Extending the Practice through Creativity, Contribution & Innovation in the Field

WINNER: The City of Guelph and the Guelph Community for “A United Vision: the Guelph Community Plan”.

Over 18 months, the City of Guelph engaged some 15,000 residents to co-create a roadmap for what they would like their city to look like in 20 years’ time. They worked closely with the community to design a city-wide process that included hard-to-reach and marginalized groups, as well as businesses, community groups and other organizations. The input has since guided the development of the City’s Strategic Plan, “Guelph: Future Ready”.

What the judges said:

"The project demonstrated fundamental trust that given time, space and freedom, community members could make sense of their current state and aspire to creating a better future for all."

"Appreciate the language they use “be balanced and representative”. and continually asked “who have we missed?” Also did not see this process as a one time event but ongoing."

"Acknowledging the  successes of the past and bringing these into current processes to continue to listen and learn contributes to the shared vision and sustainability."  

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RUNNER-UP: The City of Burnaby, BC and the Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, for “Your Voice - Your Home: Meeting the Housing Needs of Burnaby Residents”.

Housing prices in Metro Vancouver are considered the second most unaffordable in Canada, and one in five Burnaby households is facing overcrowding, poor upkeep, or unaffordable costs. This project, a partnership of the City of Burnaby and the Morris J, Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University, was a six-month undertaking, involving the Mayor’s Task Force on Community Housing. The over-arching question was simple: “What are the housing experiences and needs of Burnaby residents and what are their recommendations in terms of housing policies and programs?”

To help with the answer, more than 2,600 residents took part, either in-person or online -- the largest engagement in Burnaby’s history -- and 42 resident recommendations were brought forward, which directly informed the Task Force’s final report.

What the judges said:

"Great project name. This alone would encourage participation."

"Exemplary demonstration of integrating community engagement and decision-making through a process that effectively deepened mutual understanding of the needs and aspirations of multiple stakeholders."

"The project was designed to generate actionable recommendations rather than ideas or challenges, in order to create real accountability."

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HONORABLE MENTION: The Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated (JCCBI) for “Deconstruction of the Champlain Bridge”.

JCCBI was given the task of dismantling the Champlain Bridge: a 3.4 km, 6-lane structure, involving close to 300,000 tonnes of material, and doing so sustainably, in a way that benefited the people in the area.

The challenge was met through consultations with the general public and all the stakeholders involved. Specifically, public input was sought on what to do with all that material and how to manage the riverbank spaces that would be vacated by the removal of the approaches to the bridge. JCCBI identified and brought into the conversation a diverse range of interests, including environmental, cultural, heritage and scientific. This consultation helped determine what parts of the bridge would be preserved and get ideas about shoreline redevelopment. 

What the judges said:

“The process looked for ways to manage the public space along the river’s edge, commemorate the original bridge and re-use the materials. On the bigger picture, the project can serve as a model for future projects involving dismantling major infrastructure.”

“Strong campaign to build awareness led to exceeding quantitative engagement targets by a lot.”

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HONORABLE MENTION: The Simon Fraser University Student Experience Initiative for “Building Community and a Sense of Belonging -- Ideas to Action”.

Over 18 months, the Student Experience Initiative held consultations with students to engage in creative ideation using diverse methods. There were creative idea lounges, pop-ups at the campus fire pits and games lounge, empathy mapping, idea jam partnerships with undergraduate and graduate classes, as well as online social media discussions, polls and an idea submission form. Some of the ideas generated are already being implemented, and others are under consideration, subject to availability of resources. 

“The student- to-student approach increased opportunities for inclusive participation … customized outreach to anyone who was missed in previous consultations.”

“Great use of partnerships and existing assets to develop the engagement objectives, loved the use of a decision rubric and cross referencing to ensure alignment with overall goals. Creating a  leadership role for students to enable the dialogue and support safe and accessible conversations with peers ensured interest and support of the community.”

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