CBU launches new research initiative
Food security and maternal and child health among topics being investigated
Cape Breton University (CBU) will celebrate the launch a new Canada Research Chair in Social Enterprise and Inclusive Markets today.
It’s a great honour to take on the role of this new Chair - a federal government initiative - which aims to make Canada one of the top 10 leading countries in the world in research and development. While an individual takes on the role of Chair, they do it to further the research focus of the university.
The awarding of this new Chair recognizes CBU’s growing research excellence, as well as the strength of the Shannon School of Business’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Community Economic Development (CED) program. The MBA in CED degree is the only program of its kind in North America with a social and community focus built into all of its courses.
In addition to being offered in Sydney, the program is offered in-person in every time zone in Canada, including Whitehorse, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Brandon, Toronto and Kingston.
The program also attracts international students from around the world. Recipients of a Canada Research Chair must be undertaking research with national or international significance. With regard to the importance of social entrepreneurship for the future prosperity of the province, the Ivany Report noted: “The many significant achievements of community economic development and social enterprise groups across the province are indicative of what can be done when leaders in different sectors put their heads together to change attitudes and build better future from the ground up.”
My particular research is relevant locally, nationally and internationally as I investigate areas where neither governments nor the private sector can adequately address pressing issues such as food security and maternal and child health. I explore what social enterprises – organizations that are driven by a strong social mission with an underlying financially sustainable business model – are doing in these situations.
From conducting research here in Cape Breton and as far away as Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Bangladesh, I get to document and share innovative solutions to stubborn problems of poverty and sustainable development. This fits extremely well with the focus on the MBA in CED, which prepares students to engage as leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators in non-profits, social enterprises, the corporate world and government.
In addition to my research, I teach entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship at CBU. One of my favourite things to do is to bring my research into the classroom where I can engage with students and learn from their diverse international experiences as well. For me, there’s no better place to be starting this research chair than in the Shannon School of Business, and to see CBU nationally-recognized for its research expertise and unique innovative programming.
Please join us for an event launching the new Chair this afternoon from 4-6 p.m. in the Verschuren Centre Atrium at Cape Breton University. RSVPs to research@cbu.ca. Everyone welcome.
Dr. Kevin McKague is an associate professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Cape Breton University’s Shannon School of Business and an internationally experienced academic and researcher of market-based and social enterprise-led approaches global poverty alleviation.