What is community well-being and how is it improved? Those curious about this question will find much to engage them in the newly-published Handbook of Community Well-Being Research. It is the first publication of its kind to bring together foundational and leading-edge research to offer a compendium of knowledge, approaches and insights for improving quality of life in communities of place.
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In the spring of 2016, The Regional Municipality of York partnered with Tamarack to launch a Local Deepening Community Initiative called Connecting Lakeside at its Lakeside Residences Building in South Keswick. The conversations hosted as part of the Connecting Lakeside Initiative helped neighbours get to know one another; discover their shared hopes for the building that they call home; and, discover the gifts, knowledge and talents they each have to share. It also created an opportunity for Region staff and community partners to get to know and work with Lakeside residents to facilitate linkages with the broader community, and to support resident-led projects that have made the building an even better place to live.
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In Alberta, a Social RFQ (request for quotes) issued last fall, was intentionally designed to provide work opportunities to previously homeless, recently housed individuals, who were workforce ready, but faced barriers to employment. This IS social procurement: an approach to better leverage taxpayer funded supply chains to move beyond ‘do no harm’ and start working proactively to ‘do some good.’ Social procurement works on the premise that taxpayer funded contracts should also enhance social value in our communities.
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At Tamarack, our aim has always been to provide leaders with the knowledge and inspiration they need to achieve success in their community change efforts. By documenting, generating and disseminating knowledge, both in person and via a variety of channels, we strive to provide community change leaders with the resources and inspiration they need to make their work easier and more effective.
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As a representative of the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), I worked with Headwaters Communities in Action (HCIA) -- a diverse citizen-led group that champions community well-being in Dufferin County and the Town of Caledon -- and supported its leaders in the creation of an initial Headwaters Community Well-Being Report for their region. This required the Foundation to move beyond the role of “traditional funder” in favour of "relational funder", where the agency could position itself as a strategic investor in the community. As a relational funder, OTF could actively participate in system-wide initiatives and gain an understanding the nuances of community work.
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Poverty is a complex issue. It’s an issue that cannot be approached in isolation or solved by a select few – it effects everyone, is experienced by people in different ways, and involves a significant number of interrelated elements and stakeholders. We know this. We know that when working on complex problems, such as poverty, finding comprehensive solutions requires communities to come together to leverage and better understand their assets – knowledge, experience, skills and resources – to truly see and act on the issue from all angles.
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