United for Montreal's neighbourhoods!
Hearing the project's voices
On April 27, 2022, around a hundred people gathered at the Théâtre Paradoxe for the launch of the second phase of Project Collective Impact.
The event, moderated by Sophie Fouron, was an opportunity to bring together representatives from the neighborhoods involved in the first phase of the CIP, and to hear their views on the project's unique approach.
From left to right: McConnell Foundation CEO Lili-Ana Pereša, City of Montreal Director of Diversity and Social Inclusion Nadia Bastien, CEO of Centraide of Greater Montreal, Executive Director of Vivre Saint-Michel en santé Vanessa Sykes Tremblay, Montreal Regional Director of Public Health and CIUSSS Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal Mylène Drouin and PIC Assistant Director Rotem Ayalon (Credit: Jean-Marc Abela).
"The PIC allowed us to dream. We were in an era of austerity; organizations were demoralized and cooperation was more difficult. We realized that the CIP was not standardized, that it allowed us to start from our aspirations. (...) The CIP enabled us to innovate and experiment. We had a blast trying things we'd never had the chance to try.
"With the PIC, we can take the time to stop and decide collectively to work on an issue that's important to us (...) The PIC is like a gift that the neighborhood gives itself. Everyone's involvement and the investment of our partners give color to the project.
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Presented at the launch, a panel discussion reflected on the learnings since the CIP's inception in 2015 and expressed wishes for the coming years.
Things that the panellists observed are that:
Collaborations within neighbourhoods have been strengthened, both among community agencies and with local institutions.
The vast majority of neighborhoods that took part in the ICP have integrated evaluation approaches that have enabled them to learn new lessons and adjust their practices.
The bottom-up approach drawn from the collective impact approach, in which neighbourhoods choose what to work on and how, is a successful model.
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The CIP community has expressed many goals it would like to achieve for the coming years:
Provide support to all Montreal neighbourhoods that have a roundtable and that want to work collectively.
Strengthen collaboration between local initiatives and regional stakeholders (including foundations and institutions) to exploit the full potential of the CIP.
Offer CIP support beyond the evaluation phase so that neighbourhoods can increase their capacity to make systemic changes.
In the media!
This festive evening, marking the start of a new phase in the PIC program, drew strong reactions from the French-speaking press...
"Foundations unite to fight poverty". Le Devoir.
Reported on Le 15-18 Radio-Canada (at 1:08).
"Centraide pulls out all the stops to fight poverty" Journal Métro.
"PIC, millions of dollars to alleviate poverty" Journal des voisins.
... and Anglophone media!
"More than $21 million to be given to Montreal communities to fight poverty, social exclusion" Global.
Centraide of Greater Montreal is launching the second phase of their Collective Impact Project on CBC Daybreak.