Last December, the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation engaged the MaRS Solutions Lab to undertake a multistep learning and evaluation process to guide our thinking about possible future directions for its Cities for People initiative. In this piece, we are excited to share a few highlights from the Design Jam, one of the components of this process, and how its outcomes will help shape our work moving forward.
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Humancentered design is the application of design thinking to some of our most complex social problems, starting with the people you're trying to impact and ending with creative new solutions that meet their needs. While it has elements of a typical design process, including brainstorming, prototyping, and testing, humancentered design begins with empathy.
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When Stephen Covey published Speed of Trust in 2006, it marked a recognition that relationships are important to mainstream organizations and that trustbuilding is key to mobilizing their value. As the social sector increasingly builds networks of organizations to learn; engage with diverse others; and, to speed up knowledge development, we see how these loose relationships have value. But what do we really know about building trust in networks structures that are less "hardwired" than formal organizations and how to work well in relationships without the defining bounds of role and structure?
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For more than a decade, the Forum for Youth Investment has helped communities map, convene and align coalitions and initiatives focused on the interlocking issues that affect young people's futures, from premature births to college completion.
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I love visual tools. Taking the time to draw a process or idea helps me better understand it. Visual stories have the ability to magically capture a whole lot of complexity in a snapshot. They are fast and slow at the same time. You are given an immediate impression that you can then settle on and consider. I've used the collaborative continuum from Tamarack over the past few years as a communication tool to explain and explore partnerships. It has helped focus conversations about the constant fluid nature of our partners relationship internally, within the partnership and the movement of their capacity to contribute. Being honest about the TURF to TRUST polarity is critical to keep on the table because its never helpful to hide that discussion.
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There have been a number of reports published in Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan about the costs of poverty. We can determine the net impact on the GDP from maintaining a persistent level of poverty in Canada. But beyond the net costs, there are the moral and ethical costs that happens when high levels of inequality happen in our communities.
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