The Working Together Initiative A Continuing Opportunity for Social and Public Service Innovation

1. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE The Working Together InitiativeA Continuing Opportunity for Social and Public Service Innovation November 2010

2. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE The Need and the Opportunity • Complex multi-faceted challenges • Beyond the reach of a single organization, sector or department • Opportunity to learn about working together across boundaries • Need for a safe space for innovation and learning • Links to DM Committee on STPI and its key priorities: social innovation, pluralism (newcomers) and aboriginal peoples

3. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What is the Working Together Initiative (WTI) • A three year (and counting) initiative • Working together (Governments and NGOs) to (multiple policy objectives) through sport and physical activity • Space for social and public service innovation • Innovation in spanning boundaries and working together • Innovation in bringing together resources to meet the needs of communities in community

4. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What is the Working Together Initiative (WTI) • Learning by doing • Community Pilot Projects • Systems and learning oriented prototypes • Intelligent Risk Taking • Developmental Evaluation • Working through a combination of: • Shared leadership • Shared Governance • Contribution principle • Pooled resources • WTI is NOT an organization • Owned by participants who share leadership and accountability

5. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE The WTI Vision Communities and Partners At Risk Populations Youth: Initial 3 pilot projects focus on Newcomers and AboriginalYouth(Urban and on Reserve) WTI Sport and Physical Activity Space for Innovation

6. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What Were We Hoping To Accomplish? • Demonstrate the potential for sport and PA to make a difference in communities and in overcoming real-world challenges • Learn about how to work together across sectors and departments/agencies • Capture and share what we learn about both the WTI itself and the pilot projects • Focus on: • Individual/community change, and • Systems change (e.g., financing mechanisms, policy) • If we are successful, bring this methodology to other sectors or challenges

7. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE Who is at the Table? • The Federal Government • Sport Canada, PHAC, FNIHB (Health Canada), INAC, CIC, HRSDC • In the past, PRI and others • The Sport and Physical Activity Sector • Canada Sport for Life, PHE Canada, Sport Information Research Centre, Motivate Canada, Coaching Association of Canada, Canada Games Council, CAAWS, True Sport Foundation, Sport Matters Group • Other interested groups and individuals • McConnell Foundation, Trillium Foundation • Public Policy Forum (original convener organization) • University of Ottawa • Aboriginal Sport Circle • Other Governments • Ontario

8. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE How is WTI Resourced? • Innovative financing • Explore strategies for bringing together funding from different sources • Both funding for pilot projects and to support the WTI convening/learning and Developmental Evaluation function • Exploring new, innovative ways of being efficient in collaborating across sectors • While respecting accountability requirements • Shared pool of resources hosted at the True Sport Foundation • Accountability through a group of trustees (representatives from all financial contributors)

9. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What Have We Accomplished? • Spring 2007 – 2008 • Designed and implemented three pilot projects in communities: • Seine River – Very successful, ongoing • Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health – Somewhat successful, longer to gain traction, ongoing • Brampton Newcomer Project – Ultimately didn’t move forward, great learning, some unexpected outcomes • Launched the Knowledge Framework to capture new knowledge and learning • Spring 2008 – 2009 • Expanded range of activities • Proactive Research “True Sport Report” • Evaluation Framework Identified as a Need • Collection of success stories and lessons learned (Compendium Project)

10. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE Seine River First Nation Pilot Project • Sector and government leaders intentionally using sport and physical activity to engage aboriginal youth in their community • “Not only has it changed the life of my children it has changed my life dramatically … the atmospherein our community has changed … showing examples of the way that organizations are able to work together … to show a lot of kids in our community that those connections and those changes are very positive” • ZerlinaWhitecrow, former community • Organizer, Seine River … now training to • become a pilot …

11. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE Wabano Centre for Aboriginal HealthPilot Project • Will engage Aboriginal youth in physical activity in a culturally-based and family-centred way • Will increase the engagement of aboriginal youth while building self esteem • Will develop a proven culturally based model for aboriginal youth participation • Ready to rollout this Winter after two years of engagement and preparation

12. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE Newcomer Project (Brampton) • We learned that we need to: • Build awareness in settlement organizations of potential of S&PA to help integrate newcomer youth • Build awareness in local S&PA organizations of potential and role S&PA can play to help integrate newcomer youth • Work together to increase this awareness and build capacity to support integration • Unanticipated policy outcome • CIC Settlement Program

13. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What Have We Accomplished? • Spring 2009 – 2010 • Expanded activity in Seine River and Wabano Community Health Centre pilot projects • Policy Impact: Inclusion of sport/Physical Activity in CIC settlement/integration activities • Decision to move forward with a WTI 2.0 Platform • Spring 2010 – Present • Continuing work on pilot projects while launching new prototypes • Reaching out to senior leaders in the sport and physical activity sector and government • Developmental evaluation year long prototype with world leading expert

14. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE Our Theory of Change

15. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE Impact • The WTI Initiative has four types of impact: • Influence Policy – e.g., CIC Newcomer Settlement Programs • Impact Communities – e.g., Seine River and Wabano Pilot Projects • Create Systems Change – e.g., Financing of innovation • Generate New Knowledge – Knowledge Framework (social and public service innovation) and Developmental Evaluation

16. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What have we learned and where are we going? • What have we learned? • The shared leadership and contribution principles support working together across boundaries • Being intentional about innovation increases the potential for success and for impact • How to leverage resources across the sector and government • Where are we going? • Ready to apply what we have learned to create an ongoing space for collaborative innovation between the federal government, provincial governments and NGOs.

17. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What is our Vision of the Future? • “Build” a space for intentional innovation • Create conditions for best-of-kind “many to many” collaboration • Create a capacity and culture for collaborative innovation that is larger scale • Support a stable three year space for innovation • Scale existing and introduce new prototypes • Expand our work into other sectors and communities by sharing our learning and knowledge • Sustainable (self organizing) capacity to innovate and work on complex challenges

18. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What is the value-add of WTI? • Learning what it takes to: • Do Collaborative Innovation (Social Innovation) • Work in a many-to-many environment • Implement innovative social financing • Resource innovation • Shedding light on effective roles for the federal government • Building capacity to do Developmental Evaluation (DE) which is a leading approach to evaluation for complex challenges • Scaling pilot project and prototype successes and sharing learning • Supporting community change through pilot projects and prototypes

19. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE What will this space for innovation look like? • “Many to Many” Platform • Convener/knowledge builders/coaching • Culture of innovation • Learning/scaling/replicating • Boundary spanning • Support new prototypes and share learning • Shared leadership table • Trustees and Strategic direction • Prototypes • Communities, knowledge/systems based (e.g., social financing) • Developmental Evaluation • Use DE to learn and adapt in complex environments • Embed DE capacity in communities and our work • Storytelling • Sharing learning and successes

20. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE WTI and You • What’s the opportunity for organization, department or agency? • How could WTI support your mandate? • Where would you like to see more effective boundary spanning? • How could we work collectively to capitalize on these opportunities?

21. WORKING TOGETHER INITIATIVE Next Steps • Explore interest in WTI 2.0 and Creating a Space for Intentional Innovation • Engage senior sector leaders • Engage senior government leaders • Continue to work • Convene shared leadership table • Continue pilot projects • Explore new prototypes • Confirm contributions • Strong multi-year commitment from the Sport and Physical Activity sector • Continue to explore commitment from the public sector and others