Measuring and Mapping the Impact of Social Economy Enterprises: The Role of Co-operatives in Community Population Growth
Last Updated on April 1st, 2010
Project Title: Measuring and Mapping the Impact of Social Economy Enterprises: The Role of Co-operatives in Community Population Growth
Project Number: CL4-06
Term of Project: May 2006 to October 2007
Status: Completed
Academic Researchers:
- Rose Olfert, University of Saskatchewan (academic supervisor)
- Mark D. Partridge, Ohio State University (academic supervisor)
Student Researcher:
- Chipo Kangayi, University of Saskatchewan (International MA student - scholarship)
Community Researchers:
- Rhiannen Putt, Co-operatives Secretariat (community advisor)
- Albert Daoust, Co-operatives Secretariat (community advisor)
Community Partner:
Project Summary:
The major objective is to investigate the impact of co-operatives on community growth and vitality.
Why Investigate the Impact of Co-operatives?
- The research proposes that as a form of social enterprises, cooperatives create and enhance the social capital within communities. These attributes may enhance communities, especially rural, to be
viable and attractive.
- This premise is supported by a growing concern for the decline of most rural communities in most regions in Canada.
Specific Project-Level Research Objectives:
- To evaluate the impact of co-operatives on population change in the communities in which they are situated
- To provide an understanding of how co-operatives vary spatially
- To assess how the different types of co-operatives impact local communities
- To provide the visual depiction of the incidence and impact of co-operatives
Expected Deliverables:
- National level maps of co-op incidence
- Workshop presentation
- Report
- Master’s thesis
Findings:
- In addition to Co-operatives Secretariat data, researchers used a set of geographically coded socio-economic variables to estimate a model of population change.
- Choice of dependent variable is vital because an area’s growth vitality and growth is best measured by its population dynamics.
- At the national level there was no marginal effect of co-op impact on community growth. However, some positive co-op effects were found when geography was reduced to regions and by co-op type. These results suggest there maybe scope for co-ops to built on their social capital attributes. Further research in this regard maybe informative.
- The spatial distribution of co-operatives across western, central, and eastern Canada has been mapped. The northern territories are not accounted for due to data limitations. Saskatchewan seems to exhibit the densest co-ops.
- Data collected by the Co-operatives Secretariat show that there are 7,073 active co-operatives in these parts of Canada.
Project Poster: Poster (pdf)
Final Report: Final Report (pdf)
Projected Expenditures: $29,000
In-Kind Contributions:
Publicity:
Dissemination Activities:
- Workshop: Measuring and Mapping the Impact of Social Economy Enterprises. Presented at “Community Revitalization: Co-ops and other Social Enterprises”, a learning seminar hosted by the Rural Secretariat, November 20, 2006. Attendees: Rural Secretariat, researchers, students, community groups.
- Graduate Student Seminar: Measuring and Mapping the Impact of the Social Economy: A Case of Co-operatives in Canada, September 28, 2007. Attendees: Graduate students, faculty, community groups and other interested non-academic groups.
Additional Notes:
Member of the Canadian Social Economy Research Partnerships
Funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada / Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada
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