Wellesley Institute

CBR 100 Series

2009-07-08T16:10:23-04:00

CBR 101 - Introduction to Community Based Research (CBR)

CBR 102 - Ethical Issues in Community Based Research

CBR 104 - How to Run a Focus Group

CBR 105 - How to Conduct a Research Interview

CBR 106 - Developing a Client Satisfaction Survey

CBR 107 - How to do a Literature Review

CBR 300 Series

2009-07-08T15:45:52-04:00

CBR 301 - Using Community-Based Research to Affect Public Policy

CBR 302 - Qualitative Methods and Analysis

CBR 303 - Developing Survey Tools in CBR

CBR 308 - Policy Analysis from a Community Perspective

CBR 310 - Delivering a Policy Presentation

Workshops - CAP

2009-07-08T12:41:44-04:00

CAP 102 - Valuing Diversity

CAP 103 - Writing a Grant Proposal

CAP 105 -Build Successful Alliances, Coalitions & Partnerships

CAP 106 - Intro to Financial Management

CAP 108 - Effective Meeting & Facilitation Skills

CAP 109 - Strategic Planning

CAP 110 - The Fine Art of Volunteer Management

CAP 112 - All About Advocacy

CAP 113 - Introduction to Performance Management

CAP 114 - Board Governance

CAP 119 - Effective Supervsiory Skills

CAP 122 - Strategies for Managing Conflict

CAP 200 - Letting Go of Conflict

CBR 200 Series

2009-07-08T12:12:31-04:00

CBR 207 - Writing Effective CBR Proposals

CBR 209 - CBR in Ethnoracial Communities

CBR 210 - Conducting CBR with Homeless Communities

'Sorry, it's rented!' - tens of thousands of Torontonians face discrimination in housing: New report from CERA

2009-07-07T17:41:08-04:00

"Sorry, it's rented", new research from the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation, reports that tens of thousands of Torontonians - people from racialized communities, people with mental health issues, single parents, people receiving social assistance - face serious discrimination when they try to rent a home, contrary to the Ontario Human Rights Code. "Approximately 1 in 4 households receiving social assistance, South Asian households, and Black lone parents experience moderate to severe discrimination when they inquire about an available apartment - discrimination that would act as a substantial barrier to accessing housing. When the housing seeker has a mental illness, our research finds that more than one third will experience discrimination. These numbers, alone, are cause for concern, but as will be discussed in the report, they may represent the tip of the iceberg." The report sets out practical recommendations for the Ontario government to lessen discrimination in Toronto's rental housing sector.

Help build a housing and homelessness map of Canada! Share your local housing and homelessness stories

2009-07-03T15:19:10-04:00

Canada urgently needs a national housing plan – millions of Canadians are calling for one, and the United Nations has added its voice. The best national housing plan is built from the community up – a plan that identifies local housing and homelessness needs across the country, and pinpoints effective local housing and homeless initiatives that deserve support. Building from the community up allows us to identify the resources needed to support a comprehensive national housing plan – including funding, legislation, programs and services. You can help build a national housing and homelessness plan from the community up by helping to build a national housing and homelessness map of Canada. The Wellesley Institute has launched this work and you can find the map here. The Canadian housing e-map is one part of the Wellesley Institute's state of the nation's housing 2009 initiative.

To start the process, we’ve seeded the map with a few dozen initiatives from across the country. Now we’re asking you to add your own information. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find a link to “add your resource or organization to the Canadian Housing Map here”. Click on the link and you’ll find a simple on-line form. Fill out the details and make sure to include a postal code (that’s how the map stores information). Tell us about an advocacy group that is campaigning to end homelessness and/or work for better homes; or about a housing or homelessness project, or a program or service, that is making a difference in your community. There’s no limit on the number of entries – the map will grow as we hear more from you. The more information that you can supply, the better, including web links. Only one item per form, but submit as many different forms as you like. Join the campaign to build a national housing plan from the community up by adding your housing and homelessness info to the national map!

Privatizing health care services: my un-philosophical objection

2009-07-03T13:29:15-04:00

According to the Vancouver Sun, new B.C. health minister Kevin Falcon doesn't "have any philosophical objection" to patients being allowed to pay for faster access to medical services in private surgery clinics (http://www.vancouversun.com/Health/Health+minister+says+private+
health+clinics+okay+with+limits/1729495/story.html). I don't have a philosophical objection to it either. My objection is practical.

If we allow health care procedures to be mere market items, then level of wealth becomes one of the main factors that determines whether someone gets care or not. That partial privatization would offer all patients more choice and create a more efficient system is merely a myth. The evidence has shown, time and time again, that for-profit health care is not only more costly but also often poorer quality than not-for-profit, or public, health care. Take a look at the United States, where privatized health care has resulted in costs per person that are twice as high as in Canada. Even with more money being spent, many key health outcomes, such as life expectancy and disease-specific mortality rates, are significantly worse than they are here.

There is a widely held belief that partial privatization in Canada will lead to shorter waiting lists, but the reality is that creating a private health care market on the side would only draw resources out of the public system, slowing down access to care for those who can't afford to leave the public system. A parallel private system would split the population in two, based on their ability to pay, and health care would no longer be treated as a right, but as a commodity. As for wait times, international comparisons indicate they wouldn't change much. What would change is who has to wait and who does not.

Proponents of privatization argue that individuals should have more choice in their own care. Sure, "choice" sounds great on paper, but only if it is given to everyone. Giving more choice to the wealthy, and leaving the poor to be cared for out of what is left of the public system, will create an equity crisis. This notion that patients should have more choice forms the foundation of a current hot topic in B.C., where private clinics are suing the government for forbidding doctors from accepting private forms of payment from clients. This is pretty outrageous. What Canada needs is quite the opposite: stronger protection of the Canada Health Act (CHA) in order to prevent violations of it, which are already not uncommon. Canadians value the equitable guarantees that come out of the CHA, and it needs to be upheld as the core of our health care system.

That being said, our current system is far from perfect. Improving it is going to require re-organizing and integrating services, emphasizing promotion and prevention, focusing on disease management, and prioritizing health disparities. These are all changes that can and should be done within the public framework. Privatization is not the answer.

Yes, Falcon did later call back to clarify that he was referring, of course, to the privatization of non-medically necessary services only. A small after thought, perhaps? We need to stop viewing privatization as a solution. It will not shorten wait-times, it will not support better healthcare resource allocation, and it most assuredly will not improve quality of care. What privatization will do is lead to increased inefficiencies and a plethora of equity-related issues. Should access to care be based on ability to pay, or on need of medical attention? Maybe that is a "philosophical" question after all. Or maybe it's just a question of justice.

US President Obama lifts up non-profit sector, promises "new partnership" with federal government

2009-07-02T14:47:13-04:00

“Solutions to America's challenges are being developed every day at the grass roots – and government shouldn't be supplanting those efforts, it should be supporting those efforts.” With those stirring words, US President Barack Obama announced “a new kind of partnership between government and the non-profit sector” in a speech on Tuesday at the White House attended by 100 non-profit leaders from across the country. President Obama had earlier announced a $50 million social innovation fund to “identify and expand innovative and effective non-profits”.

Before President Obama’s inspiring speech on Tuesday, four non-profit leaders set out their innovative work, including the Harlem Children’s Zone, HopeLab, Bonnie CLAC, and GeneSys Works. While there has been growing recognition of the economic and social value of the non-profit sector in the US, President Obama’s comments have helped to focus a national debate on the critical value of community-based initiatives not only to help individuals who are suffering, but also to re-build the economy for the 21st century. His comments came one day after Johns Hopkins University released the latest in a grim series of reports from UK, Canada and the US that points to the massive fiscal stress facing non-profits. The Wellesley Institute has a series of research and policy reports on the non-profit sector including, most recently, Canada’s non-profit maze.

According to President Obama: “Ultimately, the best solutions don't come from the top-down, not from Washington; they come from the bottom-up in each and everyone one of our communities. As some of you know, I first saw this years ago when I worked as a community organizer in Chicago – neighborhoods devastated by steel plant closings. And I spent hours going door to door, meeting with anyone who would talk to me, asking people about their struggles and what an organization could do to help. And it was slow, laborious going. We had plenty of setbacks and failed more often than we succeeded. But we listened to the people in the community and we learned from them and got them engaged and got them involved. And slowly, block by block, we began to turn those neighborhoods around, fighting for job training and better housing and more opportunity for young people.”

“The lesson I learned then still holds true today: that folks who are struggling don't simply need more government bureaucracy; that top-down, one-size-fits-all program usually doesn't end up fitting anybody. People don't need somebody out in Washington to tell them how to solve their problems, especially when the best solutions are often right there in their own neighborhoods, just waiting to be discovered. So right now, in communities across America, people are hard at work developing and running programs that could be the next Harlem Children's Zone or the next Genesys Works or the next Hope Lab, and idealistic young people like Wendy Kopp who refused to listen to the skeptics years ago and pushed ahead to bring her vision for Teach for America to life.”

The early reaction to President Obama’s speech from the non-profit sector has been almost entirely positive, with comments revolving around some key questions:

• Is the $50 million social innovation fund adequate to meet the needs of non-profits right across the United States (President Obama has other initiatives that are related to the social innovation fund)?

• With President Obama’s focus on funding “innovative and effective” non-profits, who gets to decide what is innovative, and what is effective?

The US President has a lot of power (and a lot of money), but perhaps most important in the Tuesday speech was the willingness of President Obama to use the “bully-pulpit” of the White House to focus attention on a neglected part of US society and to deliver an intelligent rallying cry.

New Wellesley Institute workshops: Social Media for Social Change

2009-07-02T11:08:58-04:00

New Wellesley Institute workshops for Summer 2009

July 14: Social Media 101

Join us for an overview of the world of Web 2.0, and learn how successful organizations use new media tools to further their strategic goals.

July 28: Strategy.org

Infuse social media tools into your strategic communications plan. Learn how incorporating ROI and measurement tools can help you reach your organizational goals.

August 11: Tactical Toolkit 2.0

Maximize your efforts with our toolkit-building workshop. Examine a variety of tools to help your organization innovate, communicate, and connect.

August 25: Campaign-storm

A collaborative and inclusive brainstorming session with special guests from Toronto's online community. Bring your social media questions and prepare for answers!

Learn the basics, and then refine and grow your online strategy through creative, cost-effective, and collaborative tools.

More information available here.

Visit www.wellesleyinstitute.com for new research, analysis and community events.

Canadian Housing e-Map

2009-06-30T14:15:31-04:00

Add your resource or organization to the Canadian Housing e-Map

UK PM Brown announces multi-billion investments in new affordable and social housing

2009-06-30T09:05:28-04:00

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced on Monday a new investment of GBP1.5 billion (Cdn$2.87 billion) to fund 20,000 new affordable and social homes over the next two years. The investment will generate 45,000 jobs in the construction trades and related sectors, according to the PM. The new investments are on top of planned spending of GBP1.2 billion this year (Cdn$2.3 billion) by the UK government - bringing total investments in new affordable and social homes to more than Cdn$5 billion over the next two years. “We will not walk away from people in challenging times," said the Prime Minister in a statement in the Commons yesterday. We will continue to fight for a fairer prosperity and a responsible society on the basis of our enduring values. This is not a job just for the Government but for the country as a whole.” He referred to the housing investments, part of a broader government initiative called Building Britain's Future as "a new economic and constitutional settlement".

Peel residents face 21-year wait for affordable homes; provincial consultation set for Monday

2009-06-29T17:27:30-04:00

The Housing Network of Ontario is working with Peel-based housing and homelessness advocates to ensure that the real solutions to the housing needs of people living in Peel Region are front and centre at the Monday (June 29th) provincial government housing consultation. The Assistant Deputy Minister - Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is expected to attend the forum at 6:30pm at Terry Miller Rec Centre, 1295 Williams Parkway in Brampton.

"Housing insecurity and homelessness are sometimes less visible in the
high-growth regions of the GTA, including Peel, York and Halton," says Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute, co-chair of the Housing Network of Ontario. "But there are plenty of housing problems: Homeless shelters, where they exist, are crowded; lower-income households are jammed into homes that are too small; line-ups at food banks are growing longer as more household income goes to rising housing costs and less is available for other necessities."

The Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association, a member of the Housing
Network of Ontario, reports that social housing wait-lists across Ontario have grown to almost 130,000 households. Families in Peel Region have to wait almost 21 years to access affordable housing. "These issues have been discussed for years, and study after study has just been put on the shelf to gather dust. Tenants need this consultation to result in real action by the government," says Robert Handy, a tenant activist living in Brampton. "We need changes to ensure that tenants have timely access to fairness and justice at the landlord and tenant board. Landlords can't be allowed to repeatedly dodge their obligations to keep rental housing properly maintained."

Local advocates will be joined by Yutaka Dirks, of the Advocacy Centre
for Tenants Ontario and co-chair of the Housing Network of Ontario, who says, "The government needs to listen to low-income Ontarians to develop a long-term plan that builds new affordable units, offers tenants increased legal protections, provides supports to help people maintain their housing and which addresses the gap between tenant incomes and rising rents. But there are actions that should be taken right away to help alleviate housing insecurity for the people of Peel Region."

The Housing Network of Ontario (HNO) is a network of advocacy
organizations and individuals with lived experience of housing insecurity who support an integrated and fully-funded affordable housing strategy. To date, the HNO Declaration has been endorsed by more than 300 organizations and individuals.

Happy Pride 2009: Can't stop, won't stop!

2009-06-28T09:16:23-04:00

A Happy Pride 2009 to our friends, neighbours and the million or so people who will crowd downtown Toronto's streets (almost outside the front door of the Wellesley Institute, as it happens) for the big parade today (Sunday). The Wellesley Institute is proud to partner with many groups in the LGBTT communities in our research and policy work, and we enthusiastically endorse this year's Pride slogan: "Can't stop, won't stop"!

HR Council releases five-part framework for labour force strategy for non-profit sector

2009-06-26T15:26:03-04:00

Canada's non-profit sector includes 69,000 employers and more than 1.2 million employees - which makes it a dynamic part of the national economic scene. The HR Council for the Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector released yesterday a five-part framework for a labour force strategy for the vital third sector. The key elements are: a deliberate, purposeful focus on doing a better job of HR management; intentional efforts to continue building an inclusive workforce; a research and development strategy that produces empirical evidence that is useful and used by the sector; broadly-based co-ordinated efforts to promote the value of work in the sector; organizations and funders commit to supporting competitive compensation, good working conditions and effective HR management.

UK non-profits face 'take it or leave it' approach from funders, says Critical Conditions report

2009-06-25T09:48:13-04:00

Non-profit organizations seeking financial support are facing a large number of non-negotiable terms and conditions attached to grants from both government and charitable organizations, according to Critical Conditions, a new report from the UK's Directory of Social Change released this week. "When funding terms and conditions are non-negotiable, applicants can be faced with a take-it-or-leave-it situation," said report author Jay Kennedy. "If they refuse to sign the agreement, they could lose their funding. If they sign and ignore the terms, they may jeopardise their project, organisation and beneficiaries." The new report notes that: "Funding terms have an impact on an organisation's independence and even potentially on its sound management. The funding relationship by its nature is an unequal one, and the funder's approach can make the difference between a constructive partnership and a controlling relationship". The report confirms findings from the Wellesley Institute's reports We can't afford to do business this way; and, Canada's non-profit maze.