Linking, Learning, Leveraging: Social Enterprises, Knowledgeable Economies and Sustainable Communities

“Linking Learning Leveraging” is a five-year research initiative headed by Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson at the Centre for the Study of Cooperatives, University of Saskatchewan, in partnership with other Canadian universities and community and cooperative organizations. The initiative is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and covers the geographic area of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern Ontario.

This initiative supports research partnerships of community groups and academics who combine their strengths, expertise and resources to work towards a greater understanding of the social economy. “Linking, Learning, Leveraging” will essentially investigate how the social economy helps build more respectful relationships within communities, with the environment, and among stakeholders.

Research questions the initiative is exploring include:

• What can be learned from the social economy’s evolution to date?
• Where is the social economy?
• What is it accomplishing?
• What does it need?
• How can we apply this knowledge in public policy?

The social economy refers to those enterprises and organizations that use the tools and some of the methods of business, on a not-for-profit basis, to provide social, cultural, economic and health services to communities. Social-economy enterprises, such as community-based organizations, co-operatives, community economic development organizations, not-for-profits, and other voluntary-sector initiatives, direct organizational and community resources to the simultaneous pursuit of social and economic ends. These enterprises are flexible and sustainable tools that allow communities to address objectives related to sustainable livelihoods, place-based redevelopment, capacities, and social supports. The integration of social and economic objectives promotes responses that sustain individuals and communities; significant opportunities for wealth generation can be developed while furthering goals of participation and control.

For more information on the broader initiative, visit the regional website .

 

“Linking, Learning, Leveraging” in Manitoba

Funds for community-based research projects about the social economy in Manitoba are available through the Winnipeg Inner City Research Alliance (WIRA). There will be a call for research applications in the spring of each year for five years, beginning in 2006.

Click here for details about social economy research projects currently underway.

Final reports of completed social economy research reports.

 

Who is eligible to apply for funding?

• Organizations, enterprises and academics active and interested in the social economy in Manitoba are eligible to apply.
• Each application must come from a partnership between at least one academic and one community organization/enterprise representative.

 

Research Funding Available 

• For students: Must have full-time student status. Preference will be given to students demonstrating excellence in academic performance, and those whose research interests lie in the social economy. Project application may include a request for either:
• a full-time four month internship for up to $5,000 (same for all levels of study), or
• for a 12 month internship (to cover 8 months of part-time work during the school year plus 4 months of full-time summer work). The maximum amounts for 12 month internships are: undergraduate - $10,000; Master’s student - $12,000; or PhD - $15,000.
• For community release time: must be an employee of an organization/ enterprise involved in the social economy. Payment will go directly to the community organization to compensate for the employee’s time spent on the research. Maximum of $5,000 per person, per project.

(Note: It is not necessary to have the student researcher or community researcher identified at the time of application)

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Partnerships

All eligible proposals must list at least one academic partner and one community partner willing to jointly manage the research project. If needed, the WIRA liaison directors will work closely with interested individuals and groups to find appropriate partners to put forward an application. Once the partnership has been established, the research questions and objectives determined, and the commitment and roles of the partners agreed upon, the application for funding must be submitted by the deadline for adjudication by the WIRA Executive Steering Committee.

An often-challenging part of developing a research partnership is defining the roles and levels of involvement of the academic and the community partners. The degree and manner of partner involvement can be as important as the research itself, and must be decided and agreed upon by the partners themselves. WIRA research partnerships can take many forms. The involvement of community partners in WIRA research projects to date ranges from a very involved advisory role, to fully engaged partners gaining research skills throughout the process, to a role of providing primary guidance to the research direction and process.

It is important that the partners commit to being involved in the research and to working collaboratively towards the goals of the research. The time required by each partner and the specific roles of each partner will likely evolve and vary at different stages of the research.

Some people may feel very uncomfortable with this loosely defined partnership and process. This type of community-based research is flexible in order to meet the particular needs and availability of those involved. Also, the very nature of the research topic often requires a particular style of research and involvement of the partners.

Flexibility allows for innovative research strategies and processes that meet community needs and result in findings that are meaningful to the community as well as academics. Community members gain increased confidence in their knowledge and build research skills, while academic partners connect theory with reality and gain skills in community-based research techniques. This type of research can be very challenging, as the process of interaction between partners demands as much attention as the research methods themselves.

Partnerships take a lot of work to maintain, and sometimes fail due to a breakdown in the commitment of the partners to the goals of the project. When partnerships succeed, however, the results are very rewarding.

Responsibilities of Project Partners

• Establish the roles and levels of involvement of the academic and community partners, according to the nature of the research, and the needs, expertise and time availability of partners.
• Strive for balance in power and participation among partners.
• Undertake community-based research.
• Partners fully collaborate in all steps of the research, from identification of research goals, to developing methodology, to producing the final report.
• Meet regularly regarding the progress toward the goals and objectives of the project.
• Provide research leadership to the student and/or community researcher.
• Accurate reporting of research results, taking into account the needs for confidentiality in gathering, dissemination and storage of information and the need for objectivity and neutrality in research.
• The partners shall provide the resources and infrastructure (eg. Staff, space, appropriate supervision, stationery supplies, etc.) needed to complete the project.
• The Principal Investigator is the partner that is the main contact person who organizes and directs the research project, arranges meetings, and stays in regular contact with the Project Administrator.

 

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Role of the WIRA Liaison Directors

• Assist interested individuals in developing research ideas and in the strengthening and defining of research goals prior to the submission of an application
• Ensure that strong research partnerships are established: connect individuals to others with whom they may want to form a research partnership and submit an application.
• Hold and administer all of the funds committed to the “Linking, Learning, Leveraging” Program.
• Pay the community release amount directly to the community organization and pay the internship stipend to the student upon receipt of invoices (including hours worked, and wages plus mandatory deductions).
• Facilitate collaboration between partners throughout the research project.
• Check in regularly with research partners to ensure that the process is running smoothly.
• Offer research and administrative support to the research partnerships.
• Inform research partnership about progress of the larger “Linking, Learning, Leveraging” initiative.
• Notify partners of relevant conferences, workshops, and events and provide assistance in applying for funds for travel and attendance.

 

Types of Research

Linking, Learning Leveraging funds community based research about the social economy. Community-based research takes place in community settings and involves community members in the design and implementation of research projects. Such activities should demonstrate respect for the contributions of success which are made by community partners as well as respect for the principle of "doing no harm" to the communities involved.

In order to achieve these goals, the following principles should guide the development of research projects involving collaboration between researchers and community partners, whether the community partners are formally structured community-based organizations or informal groups of individual community members.

Principles

In community-based research, community partners should be involved at the earliest stages of the project, helping to define research objectives and having input into how the project will be organized. Community partners should have real influence on project direction--that is, enough leverage to ensure that the original goals, mission, and methods of the project are adhered to.

Research processes and outcomes should benefit the community. Community members should be hired and trained whenever possible and appropriate, and the research should help build and enhance community assets.

Community members should be part of the analysis and interpretation of data and should have input into how the results are distributed. This does not imply censorship of data or of publication, but rather the opportunity to make clear the community's views about the interpretation prior to final publication.

Productive partnerships between researchers and community members should be encouraged to last beyond the life of the project. This will make it more likely that research findings will be incorporated into ongoing community programs and therefore provide the greatest possible benefit to the community from research.

Community members should be empowered to initiate their own research projects which address needs they identify themselves.
Source: University of Washington School of Public Health

 

Areas of Research Focus

• Social enterprise/organization development – primarily case-study profiles of social economy enterprises/organizations examining; organizational structure, purpose, processes and planning; membership and membership engagement; relationships within the social enterprise and with government, for profit enterprises and other social economy organizations/enterprises; roles of social enterprises/organizations in promoting more forms of social integration; and, the cultural and social values that inform practices within the enterprise/organization.
  
  
• Financing strategies for social enterprise/organization development – will focus on the challenges of funding the social economy, in addition to identifying innovative and successful funding models. Because social-economy enterprises direct their activities toward dual goals – social and economic – finding appropriate funding sources can be problematic. Access to core funding as opposed to start-up or project-based is an ongoing issue. Many of the organizations go from grant deadline to grant deadline in search of sustainable funding. This project-based funding is ineffective and distortionary, especially for organizations delivering social services to highly underprivileged clients.

• Governance of social-economy enterprises/organizations – this area will highlight examples of innovative, alternative, or experimental approaches to stakeholder involvement inspired by democratic values and principles. Such approaches could take quite different forms from conventional democratic practice such as attendance and voting at meetings. May offer methods of measuring good governance and its impacts, development of tools for assessment of democratic and governance practices, etc. 

• Measuring and mapping the social economy – the key interest in this area is in mapping the nature and measuring the impact of social economy enterprises/organizations on both the economic vitality and the quality of life in the communities or regions where they operate. Another is determining the underlying conditions that strengthen social-economy organizations/enterprises.

• Developing policy frameworks for the social economy - this area offers the opportunity to review existing regulatory frameworks affecting the social economy with a view towards identifying gaps as well as areas of overlap and multiple governmental interest. What public-sector programs and policies are most appropriate for supporting the social economy? How can existing and potential taxation instruments be used to reward and increase involvement in the social economy? What types of regulations can address the liability insurance crises permeating social economy organizations?
  

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Research Question Options for Manitoba

Click here for examples of specific research questions that have been identified to be of particular interest within the Manitoba context. Applicants are encouraged to address one or more of these questions in their research proposal. (Note: Applications addressing research questions not included below will be given equal consideration provided they address relevant themes and issues within the social economy)

 

What is Required:

Applicants must submit a completed application form, developed jointly by the research project partners, on or before the deadline specified below. The proposal outlined in the application must conform to the Guidelines for Research Applicants in order to meet the "Linking, Learning, Leveraging", WIRA and SSHRC requirements.

 

Download Guidelines for Research Applicants in PDF format (540 Kb)

Download Research Grant Application Form in Word Format (1.7 Mb)

 

Ethics Review

Applicants are reminded that while ethics approval is not required prior to the submission of a research proposal, SSHRC guidelines stipulate that no funds may be forwarded to a project prior to receipt of written ethics approval. Ethics approval is required for all research involving human subjects (interviews, surveys, community-based research, etc.). Please contact Jino or Monica (see below) if you have any questions or concerns regarding the ethics approval requirement. Letters indicating receipt of ethics approval are to be sent to Monica Juarez Adeler, Project Administrator.

The ethics review must be conducted by the home institution of the academic partner. The University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba each have their own schedules and procedures for ethics review.

For the University of Winnipeg, visit the Human Ethics webpage. If you have any questions about the details and requirements involved in the ethics review, please e-mail Kerry Murkin or call her at 786-9058.

 

Proposal Preparation Assistance

Recognizing that some community partners will have more experience in developing applications for funding than others, it is recommended that groups requiring some assistance in preparing their proposal contact the Project Administrator (Monica Juarez Adeler) and the Research Liaison Director (Jino Distasio) well before the deadline to discuss their initiative. The Liaison Directors will work with applicants to strengthen their proposals: they will discuss research ideas, help in developing research proposals, answer any questions about the project, and put groups and individuals in contact with others who share the same research interests.

 

 

Criteria for Evaluation:

Research proposals will be evaluated by the Executive Steering Committee and funding will be allocated based on the merit of each research initiative. Criteria by which applications will be evaluated are outlined in Guidelines for Research Applicants.

 

 

Application Deadlines:

For more information, please contact Project Administrator Monica Juarez Adeler at the address below.

For More Information

If you have questions about the “Linking, Learning, Leveraging” initiative in Manitoba, or need assistance in finding appropriate project partners, you may contact:     

Monica Juarez Adeler
Project Administrator
Winnipeg Inner City Research Alliance
#103-520 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba   R3C 0G2
E-mail: m.adeler-ra@uwinnipeg.ca
Phone: (204) 982-1140

Jino Distasio
Research Liaison Director
#103-520 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 0G2
E-mail: j.distasio@uwinnipeg.ca
Phone: (204) 982-1147

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