Funded by the Ministry of Citizenship & Immigration (MCI) through its Partnership Grant Program with the nonprofit sector, Pillar’s Collaborating for Community Impact (CCI) Program enables and promotes a culture of cross-sector collaboration and partnership in London. Given our challenging global economic climate and austerity budgets by various levels of government, it is timely for our community to consider how the private, public and nonprofit sectors may collaborate to ensure an enhanced quality of life for all its citizens.
Goal
The goal of the CCI Program over three years (2012-2014) is to contribute towards a healthier, more vibrant community, by increasing the impact of nonprofit organizations - through collaboration with business, health, education and government - to better serve mutual stakeholders.
Getting Started
Research Phase - During 2012, Pillar Nonprofit Network explored and documented an inventory of existing London collaborations and conducted two Focus Groups, en route to researching successful case studies and defining Best Practices for Community Collaboration.
Learning Phase - Building on this comprehensive work, Pillar then hosted 200+ private, public and nonprofit community stakeholders at London’s first-ever cross-sector Community Collaboration Forum in September 2012 to gauge which issues were resonating most with citizens. For more detailed information, please refer to our summary of the 2012 survey results.
Facilitating Community Change
Facilitation Phase - Through this community consultation, Pillar developed three key initiatives for its CCI Program: 1) Transforming London with a social innovation shared space; Addressing Poverty through Mental Health as a Barrier to Employment; and 3) Enhancing Campus Community Collaboration to leverage Social Change.
Design & Business Plan Phase - In support of its first initiative, Pillar Nonprofit Network leveraged a grant from the London Community Foundation to undertake a 2013 feasibility study to determine London’s readiness for a Shared Space. This study confirmed a groundswell of support, moving Pillar to announce at a Media Conference on August 13, 2014 its purchase of a downtown London heritage building at 201 King Street, as future home to a London social innovation shared space. Can can view the press release here.
In support of its second initiative, Pillar partnered with Wellesley Institute, the London Chamber of Commerce, RBC, and United Way London & Middlesex to launch a London Prince’s Seeing is Believing (PSiB) program to address poverty through the lens of mental health as a barrier to employment.
In support of its third initiative, Pillar is working with Western University and Fanshawe College to discover their community aspirations and how we might leverage greater campus community collaboration and positive social change together. A number of individual proactive measures are now underway to break down silos - first on each campus, and eventually between the campuses.
Implementation Phase - As its three Collaborating for Community Impact initiatives continue to develop throughout 2014, Pillar is providing ongoing support and facilitation to ensure successful implementation of its key cross-sector community collaborations.
Knowledge Transfer Phase - As a strategic outcome of London’s Collaborating for Community Impact (CCI) Program, Pillar is liaising with 26 fellow recipient organizations of MCI Partnership Grant Program (PGP) funding across Ontario, through a Partnership Grant Learning Group Community of Practice. Facilitated by the Mowat Centre, Pillar and colleagues are sharing new research, knowledge and networking opportunities designed to build greater capacity for the nonprofit sector across the Province.
Evaluation Phase - By the end of 2014, an external evaluator will complete a full evaluation of Pillar’s CCI Program to ensure optimum continued success following this comprehensive three-year (2012-2014) initiative to contribute towards a healthier, more vibrant London.
Questions
Phone: 519-433-7876
