Who

ABSI (Alberta Social Innovation) Connect is a collective of Alberta-based organizations and individuals who want to address the root causes of today’s most pressing issues and believes this requires working and learning together.

What

Find, connect, celebrate, and support Albertans who are creating and testing new ways of approaching society’s most pressing problems.

How

1. Intentional Connecting - connecting people, organizations and networks to grow Alberta’s capacity to innovate and create impact

2. Sharing Stories & Evidence - from individual stories to broader patterns and trends

3. Identifying patterns, gaps, and opportunities - related to the visibility, accessibility, and impact of social innovation in Alberta

How: The Breakdown

Intentional Connecting

Creating opportunities for people to learn, connect, and grow alongside others from different communities or issue spaces to increase their capacity to innovate and create impact.

• Webinars and online convenings

• Network Weaver Calls

• Local/regional workshops and gatherings - On hold due to COVID -19

• The Community Catalyst Program

• Our resource library

• Co-host, attend, and/or promote other meet-ups and events as relevant

• Connect with other networks relating to social innovation and social economy. For example participating in the steering committee and as a partner to advance Alberta’s Social Innovation and Social Finance strategy

• Connecting people to people, organizations to organizations, networks to networks

Share stories and evidence

Shine a light on existing stories, initiatives, resources, and events--with an emphasis on those created by or serving Albertans who are addressing “messy” problems.

• Podcast and blog posts

• Monthly newsletter

• Social media

• Key terms, definitions, resources, and experts highlighted on ABSI Connect’s website and SI Canada’s online platform

Identify patterns, gaps, and opportunities

Uncover and share patterns, gaps, and opportunities related to the visibility, accessibility, and impact of social innovation in Alberta, to inform the actions this network takes.

• Surface and share patterns, trends, gaps and needs through individual conversations, student projects at partner institutions, and surveys & reports (beginning in 2020 - findings coming soon)

• Work with a social innovation fellow (spring) to explore how language and narratives influence the way social innovation happens and is talked about in different communities (findings coming soon)