RECODE Aims to Redesign Institutions from the Inside Out
“We used to invest in bricks and mortar,” says Chad Lubelsky, program lead for RECODE at the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. “Now, we also invest in ideas that can transform society.”
The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation is located in Montreal, Canada. Launched in 2014, RECODE is a collaborative hub for social innovation, social enterprise, social finance, and impact investing. It involves the public, private and not-for-profit sectors, and provides information and opportunities for college and university students. These students can learn, but most importantly, they can also experiment by becoming social entrepreneurs and social innovators.
RECODE targets many goals, from education to ecosystem building and incubation. But above all, RECODE aims to contribute to an essential cultural shift.
“In order to achieve a more just and more sustainable and more beautiful society, we need to redesign institutions from the inside out,” says Lubelsky. “RECODE is our contribution to redesigning academic institutions.”
“Society needs more social entrepreneurs and social innovators. We should not have to wait for students to graduate to join the movement. They can do it while in school, if we give them the tools and the means.”
RECODE received proposals from 37 schools across Canada, and 18 recipients were selected, among which Concordia University figures prominently. The Montreal institution received $383,000 (US) to create social innovation fellowships, promote co-curricular activities, enable incubation, and pilot an alternative for‐credit model for projects that are co‐designed with community partners.
The essence of RECODE lies in partnerships formed across institutional and sectorial boundaries. RECODE Concordia is built on collaboration. It will give access to the best academic and practitioner expertise both in English and French in universities across Quebec.
RECODE Concordia will be working with four major partners: Territoires innovants en économie sociale et solidaire (TIESS), an organization whose mission is to facilitate the transfer of innovation in the social and solidarity sector; the Chantier de l’économie solidaire, which brings together networks of the social economy, social movements and economic development intermediaries from all regions of Quebec; the Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales (CRISES), an inter-university and multidisciplinary research centre; and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), who will contribute through its community unit, which promotes and coordinates training and research activities in collaboration with community organizations, women’s groups and labour unions.
RECODE is not a grant-giving initiative. It is a mind-shifting, ecosystem-building movement, says Lubelsky. For those who are inspired by the idea and want to replicate it in their communities, he has the following insight: “This cultural shift can only be attained through the right mix of support, networking, learning, incubation, and financing.” For RECODE, this means:
Supporting the development of ecologies of social innovation and entrepreneurship both within and in proximity to colleges and universities, along with business, community, and public sector partners.
Establishing a national network to advance systems-level change through collaboration, knowledge mobilization and storytelling, research and experimentation, the dissemination of competency and capacity-building tools.
Providing opportunities for students to learn about (and experiment with) social innovation and entrepreneurship through experiential, cross-curricular and multi-disciplinary learning on campus, online courses and other online learning platforms, student clubs, conferences and competitions, exchanges and events.
Supporting the incubation and growth of new social enterprises and social innovations.
Fostering the growth of social finance and impact investing.
