March 18, 2005 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador In recognition of the increasingly important role that social enterprises are playing in Canada's economy, The Honourable R. John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources announced $183,854 in funding on behalf of the Honourable Joseph McGuire, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to the Community Services Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (CSC) for a research and planning project focusing on the development of the social economy in the province. "It is becoming more common for both public and private organizations to integrate social and environmental goals into their business and management goals," said Minister Efford. "ACOA's support of the CSC's work is in line with the Government of Canada's recognition of this increasing overlap between social and economic goals, or what is called the social economy and its importance to our country's economic and social prosperity." The term social economy refers to organized activities that primarily serve the community and are run mainly by not-for- profit associations, co-operatives, foundations and similar groups. These social enterprises are active in a range of sectors, including tourism, homecare, daycare, social housing, and services to people with disabilities. "This project will allow us to learn more about the particularities of the social economy here in Newfoundland and Labrador," said Penelope Rowe, chief executive officer of the Community Services Council. "Given the Federal government's recent throne speech, which placed emphasis on building capacity in the social economy, we feel this research is very timely. By improving our knowledge of how the social economy is developing here in our province, we can assess potential growth opportunities and help to strengthen the capacity of our social enterprises in the future." The CSC's planning and development project on the social economy will take a broad-based approach. The CSC will work collaboratively with federal and provincial officials, the private sector, labour groups, and community-based organizations. In addition to holding meetings in six regions within the province, an Atlantic Regional Roundtable will be convened. The final outcomes of the research project will include establishing a working definition of the social economy, developing an inventory of social enterprises and social economy activities in Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as documenting initiatives and models employed in the social economy elsewhere. Emphasis will also be placed on identifying existing support services for social economy enterprises, assessing potential growth opportunities in the social economy sector and considering policy and regulatory reforms required to grow the social economy. ACOA is providing funding for this initiative under the Business Development Program, which offers non-commercial investments to support the promotion of entrepreneurship, trade, marketing and education through industry, community, youth and business associations. FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY: The Community Services Council of Newfoundland and Labrador will undertake a new research and planning project on the development of the social economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) is contributing $183,854 towards this initiative. The development of the social economy has emerged from the growing overlap between social and economic goals in both public and private sectors. The social economy is most often driven by not-for-profit and voluntary groups who serve the community. The project will be pan-provincial in nature and will strive to increase awareness of and support for the importance of the social economy to our country's social and economic foundations. Speaking on behalf of the ACOA, the Honourable R. John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources, says the CSC's social economy research and planning project is very important given the Federal government's recent throne speech, which emphasized the need to build the capacity of social enterprises. - 30 - For more information, please contact: Valérie Poulin Director of Communications Office of the Honourable Joseph McGuire Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (613) 941-7241 Doug Burgess Director, Public Affairs ACOA (709) 772-2935 Penelope Rowe Chief Executive Officer Community Services Council of Newfoundland and Labrador (709) 753-9860
