Comprehensive Community Initiatives strategic dialogue may 10 2010

Bob Gardner Strategic Dialogue May 10-11, 2010 May 14, 2010

review of international and Canadian research and practice with comprehensive community initiatives:
from major comparative syntheses
through case studies from across the country
what we found:
CCIs for poverty reduction in Canada showed similar patterns, enablers and lessons learned on what worked
but context is crucial for these types of problems and solutions
not just to understanding differences with international
but to guide and ground initiatives wherever we are
will illustrate Cdn context by assessing impact of CCIs so far
will set out some specific challenges for Cdn CCIs moving forward
May 14, 2010

coordinated national projects:
Vibrant Communities
who initiated this strategic review
14 Trial Blazer communities
Community Economic Development Network
dozens of local initiatives defined and planned as CCIs
many more that share key goals and characteristics:
Social Planning Councils – hooked into provincial anti-poverty campaign and official strategy in Ontario
United Way and Community Foundation social justice efforts
particular communities – e.g. broad collaborations to end homelessness in Calgary, community planning in Ottawa and elsewhere
May 14, 2010

From our backgrounder – enablers for successful CCIs were similar in Canada:
developing an inspiring vision and coherent strategy;
building from solid foundations of local research, experience and community strengths;
being solidly based – and solidly connected – to the needs and perspectives of local people and communities;
aligning the wide range of activities and partnerships these initiatives engage in to the core vision and strategy;
learning how to manage complexity and work across multiple sectors and activities;
developing effective ways to build evaluation and learning back into the initiative and adapt to changing conditions/opportunities;
defining and pushing for public policy that will enable the initiatives to thrive and sustain themselves; and
delivering local impact while addressing the wider roots of poverty and inequality.
May 14, 2010

there is a clear gradient in health in which people with lower income, education or other lines of social inequality and exclusion tend to have poorer health
over ¼ of low income people in Ontario – 3 X high income – report their health to be poor or only fair
2-3 X as many low income as high income people have chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart problems
¼ of low income people reported their daily activities were prevented by pain = 2X than high income
difference btwn life expectancy of top and bottom income decile in Canada = 7.4 years for men and 4.5 for women
more sophisticated analyses take account of the pronounced gradient in morbidity and quality of life and developing data on health adjusted life expectancy = even higher disparities btwn top and bottom = 11.4 years for men and 9.7 for women
stark reflection of the impact of poverty and inequality
May 14, 2010

Health inequalities are rooted in wider social and economic inequality
These determinants of health interact and intersect with each other
In constantly changing and dynamic system
In fact, through multiple interacting and inter-dependent economic, social and health systems playing out in particular places
Determinants have a reinforcing and cumulative effect on individual and population health

Capturing complexity for health inequalities
similar research and analysis on foundations and drivers of other complex problems:
inequality of educational outcomes
social exclusion of immigrants
racism
crime
poverty

strategic point =
systems and forces that shape poverty are part of wider systems and intersect with wider forces
need ‘whole system’s approaches
practical point =
the need for broad collaborations and coordinated efforts to address complex issues extends far beyond poverty
poverty initiatives need to hook into other comprehensive local efforts -> reinforce each other
broader policy context = place-focused interventions have become a theme in many fields
with broad local coordination and collaboration efforts in neighbourhood renewal, addressing health disparities, participatory planning, education reform and other problems
not just on specific problems like poverty, but across problems
May 14, 2010

for poverty, we know what doesn’t work:
punitive welfare regimes as they have evolved
traditional siloed and short-term anti-poverty efforts
throwing $ at symptoms of poverty in isolation
and promising directions have been identified:
local partnerships
attacking poverty across many fronts
integrated and coordinated programs
planning driven by community interests and perspectives
enabling individual and community capacity building as central
that’s the context in which comprehensive community initiatives arose
May 14, 2010

if we’re asking if CCIs have been effective – we need to specify effective at what – to what purposes?
need to differentiate levels of impact:
individual – whether building up skills or dealing with the harshest damages of poverty
local community -- building resilience and capacitates
system wide – changing foundations of poverty and underlying policies
need to build complexity into analysis of impacts:
particular results are inter-dependent and hard to separate
fundamental change takes time
always look for unintended consequences
need to build this into planning from the outset:
CCIs need to be clear on where they expect to have an impact – and how
May 14, 2010

moving poverty up the policy agenda
building collaborations
building community capacities
ameliorating the impact of poverty
high profile campaigns
involving credible leaders and organizations
many examples of broad collaborations
is this important in and of itself?
this does require significant resources and commitment
some promising indications
hard to assess wider implications
and also requires significant resources and sustainable commitment
program effectiveness
integrated and cross-sectoral services do deliver good services
May 14, 2010

getting individuals out of poverty
addressing the roots of poverty and overall rates
Vibrant Communities and other initiatives are geared to enhancing individual assets – have done so
but does this get and keep those individuals out of poverty?
does this reduce poverty overall?
limited effect
but unrealistic expectation – local projects can’t change national policy and underlying structures of inequality
many CCIs do target policy changes and have had local successes
theory of change here needs to be clear on how local collaborations -> builds mobilization and shifts agenda -> pressure for change
May 14, 2010

bigger question behind effectiveness:
do CCIs make enough of a difference to justify the resources and time?
do they make more of a difference than other possible strategies?
yes: because CCIs build on strengths and areas where community efforts have leverage and unique advantages
community sector can’t change policy directly, but CCIs can contribute to building awareness and broad coalitions to press for change
govts need community sector to deliver services -> seize opportunity to try to shift how services are designed
CCIs show that other ways of delivering services and addressing the impact of poverty are possible
can bring together many organizations, communities and projects -> to reinforce their impact
can show that promising different future directions for poverty reduction are imaginable – and achievable
May 14, 2010

inspirational : popular vision of a fair and equal society that will mobilize and energize people for action
analytical :
always specifying what we think CCIs will accomplish and how
in other words, start from a solid theory of change
part of this is being very clear on what success looks like:
for expanding individual opportunities
for building community capacities and strengths
for mobilizing for policy and social change to address the roots of poverty
coherent : pulling together a web of partners and projects into a well-aligned and integrated strategy
May 14, 2010

in policy sphere – social problems like poverty are seen as ‘wicked’ issues:
shaped by a range of inter-dependent and inter-secting factors and trends
impact and implications are uncertain and dynamic
little agreement on solutions
and limited evidence or predictability about impact of policy-program interventions
-> shifts in policy directions:
need for comprehensive and coordinated cross-sectoral strategies, and more ‘joined-up’ processes within governments has been recognized
understood that complex problems are played out in particular places
broad national policy and targets + local priority setting and implementation
= opportunity for CCIs
well placed to concretely demonstrate how to concretely and effectively address ‘wicked’ problems
May 14, 2010

not just an opportunity, but a necessity
especially in Canada, government funding and support is critical to success -> government policy frameworks, processes and assumptions that support CCIs are key:
need to get beyond silos and fragmentation, short-term and project funding and overly rigid accountability regimes
need to help governments define their stewardship function flexibly to allow potential of comprehensive local initiatives to be realized
CCI proponents need to identify what a favourable overall policy framework looks like
need to also be aware of dangers as well -- immediate political context:
inhospitable fiscal climate
innovation chill within governments
May 14, 2010

CCI proponents need to
make the case for CCIs as solutions to governments' ‘wicked’ problems
CCIs not only have to be effective –they have to be seen to be effective
have to be able to demonstrate unique advantages and value
have to be able to prove impact -> back to evaluation
more generally, CCIs have to be seen to be vital part of poverty reduction repertoire
requires attention to government and other funder relations, media work and communications
be visible and entrepreneurial in seeking out appropriate funding and collaborative opportunities
May 14, 2010

and even in the coldest climate, wider policy trends can provide openings for comprehensive approaches:
emerging emphasis across governments and countries on neighbourhood as base for social policy interventions
local coordinating committees of immigrant settlement services = can also be space to highlight wider issues of precarious labour markets, social exclusion, housing and health, etc.
Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion is adopting a new ‘healthy communities’ strategy + BC Act Now = opening for community development and collaborative approaches
Ontario again – provincial public health standards require local departments to address population health and disparities within populations = opening for cross-sectoral collaborations
comprehensive initiatives underway in settlement support, public health, community planning and many other promising initiatives -> look beyond usual suspects to build collaborations beyond poverty
May 14, 2010

increasing diversity -> cultural competence needs to be integrated into all aspects of CCIs
not just in sense of training and process, but being grounded in full diversity of communities drives planning and priorities
building on strengths and resiliency of particular immigrant communities
analyzing racist and other barriers in planning
ensuring ‘voice’ of diverse communities in collaborations and decision-making
build this into coalitions – e.g. Colour of Poverty campaign in Ontario
need to analyze complexity of inequality and exclusion people face – multi-dimensional nature of poverty
potential of anti-oppression approaches
not always easy to promote this language within organizations
but analysis is critical, whatever it is called
May 14, 2010

the most successful and broadly supported local efforts don’t automatically address the foundations of poverty
by being intentional and smart, CCIs offer a way to bridge the local and system-wide:
digging deep to address the local roots of poverty
building broad local collaborations and integrated efforts
-> shows concretely that action on poverty is possible
challenge is to organize local action so it:
always uses local successes and stories to highlight the wider structural forces that underlie poverty
always looks for ways to mobilize from local initiatives, to build local momentum for change in ways that address wider foundations of poverty
always connects local efforts to national strategies and campaigns
May 14, 2010

builds from Aspen emphasis on alignment
challenge of analyzing and implementing the best balance among constantly shifting pressures:
demand for immediate and visible outcomes -- but reducing poverty will take years of concerted efforts
collaboration is a vital pre-condition, but is it an end in itself?
what kinds of collaborations? for what contexts?
building individual resilience and community capacities – but in ways that highlight the wider foundations of poverty
these challenges are ongoing:
not just good alignment at design stage
but constant and iterative balancing and re-alignment
while keeping these necessary tactical re-adjustments lined up with overall strategy and vision
May 14, 2010

successful and sustainable CCIs need to build evaluation into their core:
figuring out what works in their circumstances
adapting programs and collaborations in response
which requires resources and capacities
they continually experiment and innovate
means not being afraid to take risks
evaluate and adapt again
build into continuous learning and innovation cycle
and beyond – need forums and infrastructure to share experience and lessons learned, assess promising practices, scale up where appropriate
while learning and innovation may be local
this learning infrastructure needs to be broad -> key challenge for public policy
May 14, 2010

no magic blueprint -- never a question of do this or do that, but of making the best judgment based on experience and circumstances
none of these challenges moving forward need to be all or nothing:
goal doesn’t need to be CCIs in every community
but it could be trying to make all anti-poverty efforts as coordinated and comprehensive as possible
great potential of CCIs to most effectively mobilize wide coalitions and enable communities to address poverty in neighbourhoods and cities
the challenge is to build this local mobilization in ways that reinforce and build broader provincial and national mobilization and pressure governments to act decisively
back to vision:
the ultimate goal is a fair and equitable society where lives are not stunted by poverty and exclusion
CCIs are part of the wide mobilization to get there
May 14, 2010

these speaking notes and further resources on policy directions to enhance health equity, address the social determinants of health and support a vibrant and innovative community sector are available on our site at http://wellesleyinstitute.com
my email is [email_address]
I would be interested in any comments on the ideas in this presentation and any information or analysis on initiatives or experience that address health equity

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Comprehensive Community Initiatives strategic dialogue may 10 2010

by Wellesley Institute on May 14, 2010

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Comprehensive Community Initiatives strategic dialogue may 10 2010 — Presentation Transcript