Browse by keyword "Social policy"
Displaying Results 1 to 8 of 8
1. Action Plan Recommendations to Maximize Social Innovation in British Columbia (2012)
Authors: BC Social Innovation Council
In 2011, the BC Social Innovation Council was established to help the government of British Columbia find new ways to tackle social challenges. The council included representatives of government, Aboriginal and community organizations, and business agencies with an interest in social entrepreneurship, including credit unions, foundations, investors, and social entrepreneurs.
This final report from the council contains eleven recommendations, focusing on five key areas: supporting social enterprise; legislative enablement; social innovation labs; engaging communities; and learning and research.
The recommendations include establishing a social enterprise investment tax credit to attract new investors and capital for non-profits and social enterprises; including social enterprises under eligibility criteria for government-sponsored business development programs that target small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and completing the establishment of Community Contribution Companies (CCCs) as a new corporate structure to raise capital and achieve a social mission.
Some of the recommendations focus specifically on the needs of British Columbia’s Aboriginal people, including one that recommends the formation of a broadly based partnership to develop a targeted strategy to build social entrepreneurship and social innovation capacity in the province’s First Nations communities.
For more on the council’s work, please click here: http://www.innovatebc.ca/.
Added: 2013-01-28
2. The Case for Financial Literacy: Assessing the effects of financial literacy interventions for low income and vulnerable groups in Canada (2012)
Authors: Jennifer Robson
This report was commissioned by the Canadian Centre for Financial Literacy (CCFL), a division of Social and Enterprise Development innovations (SEDI), to assess what is known about the impact of financial literacy programs for vulnerable Canadians and to determine future directions for research, policy, and practice.
All Canadians, regardless of their income level, need to be financially literate, the author notes. Mainstream financial information, tools, and advice are useful for middle or higher income Canadians, but are often less so for low-income Canadians and can even be detrimental.
Community financial literacy programs, therefore, play a crucial role in adapting basic financial advice so that it responds more directly to the real lives and needs of vulnerable Canadians.
At the same time, the author cautions that financial literacy is not a cure-all and should not be seen as an alternative to effective regulation, adequate financial resources, and other public policies to promote social and economic inclusion and well-being.
Added: 2013-01-16
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3. Critical Crossroads: Youth, Criminal Justice and Literacy - Final report (2012)
Series: Critical Crossroads: Youth, Criminal Justice and Literacy
Authors: Avril Colenutt, Margaret A. Toye
This document summarizes the proceedings and recommendations of a national forum that brought together experts in education, social services, and the justice system to encourage action on the issue of literacy for youth in conflict with the law. Teachers, politicians, police, parole officers, students, community workers, and volunteers attended conferences held concurrently in cities around Canada on June 5, 2012. In addition, online participants were able to submit questions by email or through Twitter.
Participants identified a number of key issues, including the need for collaboration across sectors and organizations; the vital importance of early intervention and the involvement of parents; and the wisdom of providing funds for early intervention and preventative measures, rather than offering support only after young people have already entered the justice system.
They recommended establishing and sharing best practices with those who police, sentence, monitor, and support youth before, during and after incarceration, so that they are aware of the importance of literacy and have strategies they can use to help young people.
The forum was organized by Frontier College, a national literacy organization. In preparation for it, Frontier College published a discussion paper and a literature review, which can be viewed by clicking here http://library.nald.ca/item/10431 and here: http://library.nald.ca/item/10446.
Added: 2013-01-04
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4. Defining Essential Digital Skills in the Canadian Workplace: Final Report (2011)
Authors: Chris Chinien, France Boutin
The goal of this study, carried out on behalf of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), was to re-examine the existing concept of computer use as one of the nine Essential Skills and to make adjustments to more fully reflect the changing skills needs of Canada’s knowledge-based economy.
The study included a literature review; consultations with employers; the proposal of a framework for defining the essential digital skills for work in Canada; the identification of existing tools for assessing those skills; and the development of a new complexity-rating scale for digital skills.
The authors conclude that digital skills are essential survival skills for the 21st century. They note that digital skill is not merely about operating digital systems and tools, but involves more complex cognitive skills for processing different types of information effectively. As a result, policy targeted to access and equity in digital technology cannot be limited to physical access, but must also focus on intellectual access.
The authors recommend using the digital skills framework developed for this study as the basis for further research.
They also recommend updating HRSDC’s Essential Skills occupational profiles to replace “computer use” with “digital skills” and including a new complexity scale reflecting this broader concept; conducting further research to investigate the interconnectedness of the four skill cluster included in framework; and ensuring that the definitions of digital literacy remain fluid to allow for adaptations to reflect changes in technology.
Funders:
Added: 2011-07-14
5. An Inter-sectoral Approach for Improving Health Literacy for Canadians - A Discussion Paper (2012)
Authors: Irving Rootman, Wayne Mitic
This discussion paper is the work of a multi-sector advisory group convened by the Public Health Association of British Columbia with the goal of identifying priorities and organizing them into a comprehensive framework for improving health literacy in Canada.
The document includes a definition of health literacy and an explanation of why it is important.
The authors note that the development of a comprehensive strategy for improving health literacy includes three components: developing knowledge; raising awareness and building capacity; and building infrastructure and partnerships.
Improving Canadians’ health literacy will require cooperative, concerted action by all levels of government; the health sector; the education sector; workplaces and businesses; and community organizations.
The authors call upon groups to review this discussion paper and examine how its ideas apply to their contexts, then provide feedback on how the framework could be improved to better support their health literacy work.
Added: 2012-05-25
6. Landscape of Literacy and Disability in Canada (2008)
Authors: Ezra B.W. Zubrow, Marcia H. Rioux, Christina K. Spielman, Mihaela Dinca-Panaitescu, Gail Kunkel, Allyson Marsolais
Using easy-to-read maps, this report shows the wide discrepancy of literacy between those with and without disabilities.
The authors have used a Geographic Information System (GIS) to prepare maps that illustrate a variety of data about the relationship between literacy and disability in Canada. For instance, there are maps that show participation in the labour force by people with disabilities and by people with low literacy skills; income levels correlated with literacy skills and with disabilities; and the distribution of the population with disabilities by province and territory.
The authors note that this spatial look at social issues can provide useful tools for the development of policy and services.
The authors have provided difficult-to-locate statistical data. They point out that their work has shown that persons with disabilities face obstacles to full participation in Canadian society, adding that the evidence suggests it is easier for people with disabilities or with literacy problems to live an inclusive life in British Columbia and Alberta than in other areas of Canada.
To order a copy of “Landscape of Literacy and Disability in Canada”, please go the Canadian Abilities Foundation Online Store: http://www.beanstreamcarts.com/stores/abilities/group.asp?groupid=5863&c=0.
Added: 2011-03-01
7. Plain Language Summaries: Measuring Adult Literacy and Life Skills - New Frameworks for Assessment (2008)
Series: Plain language summaries of Statistics Canada research reports
Authors: T. Scott Murray
This is one in a series of straightforward summaries of a number of online research documents from Statistics Canada. It is part of a project carried out by the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD), with funding from the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL).
In this summary, the author reports on a study that documents key aspects of the development of the International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL), including its theoretical roots; the skill domains selected for possible assessment; the approaches taken to assessment in each domain; and the criteria employed to decide which domains were to be carried in the final design.
The ALL survey was meant to build on the success of the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) assessments by extending the range of skills assessed and by improving the quality of the assessment methods employed.
The study concludes that having valid, reliable, comparable and interpretable estimates of adult skill is important to addressing issues in several important labour market, social, educational, and health policy domains.
Funders:
- Canadian Council on Learning (CCL)
Added: 2012-11-13
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8. Why a learning city? (2010)
Revue « À lire en ligne », FCAF
Authors: Ron Faris
This document is one of a series the author prepared for a special issue of “À lire en ligne,” the annual journal of the Fédération canadienne pour l’alphabétisation en français (FCAF). The issue focused solely on place-based learning communities, defined as places that utilize the resources of all sectors, not just the formal education system, for learning.
In this article, the author notes that a recent research study estimated that there were almost 300 learning cities and towns distributed around the world in which lifelong learning is explicitly used as an organizing principle and social/cultural goal to foster safer, healthier, more inclusive, better educated and creative cities.
The author describes learning as social process because most learning is acquired with and from others.
Added: 2011-05-17
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© 2012 National Adult Literacy Database
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