The Latest

Seeking Teachers: Stories and Questions in Asset-Based Community Development

I wish to acknowledge Paul Born and the entire Vibrant Communities team at the Tamarack Institute, with special thanks to Heather Keam for the invitation to reflect on the masterclass workshop at Asset-Based Community Development for Healthy Neighbourhoods.

In April 2018, I attended Asset-Based Community Development for Healthy Neighbourhoods held in Kitchener, Ontario, as a guest of the Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement. My interest in attending was to reconnect with Paul Born, Co-CEO of the Tamarack Institute, after hosting him for an event at Western University in 2014, and to take the opportunity to learn from John McKnight, one of the founders of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD).

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Transformational Leadership: The Next Big Thing

Today, everyone seems to be looking for the next big thing, the quick fix, or the new solution. But sometimes, the answer isn’t found in a formula but in a relationship, an exchange of words, and a way of being.

Leadership is a hot topic. I have watched countless TedTalks, videos, read articles, written school papers and taken courses on the subject of leadership. Each holds its own view of what leadership means, what it can do for you, your business and the future. But taking the time to understand and develop your leadership style can transform the way you work, interact with others and ultimately your ability to impact and influence the world around you. I have learned from my own experience in working on tough community issues that leadership styles which encourage collaboration and relationship building are essential and that in most collaborative efforts, the nature of leadership required will change over time.

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Evaluating Systems and Social Change: New Developments and A Ground-breaking Program by SFU

One of my roles as ‘curator’ of the Tamarack Institute’s Evaluating Community Impact work is to track and share ideas and methodologies that community changemakers might find useful in their work.  

Over the next six months, I will focus on evaluating systems change and social change. Innovators  all over the world are focused on reforming or transforming systems, whether they be related to energy, child protection, ecological education, economic, social systems, or (more likely) a mix of all them.

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Basic Income in Practice: Reflections from the Ontario Basic Income Pilot

The Ontario Basic Income pilot project is just over a year into its three year mandate and, it’s clear, from the emerging narrative of pilot participants, the provincially-funded program announced in 2017 is already changing lives and restoring a sense of dignity. In Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Lindsay, Ontario 4,000 people are now enrolled in this social policy experiment to determine whether providing a basic income enables low income participants to maintain housing, eat better, stay healthier and engage in work.

In May, Hamilton hosted the 17th annual North American Basic Income Congress. The 2018 Congress was organized in collaboration with McMaster University, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, Low Income Families Together (in Toronto), and other partners. The Congress brought together basic income pilot participants, academics, politicians, researchers, community allies, and academic champions of the basic income concept from across the globe. 

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How to Get Things Done in Your Community

Three tips if you aim to create impact in your community: Collaborate in networks! Build bridges with people who are different from you! And first and foremost, Just do it!

Paul Born got a chance to lead a workshop in Berlin, on community conservations, with Engagierte Stadt team members, in May.

Engagierte Stadt is a program, supporting 50 cities in Germany that start community conversations in their own cities to foster citizen engagement and strong cooperation between the economy, administration and the civil society. The Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, and six foundations, provides financial advising as well as accompanying support.

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A River that Built Community

In June, I attended an event in St. Albert called the Neighbourhood Extravaganza which brought together those who work in neighbourhoods, to build neighbourhoods. It was an excellent way to share stories and learn from each other. During my stay, I experienced the greatest sense of community when I was welcomed into the home of Howard Lawrence from Abundant Community Edmonton. It was from Howard’s hospitality that I learned how the North Saskatchewan River built a community.

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