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Stop Wasting Time on Social Impact Measurement

So, let’s start with something we can all agree on.

All social enterprises exist for the simple and overriding purpose of creating a positive social impact (to change society for the better).

If this is what drives us, then surely, it’s important that we are able to describe, measure and communicate this impact. At least, that’s how the argument goes. Not least to help figure out if our work is well targeted, if we are helping beneficiaries in the best way possible and, ultimately, if we are making good progress in achieving our intended impact.

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P.E.I. Discussing Poverty and Poverty Solutions with Islanders

On November 14, 2017, the Government of Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.) committed to a Poverty Reduction Plan as part of the province's Throne Speech, and more recently, appointed a 12-person multi-sectoral advisory committee to bring forward short and longer-term solutions to poverty in a Poverty Reduction Plan. The Plan is expected to be ready for fall 2018 and will include actions in the areas of housing, food security, education and employment, says Committee Chair, Roxanne Carter-Thompson.

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Systems and Programs: Moving from Enemies to Friends

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing emphasis on the need for “systems change” to achieve large-scale social impact. 

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Social Innovation and Poverty Reduction in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

This year’s Cities Innovating to Reduce Poverty Western Regional Poverty Reduction Summit will feature a workshop panel moderated by Kiri Bird, founder and Manager of the Local Economic Development Lab (LEDlab), and process designer and facilitator of Vancouver’s Community Economic Development (CED) strategy co-creation. The panel will bring together community leaders from the City of Vancouver, Exchange Inner City, EMBERS Eastside Works, and the Binners' Project.

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Basic Income Re-Emerging as a Means of Addressing Poverty

2018 has seen a resurgence of discussions around the concept of a guaranteed basic income. Discussions around a guaranteed income are being promoted across the political spectrum, by different levels of government, and by organizations throughout Canada.

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Feeding the Light

My teen daughter is going through the anxieties and insecurities we all remember from those coming-of-age years. Adding to the stresses of her life are the much-noted amplifying effects of modern living: social media, 24-hour news cycles and the dehumanizing pace of an unbalanced world.

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