InWithForward brings research and development to social services to improve outcomes for people living on the margins. Our aim is to re-imagine and redesign social services, “to turn social safety nets into trampolines so that everyone has an opportunity to flourish. That means: using, enjoying, and developing our human capacities. Not just having a roof over our heads and food on the table.”
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In 2015, Vidyard, a video marketing and analytics company based in Kitchener, Ontario, launched an initiative called PlugIn aimed at helping to mitigate some of the negative effects of gentrification in downtown Kitchener by giving back to their community.
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How many “resilient streets” does it take to make a resilient neighbourhood or community? This is one of the questions that the Building Resilient Neighbourhoods Project of Victoria BC has been exploring since 2014. Resilient Streets was born out of a year of piloting ways to engage neighbours with each other for the purpose of strengthening household and neighbourhood resilience. The goal was to get “beyond the block party” and find ways to increase connectedness, co-operation, a sense of agency, and a sharing economy among neighbours. Our Resilient Streets Toolkit, published in 2013, shared an array of different ways to support neighbour connectivity and action, based on our belief that the more options people have, the more likely they are to engage and connect.
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The Orton Family Foundation’s Community Heart and Soul Initiative is rooted in the belief that, “the strength of a community lies in the hands of its residents."
Its Community Heart & Soul Field Guide 2nd Edition summarizes the essence of wisdom gleaned from more than a decade of listening, learning, refining and partnering with more than a dozen small towns (under 50,000 residents). The field guide is both practical and comprehensive. It outlines an array of resources and tools that they have used and refined to promote proven, resident-driven approaches to community engagement and change that reflect genuine involvement that engage all sectors in planning so that small towns can build their own successful futures.
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A chronic deprivation of power and resources occurs when a person is phoneless and disconnected from society. The current system requires you to phone, fax, email or google a website for advancement of any kind. Without a phone, access to employment, training, health care and housing is denied.
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So, there’s this “thing” I’ve noticed when organizations want to bolster innovation. Whether it’s the public sector, non-profits or private businesses, when organizations set out on a path to get better at innovation, there’s this weird thing hanging around in the conversations about how to foster innovation. The “thing” is a hope that there is a secret tool for innovation or formula their employees could learn and when trained in it, innovation will automatically gush forth. I understand the “thing” and I hoped for a silver bullet as well when I started my research into what fosters relevant innovation in organizations.
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