18 June 2010

Community Economic Development Conference - Survey Summary

A survey of the participants at the Community Economic Development Conference in February 2010 was undertaken by an independent researcher to obtain data that would inform the conference organisers about:

• how financially independent the participant organisations are;
• what the conference participants saw as the most relevant ideas for development of New Zealand's social economy and the main challenges in applying these ideas;
• the interest in a network for social entrepreneurs, and what its functions should be.

The conference created an opportunity to gather participants' perspectives about community economic development that could be used to inform planning and decision-making to support the community and voluntary sector. It is important to note that this research was intended to provide indicative information that could prompt further detailed research in this sector.

A summary of the survey is attached.