Thursday, April 29, 2010

BALTA’s Social Economy Research Program

BALTA’s Research Program – 2006-2011
What is BALTA?
BALTA is a regional coalition of community based organizations in the social economy and academic institutions
with an interest in research and studies on the social economy. It was created in 2006 to conduct research
directed towards better understanding and strengthening the social economy in Alberta and British Columbia,
Canada. BALTA is receiving funding from the Social Economy Suite program of the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of CANADA (SSHRC) for a five year program of research.
BALTA’s research is broadly focused in four program areas/teams:
Social Economy Research Cluster (SERC) 1 – The Social Economy in Human Services and Housing
Social Economy Research Cluster (SERC) 2 – The Social Economy in Rural Revitalization & Development
Social Economy Research Cluster (SERC) 3 – Analysis, Evaluation, and Infrastructure
Mapping of the Overall Social Economy in Alberta and British Columbia
Each SERC includes community based practitioners and academic researchers. Individual projects are generally
led by one or two SERC members and frequently employ students as research assistants. The thematic division
between SERCs is in practice somewhat arbitrary. Research projects initiated by one team or another often
cross over into areas relevant to other SERCs. We also have several projects that were designed specifically as
“cross-cutting” projects linked to more than one SERC.
List of BALTA Projects (Effective April 2010)
(Completion Date or Anticipated Completion Date in Brackets)
SERC 1 Projects – The Social Economy in Human Services and Housing
A1–2007 Innovative Use of Housing Co-operative Assets (Completed 2008)
A2–2007 Co-operative Models of Social Care (2008 for initial reports; book to be published mid-2010)
A3–2007 The Social Purpose Capital Market in B.C. and Alberta (Completed 2009)
A4–2007 Role of Faith Based Organizations in the Social Economy (Completed 2009)
A5-2008 Affordable Housing Assessment and Strategic Planning, Kootenay Region (Completed Mid-2009)
A6-2009 The Fraser Valley Social Economy with Reference to Affordable Housing Provision and Related Support
Services (Mid-2010)
A7-2009 Co-op Housing Futures: A Spatial Design Research Approach (Mid-2010)
A8-2009 Creating a Database of Social Enterprise Capital Providers in BC and Alberta (Mid-2010)
A9-2009 Affordable Housing: Sustainable Management of Housing by Not-for-Profits and Co-ops (Completed 2009)
A10-2009 Role of Faith Based Organizations in the Social Economy – Phase 2 - The Role of Catholic Religious Orders and
the Mennonite Community (2011)
A11-2010 Success Factors for Recently Incorporated BC and Alberta Co-operatives (Fall 2010)
A12-2010 Rural Seniors Housing Needs in the West Kootenay Boundary Region (2011)
SERC 2 Projects – The Social Economy in Rural Revitalization & Development
B1–2007 Understanding the Role of the Social Economy in Advancing Rural Revitalization & Development (Ended 2007)
B2–2007 Sustainability and the Social Economy (Completed 2009)
B3-2007 Sustainability, Heritage Conservation and Sheltering the Social Economy (Completed 2009)
B4-2008 Social Economy Case Studies in Rural Alberta (2010)
B5-2008 Farmers’ Markets as Social Economy Drivers of Local Food Systems (Final results integrated with Phase 2 - B7)
B6-2009 Prospects for Socializing the Green Economy: The Case of Renewable Energy (Mid-2010)
B7-2009 Farmers’ Markets as Social Economy Drivers of Local Food Systems: Phase 2 (Mid-2010)
B8-2009 Social Economizing Sustainability (August 2010)
SERC 3 Projects – Analysis, Evaluation, and Infrastructure
C1–2006 Summary of Quebec Polices that are Supportive of the Social Economy (Completed 2006)
C2–2006 Nova Scotia Co-operative Development System Case Study – Phase One (Completed 2007)
C4–2007 Preliminary Profile of the Size and Scope of the Social Economy in Alberta and BC (Completed 2008)
C5–2007 From Social Economy to Solidarity Economy: Changing Perspectives in a Volatile World – Phase 1
(Completed 2007)
C6–20071 From Social Economy to Solidarity Economy: Changing Perspectives in a Volatile World – Phase 2
(Completed 2007)
C7–2007 Nova Scotia Co-operative Development System Case Study – Phase 2: Analysis of Application in BC and
Alberta (Completed 2009)
C9–2007 CED and Social Economy Policy Inventory in BC and Alberta – Phase 1 (2010)
C10–2007 Municipal Government Support of the Social Economy Sector (Spring 2010)
C11–2007 Credit Unions as a Financing Source for the Social Economy (Completed 2008 – no report)
C13-2008 Return on Taxpayer Investment for Training Businesses (Completed 2009)
C14-2008 Leadership in the Community Sector: Understanding the Challenges, Competencies and Needs of
Practitioners in the Social Economy (Completed 2009)
C15-2008 Taking Social Embeddedness into Account in Monitoring the State of the Social Economy and Community
Resilience (Fall 2010?)
C16-2009 Survey of Social Enterprises in Alberta and British Columbia (Mid-2010)
C17-2009 Building a Supportive Environment for Social Enterprise: Synthesis of SERC 3 Research (2010)
C18-2009 Procurement Policy & Market Development for the Social Economy: ExpandingMarket Opportunities for
Social Enterprise, Co-operatives, and Other Social Economy Businesses (Completed 2009)
Cross-Cutting Projects
D1–2006 Preliminary General Literature Reviews for Three BALTA SERCs (Completed 2007)
D2–2007 Leveraging Social Ownership of Proprietary Trademarks related to the Golden Mussel as a Base for Expansion
of Social Enterprise in Coastal B.C. Aboriginal Communities (2010)
D3-2008 Land Tenure and the Social Economy (Completed 2009)
D4-2008 Sustainable Infrastructure for the Social Economy: Cluster-based Social Enterprise Models (Completed 2009)
D5-2008 Credit Unions as a Financing Source for the Social Economy and Rural Community Re-investment
(Completed 2009)
D6-2009 Foundations for the Social Economy (Initial outputs Fall 2009; 2011)
D7-2009 Land Tenure and the Social Economy – Phase 2 (Mid-2011)
D8-2009 Credit Unions and Rural Reinvestment – Phase B (Mid-2010)
D10-2009 Advancing the Social Economy Through Networks and Collaboration (Mid-2010)
D11-2010 The Role of Social Enterprise in Employment Services in the British Columbia Context (Fall 2010)
Mapping Projects
E1–2006 Mapping Framework Development (Completed 2007)
E2-2007 Mapping the Social Economy in Alberta and B.C. – Phase 1 (Completed 2009)
E3-2008 Mapping the Social Economy from the Ground Up: A Neighbourhood Case Study (Fall 2009)
E4-2009 BALTA Mapping 2009-2010 – Survey, Survey Analysis, and Data Archiving (2011)
9777B Somers Road
Port Alberni, BC, V9Y 8N9, Canada
Tel: 250-723-2296
balta@xplornet.com
http://www.socialeconomy-bcalberta.ca/
BALTA gratefully acknowledges the

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