Introduction to Community
Economic Development
What it is and the case for it
Community Economic Development
a.k.a. Community-based development
An approach emphasizing local self-sufficiency, local
decision-making, and local ownership.
A strategic response that might assist communities
to take up development opportunities and
challenges. (Loxley, 2000)
A holistic approach
It links economic development with a wider
social and economic process.
small scale economic activities
provision of local needs and demand
a microeconomic approach
No universally accepted definition of CED
United Nations 1955
• A process designed to create conditions of
economic and social progress for the whole
community with its active participation and
the fullest reliance upon the community’s
initiative.
Conference Board of Canada 1994
• A strategy by which local development
organizations mobilize local resources for a
multi-faceted development campaign.
CED in the economic context
• polar opposite of capitalist forms of
development
• capitalist development typically brings the
“development” to a community from the
outside
• CED promotes development from the “inside”
CED in the economic context
• people in a community are to be the authors,
architects and builders of their development
CED in the economic context
• The people of a community may need
assistance and supports in building their
community’s future.
What is a community?
What is the case for CED?
The concept of the “Social
Economy” is relevant to CED
What is the social economy?
The social economy is a grass-roots
entrepreneurial, not-for-profit sector, based on
democratic values that seeks to enhance the social,
economic, and environmental conditions of
communities, often with a focus on their
disadvantaged members.
(Human Resources and Social Development
Canada)
Why is the federal government
interested in social economy
enterprises?
Governments are increasingly turning to
community-based processes and initiatives to
address local problems with local solutions.
What are social economy enterprises?
• Social economy enterprises are run like businesses
• Produce goods and services for the market economy
• Manage their operations and redirect their surpluses
in the pursuit of social and community goals
• Often grow out of broad-based community
development strategies
What benefits do the social economy
bring to communities?
It contributes to a range of community goals
and has the potential to create collective
wealth through the production of goods and
services.
Social economy enterprises provide a
flexible and sustainable tool that can
help communities to achieve their own
objectives,
such as:
– stimulating job creation and skills development;
– enhancing community capacity for social supports;
– supporting economic growth and neighbourhood
revitalization;
– protecting the environment;
– mobilizing disadvantaged groups.
Is the social economy important in
other parts of the world?
Several of OECD countries have developed
strategies to promote social enterprises.
– The European Union includes the social economy
in its entrepreneurship pillar.
– The UK launched a strategy with the Department
of Trade and Industry to support the growth of the
social economy (2002).