I have long been a student of community. I am curious about people's varied definitions of it and how the sense of belonging to something beyond oneself, while at times a burden, can serve as a source of inspiration for generosity and shared action. Often, people's definition of community includes a specific physical place where one lives or works, a place whose well-being is linked to that of your own. Innovation - finding new ways of thinking about and addressing long-standing issues - is another concept I have studied for some time. Throughout much of my adult life, my work has focused on the intersection between community and innovation: nurturing new approaches to address the social challenges that exist within communities by working together. This is community innovation.
Community innovation is not a new concept however, to respond effectively to today's growing ecological and economic chaos the need for every community to strengthen its capacity to invite, host and sustain community innovation is a growing imperative. A recent editorial published in the Vancouver Sun made this point well. It stated, "Finding solutions to our communities complex challenges is beyond the scope of a single entity. And, rather than one singular approach or plan, a multitude of ideas that hold the promise over time of solving some of society's most intractable and vexatious problems will need to be generated, refined and implemented. That's why the emergence of a movement - let's call it the Collective for Social Innovation - aims to bring together people from different sectors with big ideas on how to tackle the most difficult problems society faces." This same editorial also points out that the ability to work collaboratively is "easier said than done." Among the reasons given: finding common ground may be difficult; ambitious goals have to be set against stressed budgets and available time; and, measuring outcomes is not always straightforward.
Since 2006, we at Tamarack have hosted the Communities Collaborating Institute (CCI) with the aim of helping leaders from various sectors and communities to enhance their capacity to initiate, lead and sustain community innovation. This week-long learning event offers participants an opportunity to come together; learn from one another and thought-leaders in this field; and, find a range of resources and tools to support successful innovations within their own communities. The fact that the past several CCIs have been over-subscribed confirms that the CCI has become thepremier learning event of its kind in Canada.
Work being led and championed now by CCI alumni - who draw on and have contributed to a growing body of knowledge for effective community innovation - demonstrates the effectiveness of multi-sector collaboration in addressing the complex social issue of poverty. Here are just two examples:
- Abbotsford, BC - Vibrant Abbotsford collaborates with existing poverty reduction efforts and focuses on efforts that will contribute to moving people from poverty, including: employment and entrepreneurship; housing; education and the personal development financial assets; building social connections and health activities. They also champion efforts that that build local understanding about poverty. Most recently they have successfully starting a working group in partnership with the City of Abbotsford to begin the development of a city wide poverty reduction strategy.
- Halton, Ontario - The Halton Poverty Roundtable (HPRT) recently launched their community plan and secured three years of funds to support their continued collaborative effort to reduce the cost of poverty in Halton. Their priority focus areas are: housing, healthy families, and income security. The HRPT believes that poverty hurts Halton and that every citizen can be part of the change.
While the work championed by these initiatives is somewhat different, they share a common commitment to community engagement, multi-sector collaboration and collaborative leadership to address the complex issue of poverty. These are fundamental ingredients for effectively incubating and sustaining community innovation.
