What is it about?
This study looks at how mission-driven organizations—like nonprofits, social enterprises, and charities—work within complex funding environments that are often hard to navigate. Using Canada’s Investment Readiness Program as a case study, we developed a set of visual “mini-maps” that help explain how funding, knowledge, and support move through the system. These tools help organizations, funders, and policymakers better understand how the system works, where gaps or blockages might exist, and how to make smarter decisions. While based on a Canadian example, the insights and tools are useful for other countries working to build stronger, more inclusive social economies.
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Why is it important?
Social purpose organizations are increasingly expected to access new forms of finance, yet the systems that support them are often fragmented and difficult to navigate. This research shows how funding pathways, knowledge flows, and institutional relationships actually operate in practice within Canada’s social finance ecosystem. By making these dynamics visible, the study helps explain why some organizations can build investment readiness while others remain excluded. At a time when governments and funders are expanding social finance initiatives globally, understanding these systemic patterns is critical for designing more inclusive and effective support structures. The mapping approach introduced here offers a practical way for policymakers, funders, and practitioners to diagnose gaps, strengthen coordination, and improve equity in access to capital.
Perspectives
As a market design economist, this publication reflects my long-standing interest in how mission-driven organizations navigate complex funding environments. Working closely with practitioners in Canada’s social economy revealed how much effort organizations invest simply to understand and access support systems. The mapping process became a way to translate lived experience into shared insight—helping actors see how their roles connect within a broader ecosystem. For me, the most meaningful contribution of this work is showing that “investment readiness” is not only an organizational trait but a systemic condition shaped by relationships, infrastructure, and policy design. I hope these tools support more reflective and collaborative approaches to building inclusive social finance systems across contexts.
Dr. Dilek Sayedahmed
New York University | PARIS
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Critical systems mapping in Canada’s social economy: tracing funding pathways and adaptive capacity for social purpose organizations, International Journal of Ethics and Systems, January 2026, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/ijoes-06-2025-0350.
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