The communities of Northern Canada are facing a long list of challenges. While governments and industry continue to pursue activities and policies that have the potential to assist communities in their attempts to deal with the issues they are currently facing, another sector exists in the region that is working to help in this same task. Social economy groups are increasingly visible as actors that are invaluable in helping communities deal with the difficulties they are facing. Community-based voluntary, non-profit, and cooperative organizations have long been used by the people of the region to help them build stronger communities. However, in the past, these associations have been given little credit for the work they do. We are at a point in the development of the region that the value of these groups is becoming increasingly apparent.
At a time when communities need to be mobilized around actions to deal with social problems, these organizations build the social capital necessary to do this. At a time when communities are asking for more of a say in the direction of their region these organizations provide a vehicle for this type of empowerment. When increased capacity in the North is required these groups have provided this. When flexibility is required to respond to quickly changing situations these associations have been seen to be extremely innovative and adaptable.
The Social Economy Research Network for Northern Canada (SERNNoCa) was created in 2006 following the awarding of a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. It brought together a partnership of researchers and community partners around the idea of researching the work that voluntary, non-profit, and cooperative organizations do to assist their communities in dealing with the challenges that they face. We wanted to find out more about the importance of these groups, how they help communities, and what issues they face. SERNNoCa conducted research from 2006 until 2013 when a lack of funding resulted in reduced activities.
Until recently, SERNNoCa used a website which allowed easy access to our existing database, all our past research, and other useful tools for social economy organizations in the north. Recent technical issues at Yukon University have caused this website to go offline but we hope to relaunch it soon.
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coordinator@sernnoca.ca