Workplans and Research Projects

BALTA’s research is broadly focused in five program areas:

Social Economy Research Cluster (SERC) 1 – The Social Economy in Human Services and Housing
Social Economy Research Cluster (SERC) 2 – The Social Economy in Rural Revitalization & Development
Social Economy Research Cluster (SERC) 3 – Analysis, Evaluation, and Infrastructure
Mapping of the Overall Social Economy in Alberta and British Columbia
Cross-Cutting Research

Each SERC includes community based practitioners and academic researchers. Individual projects are generally led by one or two SERC members and frequently employ students as research assistants. The thematic division between SERCs is in practice somewhat arbitrary. Research projects initiated by one team or another often cross over into areas relevant to other SERCs. We also have several projects that were designed specifically as “cross-cutting” projects linked to more than one SERC.

BALTA Projects to December 2009

(Completion Date or Anticipated Completion Date in Brackets)

SERC 1 Projects - The Social Economy in Human Services and Housing

A1-2007	Innovative Use of Housing Co-operative Assets (Completed 2008)
A2-2007	Co-operative Models of Social Care (2008 for initial reports; 2010)
A3-2007	The Social Purpose Capital Market in B.C. and Alberta (Completed 2009)
A4-2007	Role of Faith Based Organizations in the Social Economy (Completed 2009)
A5-2007	Affordable Housing Assessment and Strategic Planning, Kootenay Region (Completed 2009)
A6-2008	The Fraser Valley Social Economy with Reference to Affordable Housing Provision and Related Support Services (Mid-2010)
A7-2009	Co-op Housing Futures: A Spatial Design Research Approach (Spring 2010)
A8-2009	Creating a Database of Social Enterprise Capital Providers in BC and Alberta (2010)
A9-2009	Affordable Housing Initiative: Sustainable Management of Housing by Not-for-Profits and Co-ops (Fall 2009/ early 2010 for follow-up)
A10-2009	Role of Faith Based Organizations in the Social Economy – Phase 2 - The Role of Catholic Religious Orders and the Mennonite Community (2010)

See SERC 1 workplans

See SERC 1 project proposals and plans

See SERC 1 project reports and papers to date

SERC 3 Projects - Analysis, Evaluation, and Infrastructure

C1-2006	Summary of Quebec Polices that are Supportive of the Social Economy (Completed 2006)
C2-2006	Nova Scotia Co-operative Development System Case Study – Phase One (Completed 2007)
C4-2007	Preliminary Profile of the Size and Scope of the Social Economy in Alberta and BC (Completed 2008)
C5-2007	From Social Economy to Solidarity Economy: Changing Perspectives in a Volatile World – Phase 1 (Completed 2007)
C6-2007	From Social Economy to Solidarity Economy: Changing Perspectives in a Volatile World – Phase 2 (Completed 2007)
C7-2007	Nova Scotia Co-operative Development System Case Study – Phase 2: Analysis of Application in BC and Alberta (Completed 2009)
C9-2007	CED and Social Economy Policy Inventory in BC and Alberta – Phase 1 (Late 2009 or early 2010)
C10-2007	Municipal Government Support of the Social Economy Sector (Late 2009 or early 2010)
C11-2007	Credit Unions as a Financing Source for the Social Economy (Completed 2008)
C13-2008	Return on Taxpayer Investment for Training Businesses (Completed 2009)
C14-2008	Leadership in the Community Sector: understanding the Challenges, Competencies and Needs of Practitioners in the Social Economy (Completed 2009)
C15-2008	Taking Social Embeddedness into Account in Monitoring the State of the Social Economy and Community Resilience (2010)
C16-2009	Survey of Social Enterprises in Alberta and British Columbia (Mid-2010)
C19-2009	Building a Supportive Environment for Social Enterprise: Synthesis of SERC 3 Research (Late 2009 or early 2010)
C18-2009	Procurement Policy & Market Development for the Social Economy: Expanding Market Opportunities for Social Enterprise, Co-operatives, and Other Social Economy Businesses (Completed 2009)

See SERC 3 workplans

See SERC 3 project proposals and plans

See SERC 3 project reports and papers to date

Cross-Cutting Projects

D1-2006	Preliminary General Literature Reviews for Three BALTA SERCs (Completed 2007)
D2-2007	Leveraging Social Ownership of Proprietary Trademarks related to the Golden Mussel as a Base for Expansion of Social Enterprise in Coastal B.C. Aboriginal Communities (Late 2009/Early 2010)
D3-2008	Land Tenure and the Social Economy (Completed 2009)
D4-2008	Sustainable Infrastructure for the Social Economy: Cluster-based Social Enterprise Models (Completed 2009)
D5-2008	Credit Unions as a Financing Source for the Social Economy and Rural Community Re-investment (Completed 2009)
D6-2009	Foundations for the Social Economy (Initial outputs Fall 2009)
D7-2009	Land Tenure and the Social Economy – Phase 2 (2010)
D8-2009	Credit Unions and Rural Reinvestment – Phase B (2010)
D10-2009	Advancing the Social Economy Through Networks and Collaboration (2010)

See cross-cutting project proposals and plans

See cross-cutting project reports and papers to date

Mapping Projects

E1-2006	Mapping Framework Development (Completed 2007)
E2-2007	Mapping the Social Economy in Alberta and B.C. – Phase 1 (Completed 2009)
E3-2008	Mapping the Social Economy from the Ground Up: A Neighbourhood Case Study (Early 2010)
E4-2009	BALTA Mapping 2009-2010 – Survey, Survey Analysis, and Data Archiving (2011)

See Mapping framework and workplans

See Mapping reports and papers to date on methodology

See Mapping reports and papers to date on research results