Previous BALTA Research and Related Work that is Relevant to the Scaling Innovation for Sustainability Project
The Resilience Imperative: Co-operative Transitions to a Steady State Economy – This book is the culmination of several years of BALTA supported research and reflection. With our communities confronted by major sustainability challenges, many linked to the impact of climate change, it argues for replacing the paradigm of limitless economic growth with a more decentralized, co-operative, steady-state economy. It examines case studies of success in energy sufficiency, local food systems, low-cost community based financing, affordable housing and land reform. For further information, see:
- The book: http://www.newsociety.com/Books/R/The-Resilience-Imperative
- “Fossil-Fuel-Free Kristianstad” – http://communityrenewal.ca/kristianstad
- “Kirklees, UK: An area-based approach to energy efficiency, housing affordability, and jobs” – http://communityrenewal.ca/kirklees-uk
- “Sweden’s JAK Bank: Liberating Community Finance from the Ball and Chain of Compound Interest” – http://communityrenewal.ca/swedens-jak-bank
- “Affordability Locked In: Community land trusts – good news for households, communities, & taxpayers” – http://communityrenewal.ca/affordability-locked-in
- “The Best of Three Worlds: Mutual Home Ownership combines housing affordability with equity and fairness” – http://communityrenewal.ca/mhos
- “The Co-operative Land Bank: A Solution in Search of a Home” – http://communityrenewal.ca/co-op-landbanks
- “The Housing Treadmill: What it’s costing us – How we get off” – http://communityrenewal.ca/housing-treadmill
Municipal Government Support for the Social Economy Sector – Based on a survey of larger, medium sized and smaller municipalities in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario, this report documents various ways that municipal governments are working with and supporting the social economy sector to address sustainable development challenges. For the report see: http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2813
Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and Affordable Housing – Initial research looked broadly at community land trusts. Subsequent research applied the CLT model to housing affordability (report pending). Several initiatives applying the CLT model to address housing affordability needs are being explored. The Resilience Imperative book also focused in part on CLTs. Other BALTA research has examined other strategies for addressing housing affordability. See:
- “Affordability Locked In: Community land trusts – good news for households, communities, & taxpayers” – http://communityrenewal.ca/affordability-locked-in
- “The Best of Three Worlds: Mutual Home Ownership combines housing affordability with equity and fairness” – http://communityrenewal.ca/mhos·
- “Needs Assessment in Affordable Housing: It’s a complex, yet essential task. In a rural corner of B.C., a research partnership took the lead” – http://communityrenewal.ca/housing-needs-assessment
- “Sustainable Management of Housing by Not-for-profit and Co-operative Organizations in Response to Decreasing Government Funding Programs” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2755
- “Financially Sustainable Provision of Affordable Housing by Not-for-Profit Organizations and Co-operatives: Perspectives from Canada, the USA and Europe” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2757
- “The Housing Treadmill: What it’s costing us – How we get off” – http://communityrenewal.ca/housing-treadmill
- “The Reinvention of Sunnyhill housing co-op” – http://communityrenewal.ca/sunnyhill-futures·
- “How to Break Our Housing Logjam: PPSEPs in B.C.’s Fraser Valley Regional District” – http://communityrenewal.ca/housing-logjam
- “Affordable Housing and the Social Economy in the Fraser Valley Regional District” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/3177
- “Alternative Land Tenure and the Social Economy” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2688
Local Food – BALTA research focused on aspects of local food development, including how to scale up local food systems and the role of farmers’ markets in scaling up local food systems. See:
- “Scaling Up Local Food” – http://communityrenewal.ca/scaling-local-food
- “Can it be both? Local Food Initiatives for Social and Environmental Change in Communities” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2823
- “Seikatsu Consumer Coop: Scaling-up Food System Transformation” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2822
- “Linking Local Food Systems and the Social Economy? Future Roles for Farmers’ Markets in Alberta and British Columbia” – http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1549-0831.2011.00068.x/full
- “Scaling up alternative food networks; farmers’ markets and the role of clustering in western Canada” –https://springerlink3.metapress.com/content/e80560882050k558/resource-secured/?target=fulltext.html&sid=u1xd152ibsrizxbg5bmol3rt&sh=www.springerlink.com
Green Energy – BALTA research examined the potential for wind energy development in Alberta using social economy models (e.g. co-operatives). Green energy was also a theme in the Resilience Imperative book. See:
- “Best Practices in Social Economy and Community Wind” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2633
- “Status of Social Economy Provision of Wind Electric Energy in Alberta” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2632
- “Alberta Social Economy Wind Projects Next Steps Strategy” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2634
- “Fossil-Fuel-Free Kristianstad” – http://communityrenewal.ca/kristianstad
- “Kirklees, UK: An area-based approach to energy efficiency, housing affordability, and jobs” –
Community and Social Finance – BALTA research looked at aspects of finance related to sustainability and community social and economic development. Finance is also addressed in publications and reports noted in other sections above. See:
- “The Nonprofit Sector Capital Market in BC and Alberta” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2524
- “Westlock Grain Terminals : A Case Study” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2956
- Community Finance and Investment Options: Local Capital Investment and Finance Options for Rural Alberta Communities – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/3206
- “Social Enterprise Purchasing Toolkit” – http://www.enterprisingnonprofits.ca/e-library-resources/social-enterprise-purchasing-toolkit
- “Some Initiatives that Enabled the Institutionalization of Quebec’s Social Economy: Civil Society’s Crucial Role and the State’s Essential Role” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2798
- “Supporting Innovative Co-operative Development: The Case of the Nova Scotia Co-operative Development System” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2806
- “Credit Unions and the Social Economy: Building Capacity” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2525
Co-operative Development – BALTA research has focused on both the contribution that the co-operative sector and co-operative models can make to addressing sustainability and community social needs and on how to strengthen the support system for co-operatives. In addition to research reports, BALTA research contributed to a book, Humanizing the Economy: Co-operatives in the Age of Capital, which makes the case for co-operatives as a vital tool for addressing people centered and sustainable development. A new initiative growing out of this work is The Co-operative City, promoting municipal level strategies to build co-operation as a vehicle for social and economic sustainability. See:
- Humanizing the Economy: Co-operatives in the Age of Capital – http://www.newsociety.com/Books/H/Humanizing-the-Economy
- “The Co-operative City: Social and economic tools for sustainability” – http://www.bcca.coop/sites/bcca.coop/files/The_Co-operative_City_June_11.pdf
- “Supporting Innovative Co-operative Development: The Case of the Nova Scotia Co-operative Development System” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2806
- “Exploring Applications of the Nova Scotia Co-op Development System in B.C. and Alberta” – http://auspace.athabascau.ca/handle/2149/2809
Seeds of Transition: The convergence of the social economy and sustainable community development – When published (2013), this book will include BALTA research and reflection on contributions that the social economy can make to address sustainable community development. Topics include alternative food systems, land tenure, affordable housing, resource management, rural development and human services.