Mapping Community Development Priorities in Alberta in 2024
Part of CDLI’s first partnership table meeting in 2024 was reflecting on where we are and what we think 2024 might bring. By mapping community development priorities in our local area in 2024 we hope to do a few things:
1) Connect people experiencing similar things to break down isolation and set the groundwork for generative conversations.
2) Build understanding of the different opportunities and challenges showing up in community today that we might not be seeing in our own areas.
3) Uncover some themes and ideas for CDLI to dig into in 2024.
Here is how it went:
Systems literacy and change was identified as a through line to many of the priorities identified. Ways of working that had previously not been widely embraced were brought to the forefront of systems during the global pandemic, growing awareness of social justice issues both locally and globally have encouraged applying different lenses to community work, and through multiple layered crisis emergency changes have been made that were either temporary or permanent. When so much impacts a system (community and non-profit work) the ways in which an individual or an organization navigate the system changes.
Many who are working in community are trying to reorient themselves to be able to navigate the system. The partnership table identified a few ways this is being experienced/showing up:
Mission drift out of necessity “to keep the lights on”.
Individuals are entering the system in different ways, wanting to invest in it and change it without being in a defined volunteer role or starting a formal organization
Both community members and those doing community work are getting their roles changed over and over, people have done more different jobs in the last 4 years than they have in an entire career.
Community groups have come and gone or come and stayed - who is doing what still?
Larger organizations are taking on “new” ways of doing things or processes due to large societal shifts that have happened in recent years which put staff in position of having to operate a new way and not necessarily having the support to shift their role and their processes.
Cognitive dissonance (voluntarily engaging in uncomfortable activities to achieve a goal) happening for people doing community work right now.
Disenfranchisement due to a failing system that is preventing people from engaging in their community and doing the community work that could work toward solving the issues.
The priorities that were identified are:
A few definitions of the priorities were surfaced as well. Though we know the definitions will be different in each community this is how some are experiencing the priorities they identified showing up in their community work.
The partnership table is a group that commits to coming together a few times per year (2-4) to discuss community development at a high level, contribute to CDLI’s strategic direction and inform the processes CDLI takes to bring our vision and mission to life. If you are interested in being involved please email cdli@caryacalgary.ca