Chair: Kunle Akingbola, Lakehead University

Bringing Community Control Back to the Community Land Trust
Graham Hughes, OISE - University of Toronto; Jennifer Sumner, OISE - University of Toronto

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are democratically governed not-for-profit organizations that hold and steward land for community use. These organizations have their roots in the United States Civil Rights Movement, specifically the sections of the movement fighting for community control and collective ownership. Despite these roots, the primary function of CLTs today is to provide affordable housing, specifically affordable home ownership opportunities. This paper will first explore this trend in the CLT movement within the current historical moment of Neoliberal Capitalism. It will then make the argument for a return to the movement’s roots in community control and collective ownership, and discuss several ways that individual CLTs and the CLT movement can begin to achieve this change.

From Shelter to Vertical Farming: Social Enterprise and Innovation in a Rural Ontario Nonprofit Organization.
Kunle Akingbola, Lakehead University; Salewa Olawoye, York University

The purpose of this research is to examine the processes, interaction and challenges involved in the planning and implementation of a vertical farm social enterprise in rural Ontario non-profit organisations. Specifically, the paper draws on institutional entrepreneurship to examine the relationship between factors that influence the implementation of social enterprise in a rural non-profit organisation. In addition to the industry specific drivers of social enterprise, the social enterprise at HTH was proposed and developed as a result of a number of organizational and external factors. The project illustrates how institutional entrepreneurship, stakeholder engagement and organizational learning can drive innovation and social enterprise.

The Langside Learning Garden
Judith Harris, University of Winnipeg; Lee Anne Block, University of Winnipeg; Alan Diduck, University of Winnipeg; Olivia Michalczuk, Spence Neighbourhood Association

This study of a community-university partnership, is focused on piloting of sustainable urban gardening practices. Communities that have been home to large institutions such as universities and hospitals, have sometimes benefited and often suffered from the effects of the larger neighbour’s activities. The partners in this project are undertaking this initiative with the intention of setting a future course that maximizes the mutual benefits of the relationship and ensures that there is meaningful consultation. We provide a meta-analysis of the larger project. Our study, mainly qualitative in approach, analyses records of meetings, key documents, communication and activities undertaken by the two partners, University of Winnipeg and the Spence Neighbourhood Association.