Share this Issue:
A Connected Force for Community Change
BY: TAMARACK INSTITUTE
Ubuntu. I am, because we are.
This year, in recognition of COVID we are trying something new and presenting you an online version of our annual report. As we shared in the opening of the 10-year plan we completed this year and are launching in this report:
“Tamarack exists because “you are”, our more than 34,000 learners and members. You live in more than 1,000 cities and communities in Canada and many more in the U.S. and around the world. The board and staff of Tamarack are as passionate about community change as each of you, and we are honoured to hold the space of learning and collaboration with you. You see us, you support us and validate that community and large-scale change is possible.”
Nothing better explains our intention which is to be - A connected force for community change. The year 2020 will forever be remembered as the year of COVID – a time where we locked down our communities to co-exist safely. Thousands of people died in our communities and we endured endless suffering. But we also saw the best in humanity arise as we supported one another and flocked onto online spaces to connect and learn together. Tamarack responded in ways we never thought possible and as an organization grew in unprecedented ways.
In the midst of all this chaos Tamarack’s board continued work on our ten-year plan and are making Tamarack 2030 public in this our online annual report. As we celebrate our 20th Anniversary at Tamarack, we look both at our history and our future. We are excited about the next steps in Tamarack’s growth and impact.
Thank you for your ongoing support
Learn More:
- Read the 2020 Progress and Impact Report
- Learn more about Tamarack's 10 year plan
Featured Case Study
Success in Collaboration: Community Health and Social Services Network
BY: LIZ WEAVER
In September 2020, the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) celebrated 20 years of leadership, community engagement and access to health and social services to English-language communities across Quebec. The core of the CHSSN approach is engaging community-based leaders to advance the social determinants of health through a Community Mobilization Model.
The Community Mobilization Model has two key goals: the improved health and well-being of citizens and improved community vitality. The 26 communities in the CHSSN network represent a diverse range of communities, large and small, and located in all parts of the province. CHSSNs focus on targeted populations including seniors, youth, children, families, and caregivers.Support for Social Economy Businesses: The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for social economy businesses in Montréal. Given the importance of these community organizations, the city is providing them with financial assistance, free advisory services, training and psychological support.
The network of communities responded to COVID-19 by adapting their community connector role to remote working environments. They developed emergency programming, improved access to health and social services for members of their communities, increased access to food, and helped isolated community members connect virtually. The creatively and connection across the network enabled the leaders to pivot quickly. In the early days of the pandemic, CHSSN partners became recognized as an essential service. Many of the partners view the pandemic as an opportunity to solidify their role in the communities they serve.
Across both its 20 year history and the unique circumstances of serving the community during COVID-19, CHSSN has recognized 5 lessons for growing and sustaining a learning network:
1. Recognize that network leaders need support and training
2. Build a shared framework which describes the core work but allows for local inspiration
3. Strategically partner with anchor institutions like universities to create an evidence-based and validated leadership development approach
4. Maintain strong connections across the partners and support them to respond quickly to a crisis
5. Consider that negative events, such as a global pandemic, can also be leveraged to grow and strengthen the network and its impact
Learn More:
- Read the case study Community Health and Social Services Network Case Study: A Collaborative Success Story, published in English and French
- Learn more about CHSSN
- Register for Collaborative Leadership & Governance, a new virtual workshop offered on June 3 and July 15, 2021
Supporting Citizen-Driven & Placed-Based Community Change: Our 10-Year Plan
BY: TAMARACK INSTITUTE
Over 18 months, Tamarack engaged more than 100 people—including our network members, staff, and board—to understand how Tamarack can best support communities to make deep and lasting change. The result of that effort is not a traditional ten-year plan, but instead a strategic framework which is organized around the north star of Tamarack’s vision and mission. It is an ambitious ten-year goal to make communities the drivers of transformational change, and a list of priorities and principles to guide the board, staff, and partners on the steps to get there.
We hope this plan excites you. For us it validated “who” we are as an organization and affirmed what we believe. It highlighted the need for us to do more for youth and that we must make the work of supporting cities as they navigate climate change a priority. This past year has taught us that we can no longer only talk about reducing poverty - we must talk about ending poverty and the inequity and racism that is so much a part of the problem.
Over the next 10 years, Tamarack aims to contribute to an accelerated and dramatic shift in citizen-driven, place-based approaches to addressing complex challenges and improve community well-being at scale. We want communities to be recognized as the integral drivers of change and critical in building strong and inclusive societies.
To Learn More:
- View Tamarack's 2030 Plan
- Check out the 2020 Progress and Impact Report
Featured Event and Webinar
The End of Poverty Virtual Gathering
Virtual Summit | May 5-6, 2021
Join us live online from Calgary for engaging plenaries, smaller group discussions and interactive workshops. You will be able to network with others who have lived/living experience of poverty, business leaders that are creating great jobs, government leaders at all levels changing policies, and not-for-profits doing incredible community-based work. We will also explore 14 pathways that have already reduced poverty for one million Canadians.
COVID-19 has reminded us just how important it is for Canada to end poverty and inequity. Join this gathering to be a part of an unprecedented opportunity to support the movement that is ending poverty in Canada and beyond.
We understand that these are challenging times, particularly with COVID-19. If you would like to attend the Summit but have financial barriers, please reach out to elle@tamarackcommunity.ca to secure a free seat.
Evaluation for Transformative Change
April 9, 2021, featuring Michael Quinn Patton and Mark Cabaj
Transforming Evaluation for Evaluating Transformation examines the contributions that evaluation can make to addressing crises like the coronavirus pandemic, the global climate emergency, and related threats to human survival looming large in Earth’s future.
Join Michael Quinn Patton and Mark Cabaj as they explore the implications of these looming transformations for evaluation, including:
What is transformation? How do we do it? How do we evaluate it?
