Making Waves magazine, Summer 2008

[Discussion list for COMM-ORG]

From: Don McNair <mcnair at cedworks.com>


The Summer 2008 edition of Making Waves reports on two years of 
practitioner-led research. The Development Wheel Project, as it was 
called, explored the building of an infrastructure of services and 
resources to support social enterprise.

Find a summary of the contents below. To view sample content in PDF, 
request a trial copy, or subscribe, go to www.cedworks.com/waves.html.

Apologies for cross-postings

CONTENTS

Bending the Learning Curve
Outside of Québec, little infrastructure exists to support the 
development of social enterprise. How then do we too create an 
environment conducive to social enterprise, quickly but from the bottom up?

Tools & Engines of Enterprise
The Development Wheel shows a way to use social enterprise to transform 
a community-based organization into an engine of local benefits.

An Experiment in Bottom-Up, Systemic Change
How do you scale up without driving down community support and control? 
The Development Project sought to fuse efficiency with community, and 
grassroots initiative with systemic impact.

A Lever of Development
In Franco-Ontario the Development Wheel acted as a keen instrument for 
identifying local leadership, capacities, and strategies of social 
enterprise development.

Business First
In British Columbia’s southern interior, Penny Lane Bargain Outlet has 
achieved a slam dunk, selling discount clothing and furniture to help 
finance programs and jobs for local young people.

Now You’re Cookin’
Preparing a community for social enterprise is a lot like making bread. 
You mix together what’s in the local cupboards with some foreign 
ingredients, then knead and pause, knead and pause.

Get Ready for The Big One
Baby-boomers retiring from business require a new approach to succession 
planning – one that sees social enterprise as a way to address the 
commitment of owners to family, neighbourhood, and community, as well as 
to good financial returns.

The Prospects for Scale
When building infrastructure for social enterprise, intermediaries at a 
regional level are clearly of prime importance, as is a common 
vocabulary of goals, tasks, and processes.

Don McNair
Making Waves: Canada's CED Magazine
Visit the CED DIGITAL BOOKSHOP at www.cedworks.com !
Centre for Community Enterprise
1601 - 25th Avenue, Vernon, B.C. V1T 1M8 CANADA
direct line 250-542-7057 customer service (toll-free) 1-888-255-6779