ANSER
By Louise Chatterton Luchuk
May 31, 2010
CALGARY, AB // If you are looking for answers, you may not have to look any further than ANSER. That is the acronym of the Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research, a Canadian association for those who have an interest in research that pertains broadly to nonprofit organizations and the social economy. ANSER's goal is to:
- build a collaborative community of scholars and researchers; and
- develop a Canadian body of knowledge that encompasses such fields as community economic development, philanthropy, nonprofit management, volunteering, social and environmental accounting, government/voluntary sector relationships, social movements, citizen engagement, and civil society.
In short, ANSER is like a professional association of people who do research about nonprofit organizations and the social economy. Membership includes researchers from a wide variety of scholarly fields such as economics, history, law, business and management, education, psychology, political science, public administration and sociology. That means that ANSER has a unique perspective about what is innovative in the nonprofit sector and social economy in Canada.
ANSER is a fairly new entity that got its start about three years ago when a few people started talking about creating an association, according to president, Jack Quarter. Quarter is co-director of the Social Economy Centre (SEC) at the University of Toronto and he along with a small group of other researchers — Keith Seel, Peter Elson, Michael Hall, Vic Murray, and Laurie Mook — were instrumental in planning the first ever ANSER conference which was held in June 2008 during the annual Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of British Columbia. About 115 people registered that very first year which was a pleasant surprise, says Quarter. Last year 160 people registered for the second conference (held at Carleton University in Ottawa) and this year's conference will be held at Concordia University in Montreal from June 2-4th.
Coming soon! New online journal launched
ANSER continues to grow and this fall, they will release the first issue of their new online, multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary journal. The Canadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSERJ) is about providing a stimulating and vibrant forum for the open dissemination of contemporary high-quality, peer-reviewed research on nonprofit organizations and the social economy. The journal is about extending and linking the value of nonprofit and social economy research relationships across Canada and throughout the world.
Quarter highlights the importance of that last point: "What is innovative, is that for the first time people who do research on nonprofits and organizations with a social mission in Canada are coming together to share their work with each other. We're putting together capacity for ongoing relationships and networks so we can relate to each other." So while researchers' interests range from the theoretical to the applied, the common goal is to promote the development and application of knowledge for the benefit of Canadians and others in collaboration with those working in the nonprofit sector and the social economy. Furthermore, the presence of ANSER will give impetus for the further development of university centres that specialize in the nonprofit sector.
Making research practical
Quarter recognizes that "research has its own dynamic and not all of it is practical and of use to people who are working in nonprofit organizations (i.e. practitioners)." However, he is able to quickly cite examples of how research can be directly applicable to those working in nonprofit organizations. For instance, The Social Economy Centre of the University of Toronto promotes and disseminates multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on issues affecting the social economy. A central feature of Quarter's Social Economy Centre is that it creates a bridge between the university and other community organizations, particularly nonprofits and co-operatives. The spin-off benefit for organizations is that SEC provides a series of monthly workshops through which leaders in social economy organizations can upgrade their skills and acquire a certificate. They also host a monthly speaker series that is webcast and archived on their website.
A snapshot of... |
Who: ANSER
Mandate/Mission: Build a collaborative community of scholars and researchers. Develop a Canadian body of knowledge that encompasses such fields as community economic development, philanthropy, nonprofit management, volunteering, social and environmental accounting, government/voluntary sector relationships, social movements, citizen engagement, and civil society.
Location: Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB
When established: 2008
Number of staff: 0
Number of volunteers: The board consists of 16 volunteers and there are at least two others on the journal.
Budget: At this point in time, about $20,000
|
|
|
Or, take the VolunteersCount project, another practical example of connecting research to the needs of practitioners. VolunteersCount is a program developed by Laurie Mook, Quarter's co-director at the SEC. It is a web-based program that helps an organization track its volunteer contributions and estimate their value. The program then generates reports that can be used internally by the organization to understand aspects of volunteer management or externally to report to funders, donors and members.
As Quarter explains, the project started back in 2003 as a result of a book published by the Social Economy Centre: What Counts: Social Accounting for Nonprofits. Mook then suggested that the SEC start to think about an online tool that nonprofit organizations (particularly small- and medium-sized ones) could use. The SEC was able to access a significant amount of research funds (in the order of $100,000) to develop the online tool and additional funding has opened the door for the SEC to work with Volunteer Toronto to do public outreach to help nonprofit organizations access and use the tool. Says Quarter, "This is an example of the connection between research, research funding, and public outreach that works for the benefit of nonprofit organizations. It's a good example of how research translates into practical use."
ANSER contributes to the nonprofit sector and social economy in a number of valuable ways. This new association provides a networking tool for scholarly researchers, builds interest in nonprofit organizations and the social economy, provides some practical tools for practitioners and connects organizations to alternate research-based funding sources...that is how ANSER provides answers.
Louise Chatterton Luchuk provides research and resources for organizations that want to strategically move forward. She is a consultant and writer who combines her love of writing with research and project management experience at the regional, provincial and national levels of voluntary/nonprofit organizations. You can reach Louise at info@luchuk.com.
Have you -- or your organization -- experienced a stunning success or spectacular failure? How are you creatively and innovatively making your mark? These are the stories we want to capture. Help make the nonprofit sector stronger by sharing your story and the valuable lessons you learned along the way. Email us today at editor@charityvillage.com.
