Pd Effective Partnership Strategies D7

Effective Partnership Strategies to build Advocacy Capacity among Settlement Service Providers
OCASI Conference
5 November 2009
S. Gopi Krishna
on behalf of the City of Toronto’s Immigrant and Refugee Housing Committee (IRHC)
Scarborough Housing Help Centre
416-285 5410
[email_address]

This workshop will explore
What is a Coalition?
How are coalitions born? Who are Traditional Members of coalitions?
What challenges can a coalition face?
What is the advantage of recruiting non-traditional members?

A. Birth of a Coalition
How is a coalition born?
What coalitions do?
What are the benefits of a coalition?

What is a Coalition?
An alliance of people, factions, parties, or nations
from Latin coalēscere “ to grow together ”
a mutually beneficial and well defined relationship by people and organizations to achieve common goals

How are coalitions born?
Response to immediate situation- usually a crisis of some kind e.g. HRSDC funding crisis of 2003
A group of organizations/individuals looking to increase their influence in decision making e.g. Ontario Medical Association
Decision makers initiate consultations to get community feed-back and buy-in e.g. Ontario Early Years Centre tables

What do Coalitions Do?
Work of a coalition may focus on:
Advocacy
Information sharing/networking
Strategic planning
Partnership Building

Benefits
Drawing attention to an emerging issue
Research to identify impact on target population
Identify options and solutions to an existing challenge with a positive impact
Lobbying governments /lawmakers to implement the best options

B. Membership
What is the traditional membership of a coalition?
How does membership impact the work of a coalition?
How do members interact? What is the decision making process?

What does traditional membership of coalitions consist of ?
Membership usually consists of organizations and/or individuals interested in a given topic
In the context of the coalitions we work with, the membership largely consists of non-profit organizations

How does membership impact work of a coalition?
Coalitions have few resources- funding is always an issue for advocacy
Membership means everything to a coalition
Members have to divide duties between themselves
Ability to negotiate and agree on a common goal

How do members interact? What is the decision making process?
Members meet regularly to discuss
issues, exchange information, and make decisions
Decisions are made usually through consensus. If consensus is not possible, then decisions are made through a simple majority

C. CHALLENGES
What challenges can a coalition face?
How can coalitions address
challenges?

Internal Challenges
Getting members to agree on a common goal
Lack of speed can be frustrating
Lack of Resources
Concern about consequences of
advocacy – will I get into trouble?

External Challenges
Do the funders/community view it as a legitimate body?
How quickly a coalition can react to a situation and how?
Understanding of policy formulation
Experience- why should a new voice be taken seriously?

Characteristics of strong coalitions
Coalitions that speak for a cross section
of the community are seen as legitimate
Develop a common goal that reflects reality ( as opposed to a magical wish list)
Understanding of policy perspectives- government makes decisions based on financial consequences

How Coalitions Respond to Challenges
Lack of progress can be frustrating- Members should remind themselves that advocacy is not micro-waving, it is slow and steady
Will funders/governments punish organizations for advocacy related work? It is important to critique without being critical

D. NON-TRADITIONAL MEMBERS AND EFFECTIVENESS
What is the definition of non-traditional members? What are examples of this group?
How will non-traditional members increase capacity?
Where and how can we recruit non-traditional members?

What are examples of non- traditional members?
A non-traditional member is a party interested in the same result as the non-profit sector but works in a different sector
Students and university professors
Bureaucrats and funders
Unions
Profession affiliation organizations

How can non-traditional members increase coalition capacity?
Bring new perspectives in terms of strategy
and policy
Experience and understanding
Coalition is seen as being legitimate
“ Champions” – spokespersons inside the system ( e.g. government) as opposed to the outside

How can non-traditional members increase coalition capacity?
Ability to provide funders with facts and figures
Access to resources not available presently- research about how an issue has been addressed elsewhere

Where can we recruit non-traditional members?
To find “non-traditional members to champion your program, consider:
Civil servants who know policy works
Academicians and Students- advocacy is a given in academic life
Journalists/broadcasters - a voice to reshape public opinion
Unions supporting social causes

How can we recruit non-traditional members?
No magic formula for recruitment. However, it is
important to have answers to the following:
Identify the impact of policy on a group that you want to recruit
Do their skills and interest match and increase your capacity?
What can you offer them in return?

The IRHC story
A brief review of the experiences and practices of
The Immigrant and Refugee Housing Committee (IRHC)
How did IRHC evolve?
What is the membership of IRHC?
What challenges did IRHC face? How did it respond to the challenges?

IRHC was born out of a consultation held by the City to respond to an influx of refugees in 1992
It was originally called IRHTG (Immigrant Refugee Housing Task Group) but became IRHC (Immigrant Refugee Housing Committee) in 2007
IRHC has been supported by the Shelter, Support and Housing Administration Division and meeting on a regular basis for over 15 years
Birth of IRHC

IRHC
Goals:
Supporting marginalized immigrants
Networking & collaboration
capacity building
Public education & Advocacy
Research support
Inform public policy

IRHC’s responses to challenges
Pro-active approach in keeping members informed,
and rapid response to new issues; e.g.
Information on new resources & initiatives
Response to increase in Mexican & Haitian refugee claimants

IRHC Membership
Over 24 non-profit organizations active in the housing and immigrant serving sectors
Academicians and Researchers
City staff
IRHC Minutes and announcements are distributed to over 120 people on a regular basis

Challenges and IRHC
Housing issues are linked to other legislations include immigration and social services
Responding to gaps in services for newcomers
Drawing attention to housing issues faced by newcomers and refugees
Lack of sufficient resources

Responded to existing gaps through coordination and planning of various services e.g. IRHC designed the “First Contact” Program and helped Red Cross implement the service.
Red Cross’ First Contact Program offers holistic services to newcomer refugees as soon as they come to Toronto. Services include 24 hours/7 days Hotline and a Drop-In Centre

Creating credible reference material on the issue of housing- The IRHTG worked closely with the City of Toronto to produce the “ Refugee Housing Study ” in (1992), the first study of refugee housing issues in Canada
IRTHG made input to important policy documents, such as the Mayor’s Homelessness Action Task Force (1999 )

IRHC Welcomes New Members
http://www.toronto.ca/housing/irhc.htm
Contact Azar Farahani, Agency Review Officer,
Housing Division, City of Toronto
( 416) 392 0068- [email_address]

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Pd Effective Partnership Strategies D7

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