Team Players: Good news from Nova Scotia about the role of government in CED

Abstract

What would it be like if government officials responded to CED and social enterprise initiatives not with detachment or disdain (or alarm) but eagerly, as committed partners? It's been happening in Nova Scotia. The whole experience report here was hinged on a few champions determined to make public resources part of the local solution. Lizbeth Schorr (Lewis, 2000) identifies such public sector entrepreneurs as being an important factor in successful attempts to scale up success. It is interesting to note that this article also features two “champions” that also play key roles in the case study of the Nova Scotia Co-operative Development Council (Soots, Perry and Lewis, 2007) as key people continuing to help make things happen. One of them (Dianne Kelderman) is a collaborator in BALTA.