Chair: Marcelo Vieta, University of Toronto

Work-Integration Social Enterprises Longitudinal Evaluation Study with At-Risk Youth: Research Opportunities and Challenges
Marcelo Vieta, University of Toronto

With the continued shrinkage of government funding for social programs and growing interest in market-based solutions to social problems, work-integration social enterprises (WISEs) continue to emerge across Canada and internationally as appropriate solutions for integrating members of marginalized social groups into the workforce. Undoubtedly, large investments are being made in WISEs by governments across Canada and by parent non-profits, but research has not clearly demonstrated whether this investment is paying off over time or among certain participant groups. It is also not known whether and how training offered by WISEs may differ from traditional employment supports provided by agencies contracting with federal or provincial labour market development programs. The research focused on in this panel, funded by SSHRC and Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), aims to address these gaps among WISEs that train at-risk youth (ages 17 to 35) for workforce integration, paying particular attention on the challenges and possibilities in researching at-risk youth in WISE programs

Balancing Consistency and Flexibility: Difficulties and Successes in Conducting a Cross-Country Longitudinal Study with Youth Participants in Training Programs at Social Enterprises
Annie Luk, University of Toronto

Mid-Term Findings of the Work-Integration Social Enterprises Longitudinal Evaluation Study with At-Risk Youth in Vancouver, British Columbia
Peter Hall, Urban Studies at Simon Fraser University; Lindsay Simpson, Anthropology MA Simon Fraser University

Work-Integration Social Enterprises in remote and rural First Nation communities in Manitoba
Jide Oni, University of Manitoba; Shirley Thompson, University of Manitoba

Mid-Term Findings of the Work-Integration Social Enterprises Longitudinal Evaluation Study with At-Risk Youth in Toronto, Ottawa, and London, Ontario
Jasmine Hodgson-Bautista, University of Toronto; Andrea Chan, University of Toronto

Year One Findings: Work Integration Social Entreprises in Nova Scotia 
Kaitrin Doll, Dalhousie University

Co-designing an Integrated Social Accounting Model for the Sustainable Development Goals
Laurie Mook, Arizona State University, Gabriele Simmons, University of Toronto