Student politics, teaching politics, black politics: an interview with Ansel Wong

Ansel Wong is the quiet man of British black politics, rarely in the limelight and never seeking political office. And yet his ‘career’ here – from Black Power firebrand to managing a multimillion budget as head of the Greater London Council’s Ethnic Minority Unit in the 1980s – spells out some of the most important developments in black educational and cultural projects. In this interview, he discusses his identification with Pan-Africanism, his involvement in student politics, his role in the establishment of youth projects and supplementary schools in the late 1960s and 1970s, and his involvement in black radical politics in London in the same period, all of which took place against the background of revolutionary ferment in the Third World and the world of ideas, and were not without their own internal class and ethnic conflicts

What Do Community Benefits Agreements Deliver? Evidence From Los Angeles

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Advocates of community benefits agreements (CBAs) between coalitions of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and real estate developers contend that CBAs promote public accountability and responsiveness to community concerns. This study assesses the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District (LASED) CBA, which scholars and practitioners have described as a model for such agreements. I assess compliance with key provisions of the agreement related to jobs, affordable housing, and parks and recreational facilities. I also assess whether compliance with these provisions has yielded benefits beyond those required under existing laws and regulations. I find that the parties to the agreement have technically complied with many, although arguably not all, of its provisions. But some of the provisions in the CBA are not legally binding, other provisions overlap with requirements that the developer would have had to satisfy even without the CBA, and some reports required by the CBA are unavailable. As a result, outcomes such as living wage jobs and funding for affordable housing units are not clearly attributable to the CBA; other outcomes, such as targeted hiring, are unknown due to a lack of relevant information.Takeaway for practice: Although CBAs may not fulfill all the claims that advocates make on their behalf, they can play important roles in community development by directing public and private spending to underserved neighborhoods. But collecting and verifying the relevant data may be challenging, even if reporting requirements are clearly spelled out in the CBA. As the complexity of a CBA increases, so do the challenges of assessing outcomes and assigning responsibility for those outcomes

Canadian Banks in 2010 Governance Summary

Canadian banks are at the forefront of corporate governance best practices in Canada. This report highlights the high performance of financial institutions in the Board Shareholder Confidence Index (our corporate governance disclosure ratings for S&P/TSX Composite Index companies) relative to non-financial institutions on the Index but also points out areas for improvement (including interlocking directorates and director skills)

Clarkson Centre Governance Monitor: 2010 Report on Corporate Governance in Canada

This report summarizes findings from the 2010 Board Shareholder Confidence Index (our corporate governance disclosure ratings of S&P/TSX Composite Index companies) and identifies areas of success (committee independence, pay for performance) and areas for improvement (director share ownership, chair independence, board and director skills, continuing education, and succession planning)

Clarkson Centre Governance Monitor: Majority Voting

Majority voting policies treat “withheld” votes as votes against each director; if a director receives a majority of votes against, they must immediately submit their resignation. This report outlines the adoption of majority voting policies at S&P/TSX Composite Index companies and correlates their use with the adoption of other corporate governance best practices. We expect to see an increase in the number of companies adopting majority voting policies, followed by improved disclosure in the report of voting results

2010 Report on Corporate Governance in Canada

This report summarizes our activities since 2002, including the Board Shareholder Confidence Index (corporate governance disclosure ratings of S&P/TSX Composite Index companies), executive pay for performance, small- and medium-sized enterprise governance, director surveys, and more

2006 Report on Corporate Governance in Canada

This report summarizes findings from our annual S&P/TSX Composite ratings project, the Board Shareholder Confidence Index (BSCI). BSCI scores have continued to rise since the project’s launch in 2003. However, we also continue to advocate for improvement in the areas of CEO/Chair split, director share ownership, director and board evaluations, and director and committee independence

The 2006 Elite Canadian Directors Continue to Drive Governance Improvement

Following our 2004 publication “Canada’s Corporate Elite: The Gatekeepers of Good Governance”, we continue our study of overboarded and interlocking directorates on the S&P/TSX Composite Index. In this report, we show—as in 2004—how these “elite” directors form a network through which information and practices can be dispersed. Observing their significant impact on the Index, we argue that “elite” directors disperse best practices successfully but are less effective in dual class environments

variability-based neighbor clustering

developmental groups in acquisition data