Minister Duclos and Minister Mihychuk launch a call for nominations for a Steering Group to co-create a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy for Canada
News Release
For Immediate Release
Minister Duclos and Minister Mihychuk launch a call for nominations for a Steering Group to co-create a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy for Canada
October 25, 2016 Ottawa, Ontario Employment and Social Development Canada
Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, and the Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced a call for nominations to seek membership on a Steering Group that will embark on a collaborative initiative to co-develop a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy with Government.
Through consultations and engagement activities, the Steering Group will seek perspectives of industry, sector and community leaders to co-create a Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy. Previous findings from government consultations and engagement activities related to social innovation and social finance will help the Steering Group identify policy solutions for the Strategy.
The Government of Canada, recognizing that new approaches are required to tackle social issues, invites leaders, practitioners and experts from multiple fields, including the community, philanthropic, financial and research sectors to apply to become a member of the new Steering Group.
The application period will be open from October 25 to November 21, 2016 (23:59 PT). The members of the Steering Group will be announced in winter 2017.
Quote
“This new steering group—which will be composed of leaders, practitioners and experts from multiple fields—is a critical step towards finding innovative solutions for our society’s most difficult problems. We truly do intend to develop the Strategy with, and not for, our community of stakeholders who will be our partners. This embodies one of the principles of social innovation, that of partnership. Social innovation and social finance will help government to achieve social outcomes in a smarter and more efficient manner, while also improving capacity of social sector to achieve their objectives.”
– The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
“As part of our commitment to strengthen the middle class and help those working hard to join it, our government is bringing a new spirit of innovation to social policy, because we recognize that traditional approaches alone are no longer sufficient to solve complex social issues. This means forging new paths to job creation, looking to social enterprise for leadership, and establishing this Steering Group to leverage a broad range of ideas and know-how from people on the leading edge of social innovation; this is how we’re going to make a real difference for people in our country.”
– The Honourable MaryAnn Mihychuk, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
Quick Facts
• Social finance is a tool that seeks to mobilize private capital for public good. It is a new way of implementing more effective solutions to complex social challenges that leverages the resources of all members of a community.
• In the United Kingdom, government support for social finance over the past five years has helped generate over £600 million in social investment, launch 32 social impact bonds and grow the domestic social enterprise sector, which now employs 2.3 million individuals.
• In the United States, the Social Innovation Fund, which was created in 2009, has so far resulted in the evaluation of 26 strategies in fields such as youth development and healthy living. Eighty-five percent of these strategies were found to have had a positive impact on targeted outcomes.
• The Government of Canada’s planned Social Innovation and Social Finance Steering Group will consist of government officials who will be consulting with external stakeholders to co-create the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy.
• The co-creation of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy may take up to 18 months.
Associated Links
Apply to become a member of the Social Innovation and Social Finance Steering Group
Contacts
Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
More information available here.
