Presentation to Alberta Asset Building Collaborative Edmonton Chapter - May 2011

1. Presentation to Alberta Asset Building Collaborative Edmonton Chapter - May 2011 janicemelnychuk@vibrantedmonton.ca

2. http://tamarackcommunity.ca/g2_VC_Evaluation.html

3. Vibrant Communities CanadaThe experiment: Some background • Poverty rate in Canada stalled for 30 years • Interest to bring new ideas and thinking to poverty discussion • Vibrant Communities was designed to test a specific way to address the complex realities of poverty through local level action. • It was not a “model” but a set of core principles adapted to various local settings • National supports such as matched funding, evaluation,coaching, national learning network • Looking for 3 types of outcomes: Increased community capacity, policy and systems change, expanded benefits

4. 5 Guiding Principles • Poverty reduction-a focus on reducing poverty as opposed to alleviating the hardships of living in poverty • Comprehensive Thinking and Action-addressing the interrelated root causes of poverty rather than its various symptoms • Multisectoral Collaborations-engaging individuals and organizations from at least four key sectors-business, government, non-profit organizations and low income residents-jointly countering poverty • Community Asset Building-building on community strengths rather than focusing on deficits • Community Learning and Change-embracing a long-term process of learning and change rather than simply undertaking a series of specific interventions

5. SustainableLivelihoods Model • Inner resources • Increased self-awareness • Enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence • Improved hope and motivation • Basic material goods and services • Emergency supports • Food • Housing • Transportation • Dependent care Personal Assets Physical Assets • Income, Savings and Sources of Financial Security • Employment income • Non-employment income • Savings and financial assets • Reduced debt/costs • Relationships • and Networks • Civic participation • Support networks Financial Assets Social Assets Human Assets • Skills, knowledge, education & health • Health • Life skills • Financial literacy • Education • Employment Skills

6. 13 Cities eventually joined, Edmonton and Calgary included

7. 4 Observable Patterns emerged • Transformational Change: high aspirations driven by both systems interventions and program activity, Hamilton • Programmatic Push: a focus on demonstrating the value of working together on tangibleprogrammatic projects, Edmonton • Citizen Empowerment: an emphasis on grassroots concerns and citizens’ voices as a cleardriver in shaping the work of formal organizations, Saint Michel • Policy Advocacy: a focus on changing the policies and practices of larger systems or organizations, Calgary The patterns have different: Characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses Prospects for resiliency and poverty reduction outcomes Conditions under which they thrive or wither

8. Outcomes until end of 2010170,903 households accessing 322,698 sustainable livelihood benefits

9. Working collaboratively on poverty, communities can….. • Raise the profile of poverty. • Build a constituency for change. • Encourage collaborative ways of working. • Begin to shift systems underlying poverty. • Contribute to the asset-building efforts for a large number of people.

10. Challenge our thinking about….. Poverty as a Complex Issue • It is Difficult to Frame - Is poverty just a lack of income or does in also include poor education, jobs with meager benefits, insufficient education, hope and self-esteem? • It has multiple joined up root causes - Income is affected by decent housing and ability to get good housing is dependant on income. • It Involves Multiple Stakeholders - No one organization or sector has authority, resources or leverage to address the causes of poverty on their own. • It Has Unique Manifestations - There are different levels of poverty (e.g. homelessness to working poor), demographics (e.g. youth, senior, immigrants) and local contexts (e.g. Fort McMurray in Alberta, Regent Park in Toronto). • It Evolves - As demographics, economies, policies, etc. change, the manifestations of poverty and possible solutions also change. • It’s Not Clear When Poverty is Reduced- When is someone out of poverty?

11. EdmontonOur theory of change---Family Economic SuccessAnne E. Casey Foundation

12. Some of …..What Happened $ : Local Resources of $500,000 over 9 years for VCE Investors: City of Edmonton, ECFoundation, United Way, AEI Who: Multisectoral table, focus groups, organizations, individuals What: Research: theory of change, poverty matrix, focus groups, Alternative Financial Products, Job Bus, Asset building New programs: Make Tax Time Pay, Job Bus Advocacy: Living Wage, Poverty Forum Collaborations: Financial Literacy Collaborative, Poverty reports and forums on provincial poverty reduction New Approaches: City neighbourhood partnership(focused on geographic area or place based) Outcomes: MTTP now run by E4C, Job Bus still running to Maple Leaf foods, thousands of Albertans receive more benefits and dollars from MTTP advocacy on policy change, other Canadian examples

13. Vibrant Communities led us to: • Asset building approach to poverty reduction • Trying to be comprehensive in our thinking • Trying to be a catalyst, broker, convener • Capture what we do and learn from it • Work strategically on collaborations such as provincial poverty reduction strategy network • Trying to bring a poverty reduction lens to neighbourhood approaches

14. Some things to consider….. • Low poverty rate compared to rest of Canada -motivating reasons for community action • Major initiatives such as homelessness, crime and safety -frames the community discussion and takes energy away from complexity discussion • Early childhood network and advocacy well established -good work is happening and collaboratively • Strong, established programmatic offerings -established culture of “doing” and getting results • Other?

15. Transition Plans VCE as an entity is winding down this portion of work with transition plans in place for…. Locally: Edmonton Social Planning Council merging their work with many of the roles VCE played United Way AB. Asset Building Collaborative is strong steward of financial literacy Provincially: Provincial Poverty Reduction group/network includes municipalities, FCSSA, funders, non profits, faith groups, Unions, PIA Nationally: Tamarack continuing phase 2 of VCE, different cities involved, ongoing learning opportunities, focus on Cities

16. Resources/community change/poverty http://tamarackcommunity.ca/ http://tamarackcommunity.ca/g3s3_4.htmlCommunity engagement, schools http://tamarackcommunity.ca/Strategic_Dialogue.htmlPlace based dialogue http://www.aecf.org/Casey Foundation http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/PublicationsSeries/FESPubs.aspx Family economic success library of publications http://www.aecf.org/SearchResults.aspx?keywords=Building%20Strong%20Financial%20Futures&source=topsearch http://www.lisc.org/section/aboutus/missionFinancial Literacy http://www.caledoninst.org/ http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/720ENG.pdfPoverty Policy, Torjman http://www.caledoninst.org/Publications/PDF/913ENG.pdfMTTP story http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/community-change/publications Library of community change initiatives