16 York Street, Cannington, Ontario
705-432-2444
SERA Community Ventures

RURAL COLLABORATIVE FORUM

October 20, 2017
Pinestone Resort, Haliburton, ON

Program Agenda

9:00 – 9:30am  Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:30am Welcome
9:35am Opening Panel Discussion:The Changing Landscape of Social Enterprise in Ontario: Opportunities, Challenges, & Potential for Rural Communities

Panel Members: Heather Reid, Abbey Gardens; David Meyer, Entrepreneurship & Start Up Services Branch, Ministry of Economic Development & Growth; Paul Chamberlain, Toronto Enterprise Fund & OSER; Moderated by SERA.
10:20am   Break
10:30am – 12:00pm Guest Speaker Presentations:

  • How the OSER and its Charter are bringing value to social enterprise and creating rural opportunity – presented by Paul Chamberlain, Founding Member of Ontario Social Enterprise Roundtable (OSER) & Manager, Toronto Enterprise Fund/United Way Toronto

 

  • The Ontario Social Enterprise Strategy and Ontario Social Impact Measurement Strategy – presented by David Meyer, Director, Entrepreneurship & Start Up Services, Ministry of Economic Development & Growth

 

  • Abbey Gardens: A case study of rural innovation – a discussion with Heather Reid, Operations Director, Abbey Gardens 
12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch & Meet Ups (by sector): Food, Housing/Transportation, Environment, Arts & Culture

In an interactive format, participants will forge new connections and exchange ideas on a range of social innovation topics over lunch. Organized by sector, these facilitated table discussions are a chance to share your successes, challenges, and strategies with colleagues from rural Ontario. Featured sectors will be determined by Forum registrations.
1:00pm  “A Collaborative Approach to Understanding and Informing a Rural Alliance for Social Enterprise Development”  – Presentation of research findings

SERA Community Ventures recently completed a year-long research study to identify viable strategies to engage rural communities in innovative approaches to socio-economic development (including but not limited to social enterprise) and to assess and conceive a best practice rural alliance structure and implementation strategy, through a collaborative approach, to best serve the interest and needs of rural community socio-economic development stakeholders in Ontario. The SERA Community Ventures project team will present a summary of the findings and opportunities for future collaboration.
1:45pm Break
2:00pm Guest Speaker Presentation:

  • Who’s your Intrapreneur ? – presented by Marjorie Brans, Director, School for Social Entrepreneurship Ontario
2:45pm Closing Remarks
3:00 – 4:00 pm Departures for Off site Tour. Own transportation.
4:00 – 6:00pm Off site tour  and dinner reception at Abbey Gardens
Registration Fee includes: all meeting materials, speakers, continental breakfast, all-day coffee, luncheon, light dinner and brewery tasting, off-site tour of Abbey Gardens, 1-year Individual or Organization Membership in the SERA Rural Alliance, research findings publication, all taxes and gratuities