GUIDE | Innovative Project Guides
In the Summer of 2020, these four driven youth were selected by the Tamarack Institute as part of the Communities Building...
In the Summer of 2020, these four driven youth were selected by the Tamarack Institute as part of the Communities Building...
There are many ways of creating social change. For those looking for lasting systemic change, ‘ecosystem building’ has become...
In this webinar, John McKnight and David Mathews explored why there is a loss of faith in governing institutions, why doing...
In September 2020, the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) in Quebec celebrated 20 years of leadership,...
A new report, Potential Economic Impacts and Reach of Basic Income Programs, finds that Basic Income could be both a...
The impacts of COVID-19 have been profound. Communities have had to deal with incredible loss, businesses have suffered,...
Helping people file their taxes is a very impactful poverty reduction action at the community-level. Tax credits and benefits...
Youth are the future of our communities. The more we can support them to be successful, the more we are helping our...
After months of social distancing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, we are facing what some are calling a “loneliness...
Traditional models of housing services are that they are responsible for social housing programs and property management of...
The Arts bring life to our communities. They spark joy. They teach. It connects. They ask us to see things differently. But so...
Co-Design is a collaborative approach that actively involves a diverse stakeholder group (e.g. staff, partners, citizens,...
Montreal’s Collective Impact Project (CIP), which launched in 2015, is an innovative and inspiring example of Collective...
Founded in 2002, Cities Reducing Poverty (CRP) has grown to support more than 330 municipalities represented by 80 regional...
The pandemic has underscored many of the disparities and inequities in our country, including the disproportionate impact of...
What lessons can we derive from a multi-year research and evaluation process focused on understanding the impact of local...
Data is a powerful tool for community change efforts. It is the foundation for understanding, tackling, and marking progress...
During the novel pandemic, many communities have demonstrated the leadership capacity to stay resilient using/improving their...
In order to gather evidence about 'how' impact is happening, not just 'what' and 'why' it’s happening, evaluators are ...
The Tool for Assessing the Effects of Local Intersectoral Action is an interactive online tool. It generates information for...
There has been a marked increase in the demand for Community-Led approaches to change as community organizations and some...
The 2020 pandemic has exacerbated communities’ pre-existing challenges across the country, and it is anticipated that these...
In this webinar, members of Tamarack's Board of Directors - Lori Hewson, Mary Pickering, and Ana Gonzalez Guerrero - discuss...
Did you know that during an emergency your neighbours will likely be your first responders? When COVID-19 forced communities...
Kerry Nolan and Kate Gunn have been involved in leading anti poverty work initiatives in Peel Region, Whitehorse and Edmonton....
In this webinar, members of Tamarack's Board of Directors, Shauna Sylvester, Director of Simon Fraser University’s Wosk Centre...
Since John Kania and Mark Kramer’s article was published in 2011, understanding of Collective Impact (CI) has evolved beyond...
We co-developed this guide with youth leaders and representatives from youth-serving organizations to shine a light on the...
How can we ensure that the work we do is youth-centered and reflective of youth voice? Meaningfully engaging youth often...
The Vibrant Communities – Cities Reducing Poverty 2020 Impact Report is our first attempt at capturing and communicating...
In this webinar, John Kania and Liz Weaver discuss the challenges we face while working for transformational change and impact.
How can you meaningfully engage youth in community change? How can we design a strategy to ensure youth leadership and youth...
How do we ensure evaluation is inclusive, equitable, and community-driven? What criteria do we use? How do we help others use...
The COVID-19 crisis has been a wake up call for governments and civil society. The disproportionate impacts of the pandemic to...
Listen as Bill Fulton and Jodi Hardin from The Civic Canopy in Denver, Colorado share their reflections on the leadership...
Given the scale of disruptive forces unleashed by the global pandemic, the social movements which inspired action to respond...
In this webinar, Pamela Teitelbaum, our Director of Evaluating Impact will hosted Tatiana Fraser and Rachel Sinha from Systems...
Organizations and groups across the globe are trying to find the right way to move into the recovery phase of the pandemic....
As we look at community recovery planning across Canada, many organizations are asking what their role is in deepening...
In this webinar, Diana Renner shares her thoughts about being at the threshold of change and ambiguity. She will help us shift...
Engagement is critical for all programs, services, and initiatives that impact youth. Both youth and organizations that serve...
Calls for Basic Income have been gaining ground on both sides of the political spectrum over the last several months due to...
Whether the meeting you are hosting is virtual or face-to-face, being intentional about how you design and facilitate it can...
Navigating disruption and change is challenging. During times of chaos and dramatic change, we find it difficult to envision...
Communities across the globe are starting to move from crisis to recovery in response to COVID-19. But how might we think...
In March 2020, the youth unemployment rate in Canada increased to 16.8%, the highest it has ever been. With fewer physical job...
Research from around the world is clear about the need to collaborate and build partnerships to make sustainable change in our...
In this time of uncertainty and great upheaval there is a growing desire to do things differently. We are hungry for new...
During the pandemic organizations are having to rethink how they implement programs and activities. Are face to face meetings,...
A common topic of interest in the implementation of Collective Impact (CI) is the Backbone infrastructure and how it relates...
For leaders who are considering whether or not to start – or join – a Collective Impact initiative, this article explores key...
At the Tamarack Institute, we have been observing local change efforts across a spectrum of community issues and experiences...
There has been a marked increase in demand for ‘Community-Led’ approaches to change across the country. Black Lives Matter,...
Listen as Lisa Attygalle joins with Rich Harwood—President and Founder of the Harwood Institute for Public Innovation—to...
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Vibrant Communities – Cities Reducing Poverty (VC–CRP) members across Canada have responded to...
We find ourselves in a unique time, searching for answers to a problem whose scope is beyond anything we have ever encountered...
Gender equality is still far from being realized. In terms of economic parity, the World Economic Forum ranked women and girls...
Outcome Mapping is an approach to evaluative thinking and practice which embeds a particular way of thinking about development...
Since 2015, 36,000 more central Iowans are now financially self-sufficient.Central Iowa has achieved success in poverty...
When COVID-19 restrictions were announced in New Brunswick, communities were ready to respond quickly to the needs of...
What does it look like to create a culture of equity and reconciliation in practice? How do we enable and support change at...
Are you are looking to build connection and capacity across a diverse team in a virtual environment? Developing a Virtual...
Listen as Tom Klaus and Liz Weaver engage in a conversation about the elements of tenacity, humility and how these play out...
Young people are facing a range of systemic issues that will significantly impact their futures as they enter the job market,...
Have you ever considered using theatre as a tool for community change? Around the world, theatre is being picked up as an...
A Community Plan is a comprehensive, long-term planning process designed to set a broad vision and strategic direction for an...
Join Dr. Glenda Eoyang and Liz Weaver as they explore the following questions in an animated conversation about the future....
Cellphilming is a participatory video technique for creating learning experiences, collecting data and sharing stories in your...
“The heart and essence of every city and community are its neighbourhoods.” This belief is central to London, Ontario’s...
The Landscape Diagram, developed by Human Systems Dynamics Institute, is a useful tool to help community changemakers see,...
Through the lens of Collective Impact, this paper examines three important stages for leaders to consider when navigating our...
Through the COVID-19 crisis, Vibrant Communities – Cities Reducing Poverty (VC–CRP) has responded to meet urgent community...
The COVID-19 Pandemic makes it difficult to think about the future, while also making it crucial that changemakers plan for...
Cameron Norman and Liz Weaver explore the role of the individual changemakers in systems change. Like the butterfly effect,...
Community is the lifeblood of every place. Positive relationships between neighbours boosts the wellbeing of everyone in the...
Moira Were and Liz Weaver discuss how to step into our convictions with courage. Activism is lived daily through small and...
The Collective Impact model provides a structure for multiple organizations to forge a common agenda for solving a complex and...
This webinar provides guidance, practical tips and tools for collaborative groups to take their community engagements online.
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In this webinar, Liz Weaver and Lisa Attygalle share how to design and support the development of a virtual community of...
While the impact of COVID-19 has been swift and intense, Revelstoke, BC has mobilized its response to the pandemic in an...
How can we heal the system in a time of intense challenge? It starts with healing yourself.
Listen as Louise, Sophie and Liz engage in a conversation about the changing role and impact of philanthropy, and explore how...
In the past year, Canada has made some incredible strides to reduce poverty, even reaching the lowest level of poverty in its...
Do you have a new idea or process that you would like to test? The Virtual Peer Input Process is a quick and structured way to...
What becomes possible when the leadership and wisdom of an entire community intentionally works together to ensure the best...
In March 2020, McMaster University published a study on the results of Ontario's Basic Income Pilot project which was...
As we navigate the rapidly changing world around us let’s catch a breath, and take time to look at how we can apply what we’ve...
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the opportunity to learn, adapt and innovate from the symptoms that created the...
Join Mark Cabaj and Liz Weaver as they review the evolution of Collective Impact 3.0, and discuss the role of Collective...
Join, Paul, Liz and members of the Tamarack team as they reflect on working remotely and how this approach can work...
There is a growing interest and desire for organizations to engage with community members on an ongoing basis, to build...
We often think that community development in intangible, or uncountable, but, there are certain aspects of community work that...
We're sharing our own guide for working remotely to support the organizations and workers that are transitioning to remote...
Workforce Development is about economic prosperity, but what makes this approach unique is that it focuses on people rather...
In this webinar, Lori Sokoluk shared stories on how she has aligned the Asset-Based Community Development approach with the...
How do you track and report on the success of your collaborative? How do you establish whether your initiative is working,...
What does it take to achieve meaningful and inclusive change? Saskatoon’s Poverty Reduction Partnership has adopted a unique...
The thought of shared measurement can be intimidating. In fact, it’s been compared to “traditional measurement on steroids”...
How do you engage your community to get input on a particular issue? Last year, the Vancouver Foundation received responses...
This planning canvas will help you work through the main considerations when planning to engage any segment of your community.
The process of creating principles for engagement allows you to thoughtfully consider the unique needs of and relationship you...
A personal leadership journey often takes several expected and unexpected twists and turns. It calls for the leader to be...
This guide outlines a proven, appreciative inquiry approach that Vibrant Communities – Cities Reducing Poverty has developed...
What do you do once you have mapped out the assets in your community? How can you engage residents to share their gifts and...
Over time reframing evaluation in our work to be more participatory and collaborative leads to higher levels of learning,...
The community wealth building field includes a broad range of models and innovations. Demonstrating how social procurement, as...
Leaders in the towns of Kingsville and Leamington, Ontario are spearheading an innovative cross-community initiative for...
This compilation of learnings written by John McKnight are ideas and thoughts that will help you understand the Asset-Based...
Impactful collaboration is built on the frame of authentic partnerships. Increasingly, complex community challenges require...
A Collaborative Innovation is a process model and an integrated set of concrete tools to effectively lead powerful change with...
Neighbourhood grants have been popping up across the country. These locally-based, resident-driven grants pave the way for...
In this webinar, Cheryl Whiskeyjack, from the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, discussed lessons from their engagement...
In this series of webinars you'll learn what community innovation is, how it has changed the way we look at community change...
Collective Impact supports communities to address complex social issues and create lasting solutions to social problems on a...
Tracking, counting, and reporting the number of hours spent on a program or project? It may be interesting data, but it’s...
Fear is one of the biggest barriers that prevents changemakers from applying authentic community engagement practices. In this...
In this webinar, Liz Weaver, Veronica Borgonovi, and Hayling Price discuss how community changemakers can advance racial...
What is a neighbourhood’s greatest asset? The people who live there! Residents have the most knowledge about the neighbourhood...
In the past, rural communities across Canada depended on settlers to build the roads, infrastructure, schools and...
In this webinar, Jay Robb and Liz Weaver discuss what business books, and their own experience, have to say about community...
What change is your community striving for? Are you using a Collective Impact approach to get there? If so, it’s likely that...
The pressures of life today and the tools designed to help us efficiently handle our complex world are taking us out of...
Interested in supporting innovation in your community? This paper highlights some of the important enabling conditions for...
In this webinar, Paul Born and Liz Weaver, Co-CEOs at Tamarack, shared a thoughtful discussion on some community change trends...
This tool provides a compilation of Cities Reducing Poverty members’ anticipated vs. actual timeframes for developing their...
Systems change practice offers new approaches to leadership and collaboration that help leaders address complexity in new...
Alberta has experienced one of the most dramatic reductions in poverty on record. Over two years, poverty was reduced for more...
Engaging underrepresented youth can be a challenge to youth serving organizations working across different programs in the...
Canadian communities across the country are facing the devastating consequences of increasingly severe weather such as extreme...
“Asset Based Community Development” or ABCD looks for, and starts from people’s gifts and strengths (assets). These assets...
Many traditional approaches for addressing a complex issue like poverty, health & climate action have, until recently,...
A commonly expressed challenge within the Cities Reducing Poverty learning community is how to get to a common agenda for...
Last August, Canada released its first-ever poverty reduction strategy with an official poverty line and a goal to reduce...
Artificial intelligence, blockchain, the ownership of data, and agile leadership are just four of the many trends impacting...
Can online meetings be as engaging and productive as face-to-face meetings? Maggie Chumbley believes the answer is: absolutely...
Multisolving is a strategic approach to finding solutions to the interconnected problems facing the climate and human society...
Community Changemakers are called upon to manage from a middle space. That place where the future is uncertain, but the...
Vibrant Communities Canada provides support to a network of 80 local poverty reduction roundtables, led by collaborative...
Every city builds neighbourhoods with sidewalks, roads, houses, parks and arenas. Municipalities across Canada are realizing...
This annotated bibliography is a list of tools, articles, case studies and books compiled to assist you in your Emergency...
Many social innovators and leading edge evaluators are embracing the ideas and practice of Principles-Focused Evaluation...
Most of us recognize the need for and importance of engaging the communities we serve. Working to uphold the slogan, “nothing...
A Citizens’ Jury is an innovative means of involving everyday people in decision-making about complex problems, which are...
In just two years, 24,813 central Iowans have become financially self-sufficient in a growing community where 1 in 4...
As a community changemaker, have you ever stopped to wonder where the power lies in your project? What are you trying to...
Capturing and sharing your progress is key to building and sustaining momentum. Intentionally capturing results will help you...
Cities Reducing Poverty has identified that successful poverty reduction efforts progress through four key phases and share...
The Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG) advises the implementation and evaluation of Toronto’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, ...
Loneliness and polarization are two growing threats to our society. Although these problems are different from one another,...
Vibrant Communities, Cities Deepening Community (CDC) is a network of people who are partnering with Tamarack Institute to...
Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) emphasizes strengths, connections, citizen leadership and recognizes that individual...
Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) is a theory that looks at the gifts and assets of people that exist within a...
The City of Hamilton celebrated their Neighbourhood Action Strategy’s first seven years by doing an in-depth evaluation of the...
Vibrant Communities – Cities Deepening Community has been working with communities and organizations across Canada and the...
Across the country, over a million families struggle to make ends meet despite working one, two or sometimes even three jobs...
Across the country, over a million families struggle to make ends meet despite working one, two or sometimes even three jobs...
Why is it that despite our best efforts, issues like poverty, homelessness, crime, and isolation persist in our communities?...
It is well established in the world of social change that lasting solutions require systems change. This case study describes...
How can we effectively solicit feedback on new ideas and programs? The Rose, Bud, Thorn framework is a great way to...
How will you evaluate efforts to create systems change? The right approach depends on your situation, the type of change, and...
How can you evaluate a systems change initiative? The diversity of methods and approaches available can be overwhelming, but...
One of the central challenges of any evaluation is to get a strong grasp of what the primary user of the assessment wants to...
Building strong communities is not easy. In Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam documents the decline of community life in North...
As an individual or organizational changemaker, we are often better at deploying program-based or focused strategies to solve...
Community change work is more effective, empathetic, and genuine when local community members and people with lived experience...
The changing dynamics of neighbourhoods requires a new way of thinking and planning to support neighbourhood development. The...
There is a movement across Canada to deepen community. Many neighbourhoods are hosting block parties, soup nights and sharing...
The knowledge, skills and leadership of citizens is a rich resource that too often is untapped in community change efforts....
Collective Impact is a framework for addressing complex community dilemmas and is most effective when trying to move the...
Collective Impact is a framework for addressing complex community dilemmas and is most effective when trying to move the...
Across the country, over a million families struggle to make ends meet despite working one, two or sometimes even three jobs...
This article features Mark Cabaj reviewing expert Ricardo Wilson-Grau’s book, Outcome Harvesting: Principles, Steps, and...
This article features Mark Cabaj reviewing expert Jerry Z Muller's book "The Tyranny of Metrics" which concerns the practice...
Collective Impact is a framework for addressing complex community dilemmas and is most effective when trying to move the...
The ability for local leaders from diverse sectors to work together to address their shared challenges and to realize a shared...
On September 18, 2018, the Peel Poverty Reduction Committee launched their second poverty reduction strategy and became the...
Canada’s first national poverty reduction strategy, “Opportunity for All” is a welcomed move forward for those working to...
Collective Impact is a framework for addressing complex community dilemmas and is most effective when trying to move the...
Leadership, governance, and backbone supports are three of the most important elements of a Collective Impact initiative....
This tool offers a simple and fun exercise that can help break down barriers between group members and provide a space and...
Collective Impact initiatives generally follow five phases that each present unique challenges. The papers, tools and...
A data walk is a powerful process for engaging diverse stakeholders in a shared sense-making process around data. Created by...
Social innovators, evaluators, and community changemakers are increasingly focused on changing complex systems, but often...
In this webinar, Jessie Sutherland touched on the key components to success in resident-led community change initiatives,...
Almost anyone who is interested in making progress on tough economic, social and environmental issues is committed to changing...
Do you need a quick warmup to help change the mood in a meeting? The Collective Lines warmup activity lets participants play...
In this webinar, Megan Courtney and Liz Weaver reflect on 25 years of collective wisdom in community change from Canada to New...
As changemakers, we are not always clear on what scaling means nor how efforts to scale should be properly evaluated, and...
Prototyping and testing can help you build excitement and buy-in for a new service, get feedback to help you iterate and...
In this webinar, Jonathan Massimi introduced the Asset-Based Community Development approache and also the Asset-Based...
Even the best laid plans often go awry. Poverty is messy and complex and the process of finding solutions to poverty will be...
There are several organizations and municipalities are focusing their efforts on neighbourhoods. But how do they know their...
This webinar focused on the experience of The Winnipeg Boldness Project, a research and development project working alongside...
This collection of poverty reduction strategies provides a glimpse into the work of eight Cities Reducing Poverty (CRP)...
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