Research Outcomes – Tools

In addition to the reports resulting from our research, there are a number of unique tools and resources being produced. Those outcomes are featured here.

• The Social Economy Governance Portal
• Co-operatives in Canada: Distribution Maps
• Building Community: Creating Social and Economic Well-Being – an Online Exhibit
• The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool: A History in Pictures – a Virtual Exhibit

Click the button on the left to visit The Social Economy Governance Portal.
The material on this website has been gathered from the best sources in corporate governance, co-operative governance and social economy and third sector governance. While governance is a broad topic and no consensus exists on best practice, we hope that you will find these materials useful in investigating governance in the social economy. Topics are organized under the headings of Models of Governance, Tools for Excellence, Building Organizational Culture, Community Planning and Resilience, Keeping it Legal, Education and Research and Professional Services.

The Social Economy Governance Portal also offers case studies on effective governance in existing social enterprises, a dictionary of governance terms, a list of books, journals and magazines on the topic and a list of all the websites sourced in the construction of this website. You may use the governance blog to communicate with practitioners and researchers on topics relevant to governance of social enterprises and may post or receive information on various governance conferences and events occurring in Canada and internationally. Enjoy!

This website is a direct outcome of the SSHRC-funded Linking, Learning, Leveraging Project entitled, Toolkit for Empowering Practices in Social Economy Governance and Planning (CL3-02), for which Murray Fulton is the academic researcher and principal investigator, Quintin Fox is the community researcher, and Karlah Rudolph is the student researcher.

Click the button on the left to view regional maps showing the distribution of membership and assets of co-operatives in Canada.
GIS techniques were employed to show the spatial distribution of Co-operatives across Canada. This allows viewers to have an appreciation of the geographical spread of Co-operatives as well as identify the clustering of particular types of co-operatives in specific regions. Mapping the presence of co-operatives will be utilized to determine the impact that they have on their local communities as well as the spillover effects to surrounding regions. The study hypothesizes that co-operatives as a form of social capital enhances the quality of life in communities, hence help in their growth though attracting population. It is hoped that such linkages will enable co-operatives to get the support they deserve.

Read the preamble and about the methodology for the project here.

Read the report that accompanies the maps: Measuring and Mapping the Impact of Social Economy Enterprises: The Role of Co-operatives in Community Population Growth, by Chipo Kangayi, Rose Olfert, and Mark Partridge (CL4-06).

The images below are thumbnail representations of just some of the many maps available. Click on an image to see all of the maps for that region.

Click the button on the left to enter the exhibit, Building Community: Creating Social and Economic Well-Being – an Online Exhibit.
This exhibit is an online version of the one that was mounted in the Diefenbaker Canada Centre at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada from May through October of 2010. The preparation of the exhibit was a joint project by the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives and the Diefenbaker Canada Centre.

This exhibition of research results focusing on co-operatives and the social economy encourages visitors to imagine what is possible in their communities and illustrates how to make those dreams become a reality.

Suitable for all ages, the exhibit examines the following four interrelated subthemes:

• Building Sustainable Communities
• Building Engaged Communities
• Building Enterprising Communities
• Building Inclusive Communities

We hope you enjoy the exhibit and are inspired.

Click the logo to the left to enter the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool: A History in Pictures virtual exhibit. Navigate the exhibit by using the links in the left panel or the buttons at the lower right of the screen.

In 2001, the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool donated its papers to the University of Saskatchewan Archives. The collection includes over 39 metres of textual records, 6754 slides and 2689 photographs along with hundreds of film, video and audio tapes. This site attempts to make some of the images of this vast collection more accessible to the public while also telling a part of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool’s story. It is a joint effort of The Centre for the Study of Co-operatives and the University of Saskatchewan Archives and hopes to illustrate the strong social role of the Pool in Saskatchewan communities, as well as its economic and political importance to producers.