I’ll admit, today my energy and enthusiasm level at the conference was a bit lower compared to the other days. There’s likely a couple of reasons for that, ranging from a somewhat earlier start time today and yesterday compared to the first two days, to the accumulated effects of being away from home. However, I […]
Category: Thoughts
Today’s workshop at the American Evaluation Association was on participatory methods, which covers a range of methods and approaches for use with populations that could be categorized as “vulnerable”: those living in poverty, not speaking or understanding the dominant language, identifying as LGBTQ, Aboriginal / First Nations, or a racialized minority, living in an area […]
Another great day, including meeting a group of awesome people around the topic of community development and cities (I’m an urban nerd at heart!). Lots of talk today about how to introduce and implement developmental evaluation practices, which can be difficult as the whole point of the field is to eschew the “one size fits […]
It’s the end of day 1 at the American Evaluation Conference, and so far it’s been a great experience! In addition to the content of the workshop itself (more on that below), I had the opportunity to chat with people from academia, research institutions, government, and non-profits doing work in an array of fields. The […]
Right now, I’m waiting to board my flight to Minneapolis for the American Evaluation Association’s annual conference. I’ve been to other conferences before, but this is the first time attending one in the capacity of a self-employed consultant, rather than as a student or the representative of an organization. I don’t know how this different […]
Last week, I attended a forum highlighting grant opportunities for organizations based in Saskatoon. Speakers from seven funding agencies provided an overview of their respective grant programs, with time afterwards for questions to the group and general networking. Although I imagine that this idea of bringing funders and non-profit organizations together is not new, it […]
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My Approach
Strong Roots Consulting has recently passed its two-month birthday, with my first post on this site going live on July 11. I’m quite pleased with the progress made during that short time – helping a local nonprofit group with a grant application, making a number of new connections, writing blog posts on a semi-regular basis […]
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Getting to Maybe – Stand Still
The second chapter of Getting to Maybe, somewhat confusingly sharing the title of the book itself, focuses on how social innovators get started. For many, there is a sense of calling or having reached a personal tipping point. There’s a realization that some aspect of the current reality is not merely a problem, but that […]
Categories
Getting to Maybe
Non-profits, charitable organizations, third-sector, helping professions, social enterprises, grassroots. Whatever you call it, the people who are drawn to working in this arena share the common intention of making a positive impact in our world. Another commonality shared by these socially-minded folk is the vast scope of the problems they set out to tackle, be […]
One of my sources for inspiration in launching Strong Roots is Natalie Brown, a friend and former classmate from the Community Psychology Masters’ program at WLU. Since graduating, Natalie has made use of her skills and experience in community-based research together with her energy and enthusiasm to benefit the Kitchener-Waterloo community through her consulting business, […]