WEST GREY & GREY HIGHLANDS—A Case Study

Building a Social Enterprise Foundation with two Rural Municipalities

Overview

 

This project will equip social entrepreneurs, non-profits, community stakeholders and businesses in two municipalities and their surrounding areas with new knowledge and tools to create, retain or transition toward social enterprise models.

West Grey and Grey Highland’s recognize the diversity in their communities and have secured funds to partner with the Social Enterprise Network of Central Ontario (SENCO) at Georgian College to create opportunities to map, engage and support local social and economic development. Programming will build awareness and understanding of social enterprise strategies and will support the municipalities of West Grey and Grey Highlands to meet and amplify their own strategic economic, social and environmental goals.

The delivery of this project requires leadership and facilitation by a team with knowledge, experience and established relationships in the social enterprise sector that supports this area in Central Ontario.

Problem

 

The delivery of this project requires leadership and facilitation by a team with knowledge, experience and established relationships in the social enterprise sector that supports this area in Central Ontario. A place-based approach will be required to collaborate with both municipalities to collectively achieve their desired outcomes. This project requires a lead to work alongside partnering municipalities and a team of facilitators to deliver on programs.

Audience

This project will support the rural communities in and surrounding West Grey and Grey Highlands. Rural communities across Ontario are in transition and people in rural communities face significant barriers to economic development including youth retention, deterioration of services, shrinking economies and communities and more. Social enterprise is a method for community driven economic development that creates new jobs, and increases the overall competitiveness and attractiveness of communities to new investors by delivering sustainable community social value.

 

Roles

 

This project builds off work and programs designed and delivered in my role as Program Manager at SENCO. I took on the lead role April 2020 to support this project across two years and will facilitate portions of the delivery alongside a team member from Georgian-SENCO.

Co-Facilitators -> Elly Green and Quentin Evans

Social enterprise is a method for community driven economic development that creates new jobs, and increases the overall competitiveness and attractiveness of communities to new investors by delivering sustainable community social value.

Process → Outcome

 

Partnership management →

 

Support and participate in all partnership meetings and consulting on implementation

 
 

Project design and funding →

Collaboratively submitted a project proposal to funders with a SENCO Advisor and local municipal leaders

 
 

This project requires leadership and facilitation by a team with experience and established relationships in the social enterprise sector that supports this area in Central Ontario.

 

Program delivery →

 

  • Building a foundation of municipal understanding about social enterprise

  • Mapping existing social enterprises and entrepreneurs in the region

  • Connecting existing and emerging social enterprises to each other and to advisors, coaches and resources to explore ideation, feasibility, business planning, impact measurement and storytelling

 
 
 
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Creating a Social Enterprise Ecosystem in Central Ontario
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Developing a Social Enterprise within a Non-Profit.