The Centre d’étude en responsabilité sociale et écocitoyenneté (CERSE) is a centre for action research that aims to accelerate responsible social innovation in organizations and civil society by making the process accessible and inclusive.
Our areas of expertise
- Organizational social responsibility
- Entrepreneurship and social and collective entrepreneurial acquisition
- Participatory and inclusive governance
- Collaborative processes
- Socio-ecological transition initiatives
Our approach and position
Our services are based on collaborative and rigorous research methodologies. Through an action-oriented approach based on the reality on the ground, we help SMEs, organizations, cities and municipalities better understand their challenges to accelerate the implementation of their socially responsible innovation projects. We offer action-research and support services tailored to the needs of clients:
- Co-creation of reflective practices and strategic approaches
- Solutions and tools co-development
- Organizational structure mapping and development of portraits and profiles
- Analysis, evaluation and improvement of projects, programs and processes
- Knowledge synthesis
Some of our projects and their spin-offs
- Development of an innovative multiorganizational model in the film exhibition sector. The client was able to make an informed choice about their business and governance models.
- Prototyping a social innovation accelerator in Trois-Rivières. Actors in Mauricie’s social economy have developed their entrepreneurial skills and enhanced their capacity for innovation. They have identified new business and partnership opportunities and relaunched their post-pandemic activities.
- Learning assessment for the implementation of an innovative product, service or process, e.g., Rosemont’s Citizen Participation Projects program, the Maison de l’innovation sociale’s Civic Incubator, David Suzuki Foundation’s Réseau Demain le Québec. As a result, all these organizations have refined their innovation projects, expanded their scope or moved from prototype to the implementation of their innovation.
