2. Role
• Report on trends in region – “Growing
Prosperity”,” 2012 Social Outlook Report”
• Plan focused responses to generate
solutions: poverty reduction & prevention;
CED; affordable housing; community
sustainability

3. Role:
• Developing social infrastructure –
engines of socio-economic change
• Civil Society Leadership: Kofi Annan:
“The next great world superpower will
be civil society”

4. Trends
Affordability Crunch
•Affordability challenges from rising housing and other
costs.
•Real cost of living up by 15% since 2006 in region –
average real income declined
Social Inequality is Growing
•Capital Region has one of the highest rates of income
inequality in BC.
Environmental Crisis
•Climate-change and depleted natural resources

5. But all is not lost!
• Communities are finding new ways of
organizing, new forms of economy and new
ways of working together —young people are
leading this movement across the globe.
• Many of these are being led by social
movements …

7. Community Economic
Development
– CED is a solution many around the globe
are creating – building a more people
centred, community-based and sustainable
economy.
– CED is a philosophy, a set of tools and a
global movement
• part of a global movement for a “social and solidarity
economy”
• building on community capacity and resilience, re-
localizing our economies and for social justice and
equality

8. CED is…
• action by people locally to create economic
opportunities and better social conditions,
particularly for those who are most disadvantaged.
• an approach that recognizes that economic,
environmental and social challenges are
interdependent, complex and ever-changing.
• …. solutions must be rooted in local knowledge and
led by community members.
• promotes holistic approaches, addressing individual,
community and regional levels, recognizing that
these levels are interconnected.

9. CED is about:
Rebuilding local economies and plugging the
leaks, including re-investing local wealth

10. Local Small businesses are a force
to be reckoned with in BC.
• In 2010, there were approximately 391,700
small businesses in British Columbia– this is
98% of all businesses in the province.
• Micro-businesses (those with fewer than five
employees) are ~ 82% of small businesses.
• 2 million people are co-op members in BC.
• Collectively, these people control more than
48 billion dollars in assets through ownership
of their co-ops.

11. Youth entrepreneurship is a big
part of this!
• Young people have unemployment rate double
that of the rest of the population.
• An opportunity! People are retiring- 70% of
business owners plan to retire in the next 10 yrs
• Why do young people start businesses?
– 70% want to start their own business
– 73% said their primary motivation is independence
(rather than money)
– 68% said it is important for their business to give back
to the community

12. And its good for your health too!
• A thriving local businesses climate is good for
your health!
• Local businesses support the rest of the
economy.
– Local businesses spend more on local labor, buy
more goods for resale locally and rely much more
heavily on local service providers
– This means that much of the money a customer
spends at a local store or restaurant is re-spent
within the local economy.

13. CED Principles: Neechi Foods Co-
Operative
1. Use of locally produced goods and services
2. Production of goods and services for local use
3. Local re-investment of profits
4. Long-term employment of local residents
5. Local skill development
6. Local decision-making
7. Focus on Public health
8. Physical environment
9. Neighbourhood stability
10. Human dignity
11. Support for other CED initiatives

14. International Cooperative
Principles
1. Voluntary and Open Membership
2. Democratic Member Control
3. Members' Economic Participation
4. Autonomy and Independence
5. Education, Training and Information
6. Cooperation among Cooperatives
7. Concern for Community

15. Community Economic Development
“Strong communities are the true foundation of
economic prosperity and security…street protests are
one response to this awakening. Calls for reform of
corporate legal structures are another. Less visible but
even more important, is a spreading commitment to
rebuild local economies and communities from the
bottom up”
– David Korten, The Great Turning

16. CED: Driving Community Investment
• Community Investment Fund for the Capital
Region
– Research in 2011 considered best practices across
country and internationally
– In Nova Scotia & Quebec community investment
funds have been used to raise millions for
community infrastructure, enterprise and
affordable housing development
– In NS, captured 2% of RRSP contributions- here
that would translate $8 million/year

17. CED: Driving Community Investment
• In 2012 we have:
– Presented to hundreds of local residents &
partners on the idea.
– Convened a steering committee that is actively
working to develop a business plan
– Considering investment opportunities for 2013
with a goal of drafting an initial offering in the
new year
– Making proposals to the BC government regarding
policy tools to support a broader community
investment agenda

18. CED: Economic Empowerment for
young people
• Launch! Youth
– Partnership with the Community Micro-Lending
Society
– Third cohort began this September
– Business Development, training, mentoring and
access to micro-credit
• What’s next: An Agenda for Economic
Empowerment

19. Sustainability
Socio-economic | environmental
• Building Neighbourhood Resilience Project
• Capital Region Food and Agriculture
Roundtable
• Moving towards a more integrated and
coordinated approach to service planning in the
region
– Child, youth and families committee and exploring
place-based models of care
– Proposals for a Community-Benefit Model of
Procurement in Community Social Services.

20. Affordable Housing
• Partnership is key to effective response
• Recent report looks at policy options for local
governments in supporting affordable
housing
– Considers range of market and non-market
housing types for middle to low income
households
– Land values, policy environment, inter-municipal
collaboration and coordination are key factors
– Local governments can have an impact

21. Community Action Plan on Poverty
• Collaborative, multi-stakeholder, learning community
• Most people want to do something to end poverty
• Scaling up existing and creating new and innovative
responses to poverty
• Endorsed by over 30 organizations & many individuals
and partners
– City of Victoria, District of North Saanich, Accent
Inns and Westshore Chamber of Commerce

23. www.communitycouncil.ca
www.ccednet-rcdec.ca