Media Release 06/12/02

Australia is falling behind the USA, and the UK in exploiting all possibilities to reduce welfare dependency, lower unemployment and create social enterprise and community capital.

Research by the Australian Centre for Cooperative Research and Development (ACCORD) has found, that Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are emerging worldwide in response to community finance and enterprise needs that are not being served by conventional financial institutions. In particular, Australia lacks the supportive regulatory and tax regimes that have fostered the growth of CDFIs elsewhere.

CDFIs are sustainable, independent, for-profit and non-profit financial institutions. CDFIs may target a disadvantaged urban, rural or regional community, or lend to specific groups of people (minorities, women or low-income earners). They offer specific types of credit products not readily available in the conventional market.

On Tuesday, 10 December 2002, ACCORD will host, "Funding Community Enterprise", a seminar on its initial research findings into CDFIs at UTS Haymarket, Sydney.

ACCORD is a joint venture between the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and Charles Sturt University (CSU), with support from the NSW Department of Fair Trading. The Centre is dedicated to research and development of co-operatives, mutuals and the wider social economy.

A panel comprising some of Australia’s most experienced social policy makers, social entrepreneurs and community enterprise developers, will comment on the research undertaken by ACCORD Research Fellow, Kathryn Parker into CDFIs in the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia.

The panel, chaired by Mark Lyons, Professor of Social Economy at UTS and Co-director of ACCORD includes: Patrick McClure, Mission Australia; Duncan Power, Charities Aid Foundation Australia; Elizabeth Cham, Philanthropy Australia; Richard de Simone, Foresters ANA Friendly Society and ANA Ethical Superannuation Fund.

Enquiries:
Suzanne Henderson
Communications Manager, ACCORD
Email: suzanne.henderson@uts.edu.au
Telephone: (02) 9559 5522
Mobile: 0407 104 268