We believe that community capacity and social impact can be enhanced through quality research that provides greater understanding of community need, best practice strategies, opportunities for impact and challenges for implementation. Examples of our recent research work include:

—Sharing Perspectives on ‘Soft Skills’: A Canada Wide Survey of Stakeholders study conducted for Futureworx and the Government of Canada exploring perspectives on soft skills training and development opportunities in Canada (2018) Full Report

—Literature review for the the City of Calgary’s Crime Prevention Investment Plan (CPIP) Research Brief & Guiding Document (2016-2017) Full Report

— Literature review of best and promising practices for social inclusion of vulnerable seniors (Prepared for FCSS Calgary) (2015) Full Report

We support organizations with the program design or redesign process including: background, need and best practice research; creation of detailed program logic models and theory of change materials; and development of evaluation plans. Since program designs are part of the internal program planning process, we aren't able to share examples of our work publicly. Please contact us for examples of our work.

Our evaluation work is person-centered, practical, and utilization-focused. We use a mixed-methods approach and ensure multiple stakeholder voices are reflected our final evaluation products. All evaluation work is overseen by a Canadian Evaluation Society Credentialed Evaluator, ensuring adherence to the highest standard of evaluation practice. Examples of our recent evaluation work include:

—Evaluation of Carya’s Sirius Program, 2017-2018 Full Report

—Evaluation of the CCIS Cultural Brokerage Program (2014-2017) Full Report * Summary

—Evaluation of Green Fools' Social Circus summer program (2017) Full Report

—Evaluation of Momentum’s Money Matters program (2017) Summary Report

—Developmental evaluation of the Family Violence Specialist and Apartment 1310 Program facilitated by CCIS (2018) Full Report

Using the internationally standardized Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology, we support organizations to demonstrate the value of their social impact in relation to their social investments. All SROI work is conducted by an Accredited SROI Practitioner and final SROI products include detailed citations, full reporting of assumptions and demonstration of verification of the validity of results. Examples of our recent SROI work include:

—SROI of dedicated-site supportive housing investment by BC Housing (2018) Full Report

—SROI of scattered-site supportive housing investment by BC Housing (2018) Full Report

—SROI of affordable housing development investment by BC Housing (2016) Full Report

All of our work involves elements of capacity building, but we also provide a variety of topic-specific training opportunities, including presentations and workshops, for individuals and organizations. If you’re looking for advice or support on a particular project, we offer individual and organizational coaching and review of analyses.

Leveraging our expertise in research and evaluation, we help position organizations to attract investment and expand their funding base. We have successfully supported organizations in securing funding from: Public Safety Canada, the Department of Justice, Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) Calgary, the Calgary Foundation, Status of Women Alberta, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, United Way, and other donors, investors and funders.