1. From Welfare to Faring Well: Government/Community Collaboration for Poverty Reduction Presentation to National Forum on Welfare to Work November 18, 2003 Eric Leviten-Reid

2. Vibrant Communities A Pan-Canadian initiative committed to exploring comprehensive, multisectoral approaches to poverty reduction.

3. The Problem The fight to reduce poverty in Canada has stalled. The structure of economic opportunity has worsened over the last 20 years Moving people from welfare to work too often leaves them living in poverty.

4. Looking Beyond Welfare to Work Create a new weave of economic and social arrangements that expands opportunities for people in poverty and provides the supports they need to realize those opportunities.

5. Key Elements Mobilizing a broad range of participants around the goal of poverty reduction. Revitalizing a commitment to the common good. Developing a new set of practical measures that can have a substantial and long-term impact on poverty.

6. Starting Points Poverty is a complex problem that no one agency or sector can tackle effectively acting on its own. ‘Joined up’ problems require ‘joined up’ solutions. Comprehensive, multisectoral approaches offer the opportunity to put the pieces together in new and better ways.

7. Local Action/ National Supports

8. Participants 14 Community Partners 3 National Sponsors Policy Dialogue

9. Community Partners Cape Breton Halifax Saint John Trois Rivières Montréal Regent Park Niagara Waterloo Region Winnipeg Saskatoon Edmonton Calgary Victoria Surrey

10. National Sponsors Tamarack: An Institute for Community Engagement J.W. McConnell Family Foundation Caledon Institute of Social Policy

11. Policy Dialogue Community representatives Federal government departments Provincial and municipal governments

12. An Action Learning Process Pan-Canadian Learning Community Trail Builder Initiatives

13. Five Key Themes

14. Poverty Reduction Strengthen focus on reducing poverty rather than alleviating hardships of living in poverty. Galvanizes fresh thinking and improves outcomes.

15. Comprehensive Thinking and Action Complex problems such as poverty result from a web of interdependent factors. Need to tackle multiple problems simultaneously. Requires improved coordination and collaboration among diverse players.

16. New Generation of Community Work The new synthesis rejects addressing poverty, welfare, employment, education, child development, housing and crime one at a time. It endorses the idea that the multiple and interrelated problems of poor neighbourhoods require multiple and interrelated solutions… [And] a commitment to building community institutions and social networks. -Lisbeth Schorr, Common Purpose

17. Multisectoral Collaboration Poverty is a shared responsibility. Everyone has something to contribute to the poverty reduction effort. Involving the ‘unusual suspects’ and exploring new relationships generates creative outcomes.

18. Roles for Business Financial & In-kind Contrib’ns Procurement Practices Human Resource Practices Tapping Under- served Markets Integrated Tradit’l Philanthr. Good Contrib’n Strategic Philanthr. Beyond Bottom Line More Powerful Contrib’n

19. Community Asset-Building Build on strengths rather than dwell on deficits. Acknowledge the diverse types of assets. Enable people to develop a critical mass of assets that maximizes their ability to escape poverty on a sustainable basis.

22. Community Learning and Change An ongoing process of dialogue, action and reflection. Enhanced by trusting relationships. Involves two-way interaction among researchers and practitioners. Builds deeper more critical knowledge and improves ability to act for desired change.

23. Lessons from the Early Days Development process is an integral part of the work. Building relationships takes time and requires a substantial and consistent investment. Key challenges are in balancing: comprehensive thinking and concrete action; strategic level interventions and household level outcomes.

24. Lessons from the Early Days Payoff comes from being more strategic and aligning efforts in new ways. Action at the local level is not enough – need to join with others to bring about systemic and policy changes.

25. Shifting the Emphasis in Welfare to Work Not just securing employment but reducing poverty. Neither government nor market but multisectoral collaboration.

26. Shifting the Emphasis in Welfare to Work Not single interventions but an integrated set of responses. Not ‘fixing’ social assistance recipients but building community capacity to generate opportunities and build assets.

27. Roles for Government Reframe the challenge from welfare to work to poverty reduction. Officially adopt a policy framework that supports comprehensive, multisectoral approaches. Help build local capacity to convene and facilitate multisectoral networks.

28. Roles for Government Reduce the government silos that inhibit local-level collaboration. Provide long-term stable funding that allows community initiatives to build capacity as they gain experience. Participate in multisectoral networks and institutionalize local and national policy dialogues on comprehensive, strategies for poverty reduction.

29. Roles for Government Reduce staff turnovers and better manage long-term relationship-building with communities. Enable local planning and problem-solving by making statistical data on local conditions fully available to communities. Review and revise policies that undermine the efforts of low-income residents to build the critical mass of assets required to exit poverty on a sustainable basis.

30. Roles for Government Adopt learning-oriented evaluations. Fund coaching support for communities pursuing comprehensive, multisectoral approaches to poverty reduction. Support cross-site learning.