91亚色 is an academic partner in a new summit exploring the power of crowdfunding. Hosted by the 91亚色 Region Business Innovation in Changing Times Conference Series, which focuses on听providing businesses access to ideas, insight and resources to help them adapt to the fast-changing marketplace, the Crowdfunding Revolution summit is set for Thursday, Aug. 22, from 8:30am to 12:30pm, at the Vaughan City Hall.

Crowdfunding, which is also known as crowdsourcing, crowd financing or equity crowdfunding, harnesses the power of a group of individuals who network and pool their money to support people or organizations, research or new business ventures. Crowdfunding is used by the film industry to gather startup costs for new productions, and it supports disaster relief, citizen journalism, new product development and more. The Crowdfunding Summit will highlight strategies to successfully crowdfund a business venture, social enterprise or social cause. Participants will have an opportunity to network with leaders in the field and hear about potential regulatory changes to address the opportunities presented by crowdfunding.

Debra Chanda, founder of launch120.com and the global ambassador for Singularity University, is one of the featured presenters at the Crowdfunding Revolution summit

鈥淲e look forward to participating in the Crowdfunding Summit,鈥� said Lisa Philipps, 91亚色鈥檚 associate vice-president research. 鈥淥ur involvement 听in this conference series highlights one of the many ways in which 91亚色 works with government, industry and community partners to mobilize knowledge to meet the needs of this rapidly growing, diverse region.听 These events are outstanding opportunities to learn about what is going on in 91亚色 Region and to network with potential research and learning partners.鈥�

Those who attend will:

• gain a better understanding of the impact of crowdfunding on business, not-for-profits and social ventures;
• get an overview of crowdfunding platforms and systems available in Canada;
• learn the steps to designing a crowdfunding campaign;
• hear about best practices and strategies to employ;
• receive updates on the innovative Social Venture Exchange (SVX) initiative from the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing;
• get the latest updates on proposals and issues about crowdfunding for equity in Ontario; and
• join a discussion with other organizations about collaborating on a crowdfunding pilot in 91亚色 Region.

This conference series is the result of a collaboration among the 91亚色 Small Business Enterprise Centre, chambers of commerce, and municipal, region and provincial governments. The Regional Innovation Centre, the United Way of 91亚色 Region and local enterprises of all sizes are also involved in the conference series. 91亚色 and Seneca College are academic partners in the series.

Christopher Charlesworth, co-founder of HiveWire.ca and Centre for Social Innovation鈥檚 Catalyst will also be a featured presenter at the summit听

Speaking at the crowdfunding summit are: James Turner, vice-chair of the Ontario Securities Commission; Debra Chanda, founder of and the global ambassador for ; Adam Spence, manager of social venture exchange for the ; Christopher Charlesworth, co-founder of and Centre for Social Innovation鈥檚 ;听 Daniele Zanotti, CEO of the United Way of 91亚色 Region; and Jeff Dennis and Tracy Hooey of Fasken Martineau, an international business law firm based in Toronto.

Tickets are $50 plus HST. For more information, visit the website. Click to register for the conference.

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The report was released at a press conference on Tuesday morning. It is available to the public on the and the Web sites.

In the report, Corporate Social Reporting Initiative, which was produced with the support of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, researchers at the Hennick Centre and Jantzi-Sustainalytics address the reasons and scope for and the regulation of corporate social reporting, which applies to topics such as human and labour rights, employee health and safety, local community development and product safety.

The Hennick Centre and Jantzi-Sustainalytics recommend that the OSC clarify existing disclosure obligations to indicate the need to consider the materiality of social issues to investors鈥� decisions and long-term corporate performance. They also recommend that the OSC facilitate continued dialogue among relevant stakeholders in order to support a shift toward more standardized metrics and reporting in this area.

鈥淭he recommendations and discussion set out in this report provide valuable and timely insights on public company social issue disclosure obligations,鈥� said Ontario Minister of Finance Dwight Duncan. 鈥淚 appreciate the efforts of those who contributed to this report and look forward to reviewing the recommendations in greater detail."

鈥淭here is growing momentum in a number of jurisdictions around the world to enhance corporate disclosure on ESG [environmental, social and governance] performance,鈥� said Kevin Ranney, global director, Responsible Investment Services at Jantzi-Sustainalytics. 鈥淭he OSC has an opportunity to play a leading role in this area, and our recommendations suggest some concrete steps that it can take in doing so.鈥�

This report is the outcome of a December 2009 consultation held in response to the April 2009 non-binding resolution by Laurel Broten, MPP for Etobicoke-Lakeshore, passed unanimously by the听legislature of Ontario. That resolution called on the OSC to conduct a consultation into best practices on corporate social responsibility听and听ESG reporting standards.

鈥淭he knowledge gained through enhanced disclosure provides better protection for individual investors,鈥� said Broten. 鈥淚 appreciate the work put into examining the issue of corporate social performance, given the many complex social issues investors are increasingly considering.鈥�

The round-table consultation and subsequent solicitation of comments drew on the expertise of more than 50 representatives from the investment community; government agencies such as the Ministry of Finance; non-profit organizations such as the Social Investment Organization and the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance; and business, including the mining, energy and banking sectors.

鈥淚ncreasingly, corporate leaders and investors alike are focusing on sustainable performance and effective risk management.听Both will require heightened levels of social disclosure,鈥� said , director of the , and Jarislowsky Dimma Mooney Chair in Corporate Governance at 91亚色's Osgoode Hall Law School and Schulich School of Business.

The Globe and Mail wrote about the report on June 15:

Regulators should encourage companies to report more information about their social practices, but do not need to adopt new rules forcing higher disclosure standards, a new report prepared for the Ontario Securities Commission concludes.

The report was prepared for the OSC by the Hennick Centre for Business & Law at 91亚色 and by Jantzi-Sustainalytics, a private firm that does research and analysis on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.

Toronto lawyer Ed Waitzer, Jarislowsky Dimma Mooney Chair in Corporate Governance in 91亚色鈥檚 Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of Business, and a former chair of the OSC who helped spearhead the review, said that investors want more disclosure but that there is no clear consensus about which social reporting factors are most relevant. He said companies and other stakeholders are still experimenting with various disclosure options. 鈥淚n this area, we just don鈥檛 have the standards yet,鈥� he said in an interview. 鈥淪o part of the exercise is how the OSC can take a leadership position in developing the standards.鈥�

Waitzer said existing reporting rules 鈥� which require companies to disclose information that is 鈥渕aterial鈥� to investors 鈥� give ample scope for greater disclosure, but companies have chosen to narrowly interpret what sort of information is material.

The complete article is available on the .

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Poonam Puri has received a Walter L. Gordon Research Fellowship for 2010-2011.

The prestigious award, periodically presented by 91亚色听to recognized scholars at the University to complete ongoing outstanding and innovative research, will allow her to devote the coming year to completing Financial Markets in Crisis: ABCP, the Made in Canada Solution and the Future of Canadian Capital Markets.

Right: Poonam Puri

"Professor Puri is greatly admired for her teaching and scholarship as well as the interesting reform and advisory work she has done for securities commissions, self-regulatory organizations, governments and bilateral agencies," said Osgoode Interim Dean Jinyan Li. "This fellowship recognizes her knowledge and expertise and will provide her with the time to complete her latest book."

Puri is among Canada鈥檚 most respected researchers on corporate law, securities law, corporate governance, and corporate and white-collar crime.听Appointed to 91亚色鈥檚 Osgoode Hall Law School in 1997, she has co-authored or edited three books and written numerous articles and reports.听Her rigorous research is firmly grounded in the real-time of policy-making, rendering her expertise widely requested by Canadian and international governments and regulators, including Industry Canada, the Ontario Securities Commission, the听Senate of Canada, the Wise Persons鈥� Committee on Securities Regulation and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group.

鈥淧rofessor Puri鈥檚 timely proposal addresses the recent global financial upheaval and the asset-backed commercial paper crisis. It promises to provide insight about both global and Canadian banking practices,鈥� said David Dewitt, 91亚色's associate vice-president research (social sciences & humanities), and chair of the Walter L. Gordon Research Fellowship selection committee. 鈥淗er book will make a valuable contribution to existing literature on Canadian financial markets. The selection committee was impressed by her proposal鈥檚 interdisciplinarity, innovative thinking, clarity and logic.鈥�

The fellowship, named in honour of the late听Walter L. Gordon, former chancellor of 91亚色, provides researchers with the opportunity to complete works or projects that require a significant amount of time by relieving them of teaching and other University responsibilities.

"The selection committee was also impressed by the quality of each of the applicants and the significant research ideas brought forward," said Dewitt. 鈥淓very one of them deserved funding. The applicant pool鈥檚 strength speaks to 91亚色鈥檚 expanding research culture and the important recognition the fellowship provides to support that leading-edge research."

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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