Social Enterprise

From the Business section of the Monday, January 28, 2008, Toronto Star, page B4, an article about the Centre for Social Innovation:

The Bottom Line

'SOCIAL ENTERPRISE MOVEMENT' HAS A RICH HISTORY

Dale E. ShuttleworthSpecial to the Star

It was most gratifying to read Carol Goar's recent editorial column in the Toronto Star, "Focal point for social innovators" (Jan. 18, 2008). Ms. Goar describes the Centre for Social Innovation, a renovated warehouse in the Spadina Ave. area of Toronto.
The centre houses 85 "social enterprises," including organizations concerned with the environment, the arts, social justice, education, health, technology and design. The article pays tribute to the "social enterprise movement" in Quebec and Vancouver for providing the impetus for this very successful venture.

In fact, the cause of social enterprise has a rich history in the later part of the 20th century, including New Dawn Enterprises in Sydney, N.S. and the Mondragon Movement in the Basque Region of Spain. In each instance, these pioneers in "community economic development" had a built-in relationship with an educational and training facility to encourage co-operative enterprise and entrepreneurial skills.

Toronto also has provided leadership in the areas of community education and community economic development - essential components in the creation of social enterprises. In 1974, the Toronto Board of Education assisted in the establishment of the Learnxs Foundation Inc. as part of its Learning Exchange System.

The foundation represented an additional source of support for the burgeoning "alternatives in education" movement. In 1973, the Ontario government had imposed ceilings on educational spending and together with reduced revenue due to declining enrolment the Toronto board had limited means to fund innovative and experimental programs. The Learnxs Foundation was an independent "arms-length" non-profit charitable enterprise, which could solicit funds from public and private sources and generate revenue through the sale of goods and services to support innovative programs within the Toronto system.

What followed during the 1970s was a series of Learnxs-sponsored demonstration projects as a source of research and development in such areas as:

* School and community programs to improve inner-city education;
* A series of small enterprises to employ 14- to 15-year-old school leavers;
* Youth Ventures - a paper recycling enterprise employing at risk youth;
* Artajunction- discarded material from business and industry were recycled for use as craft materials for visual arts classes;
* Toronto Urban Studies Centre - a facility to encourage the use of the city as a learning environment;
* Learnxs Press - a publishing house for the production and sale of innovative learning materials.

The York Board of Education and its school and community organizations jointly incorporated the Learning Enrichment Foundation (LEF), modeled on Learnxs. Originally devoted to multicultural arts environment. LEF during the 1980s jointed with parental groups and the school board to establish 13 school-based childcare centres for infants, pre-school and school-age children.

Training programs for youth, immigrants and refugees soon followed. Often with teachers in the workplace, provided by the board's Adult Day School, training program included renovation and construction, industrial maintenance, home helpers, health-care aides, childcare assistants, food service and catering, courier, light delivery, bus drivers and clerical services.

In 1984, LEF was asked by Employment and Immigrant Canada to convene a local committee of adjustment in response to York's high rate of unemployment and plant closures. The York Community Economic Development Committee, besides LEF and the school board, included the City of York, the York Association of Industry, the United Steelworkers and the Ontario Ministry of Labour. Outcomes of the work of the Committee included:

* York Business Opportunities Centre. In 1985, with support from the Ontario Ministry of Industry, Trade & Technology, LEF opened the first small business incubator operated by a non-profit charitable organization. Originally 28,000 square feet, the centre was later increased to 74,000 square feet providing small business incubator and training space for 40 enterprises creating 160 new jobs in the first three years. Business education students from the Adult Day School provided clerical and administrative services to tenants. An LEF childcare facility was also established at the front of the building.

* MICROTON Centre: This training facility was devoted to micro-computer skills, word and numerical processing computer-assisted design, graphics and styling, and electronic assembly and report. Located in three surplus classrooms at Vaughan Road Collegiate, it was jointly sponsored by the board of education, LEF, Commodore Business Machines, Comspec Sysems, Corel Systems and the York Business Opportunities Centre. MICROTRON served York Board employees, small business and industry, government departments, voluntary organizations and the community at large.

* MICROTRON Bus: This refurbished school bus incorporated eight workstations from the MICROTRON Centre. It visited small business, industry and service organizations on a scheduled basis to provide training in word and numerical processing for their employees and clients.

In 1996, the Training Renewal Foundation was incorporated as a non-profit charity to serve disadvantage youth and other displaced workers seeking skills, qualifications and employment opportunities. Over the years TRF has partnered with governments, employers and community organizations to provide a variety of services including job-creation programs for immigrants and refugees, OED high school equivalency, cafe vending service workers, industrial warehousing and life truck operators, fully expelled students, youth parenting, construction and craft workers and garment manufacturing.

These three community education and training organizations have been unique in the "social enterprise movement." They have combined the resources of the governmental, commercial and voluntary sectors to address skill shortages in the labour market while providing entrepreneurial opportunities for some of the most disadvantaged segments of our society.

Dale E. Shuttleworth, executive director of The Training Renewal Foundation, is a former co-ordinator of Alternative and Community Programs with the Toronto Board of Education and Superintendent of Community Services with the City of York Board of Education. The Bottom Line is a weekly guest column. Please send your submissions to the bottomline@thestar.ca