The Société Économique de l’Ontario (SÉO) is a provincial network with a professional team that takes an innovative approach to economic development, entrepreneurship, employability and immigration. SÉO engages all of the Francophone and bilingual community’s stakeholders in fostering the prosperity of Ontario and Canada.

Visit SÉO’s CPRNW project page in French and English

Vision:

The Société Économique de l’Ontario (SÉO) is a provincial network that takes an innovative and dynamic approach to economic development, entrepreneurship, employability and immigration to consolidate Ontario’s Francophone and bilingual economic space.

Mission:

An acknowledged leader, the Société Économique de l’Ontario (SÉO), through its professional team, uses an inclusive approach that ensures full participation by the Francophone and bilingual community’s stakeholders in fostering the prosperity of Ontario and Canada.

The SÉO is Ontario’s only economic development and employability organization with a provincial mandate and the capacity to serve all regions of the province. The SÉO began its activities in 2001 and was founded by the Franco-Ontarian community to ensure the economic development of Francophones in Ontario. The Francophone Immigration Networks recognize the SÉO as the expert in the economic integration of French-speaking newcomers for Ontario and have developed a process for referring clients and employers to the SÉO.

SÉO will pilot Model 3: Partnering in Workforce Innovation in three sites: Toronto, Sudbury, and Ottawa and the target number of participants recruited are 160, 160, and 30, respectively. Approximately half of these women in Toronto and Ottawa and all in Sudbury will receive direct support from the project. The remaining 150 will make up a comparison group who will be encouraged to access other services offered by the SÉO. The program focuses on matching qualified candidates to commensurate employment.

In Toronto and Ottawa, the evaluation uses a randomized controlled trial design, by randomly selecting participants (the program group) out of those who volunteer to participate in the project. Individuals in the program group will be offered the services and activities in the proposed program. Individuals in the comparison group will not receive services from the proposed program but remain eligible for all existing SÉO services. The smaller community in Sudbury will serve as a case study location for the pilot where the focus of the evaluation is on the program’s delivery and implementation.