Corporate Social Responsibility
• Women-Centred Social Economy
• Aboriginal Social Economy Immigrants and the Social Economy: Research from Metropolis and CSEHub
• Local governments
• Mapping and Portraiture
• Building up social economy organizations, best practices from the research
• Social Economy and Health Care

Other CSEHub News

Welcome Valoree Walker, the Coordinator for the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada (SERNNoCA).
Working with the Public Policy Facilitating Committee. The Public Policy Facilitating Committee has as mandate to:

• Suggest priorities on public policy research topics to inform the development of public policy for the Social Economy.
• Facilitate collaboration among the Nodes, Hub and others as they undertake public policy research.
• Foster exchanges of information between governments and the nodes on public policy issues.

The Committee is currently identifying research priorities to impact public policy.
Engaging International Observers! An important component of the Canadian Social Economy Hub’s research work is to involve international observers who provide information and suggestions from their own work in their respective countries. A process is currently underway to select the international observers. They will be invited to participate in the next in-person meeting of the Canadian Social Economy Hub board.

Contact us: Canadian Social Economy Hub Project Officer: Annie McKitrick secoord@uvic.ca