The Social Innovation Workshop A Platform for Collaboration

THE SOCIAL INNOVATION WORKSHOP:

A Platform for Collaboration

By Amélie Neault // Coordinator of The Mauril-Bélanger Social Innovation Workshop (The Atelier) and Jonathan Durand Folco// Assistant Professor at the Élisabeth-Bruyère School of Social Innovation, Saint Paul University

When it comes to “collaborations” between academic world and the community, discussions are often vague and general: the importance of “decompartmentalizing knowledge”, of encouraging the sharing of experiences, of mutual support and assistance in order to promote the emergence of solutions to the complex problems of the present time. However, we often lack the resources and means to make this ideal a reality. How can we really facilitate collaborations between people from the academic world, community-based, businesses, and Francophone, Anglophone, Indigenous and immigrant communities?

A start to the answer can be found at The Mauril-Bélanger Social Innovation Workshop (The Atelier), a unique space in Ottawa. The Workshop opened in April 2018 in a 5,500 square-foot space within Saint Paul University. It is a bilingual and inclusive space focused on collaboration, knowledge sharing and supporting social innovations, i.e. projects that aim to have a positive impact on the community. This non-profit organization (NPO) was founded by professors from the Élisabeth-Bruyère School of Social Innovation, Saint Paul University, with the goal of fostering exchanges between the academic world, social organizations in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, and the emergence of projects at the crossroads of multiple influences. The members of The Atelier are actors in the field of social innovation and come from a variety of communities: student, research, entrepreneurial, practitioner, citizen, committed and local. With its partners, The Atelier offers training, coaching, visibility and funding opportunities for individuals and groups who are inventing models of organization, social practices and commitment that allow for the fight against social inequalities and various forms of oppression. How do the collaborations in this space unfold in concrete terms?

HERE ARE THREE EXAMPLES THAT COULD INSPIRE OTHER INITIATIVES:

FIRST,

it is possible to set up “communities of practice”, which are groups of people who “share a concern or passion for something they do and learn to do it better by interacting regularly”1. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some professional facilitators, who work mostly independently, needed to find a common space to gather and share. They wanted to be able to discuss their practice, talk about the challenges of group facilitation and share resources. This led to the creation of the “Facilitation Hub”, a meeting place focused on the issues faced by practitioners in this field. Until now, the facilitation hub has been used to bring together people interested in power relationships within groups and organizations. Power relationships are omnipresent, whether in the way we communicate with each other or in our decision making. The hub has offered dozens of online facilitation trainings since 2020, with a flexible fee structure that promotes accessibility. The Community of Practice is taking shape as a second phase of development for this hub, to create more sustainable collaborations that go beyond this service offering.

SECOND,

collaborations can be stimulated through networking events. For example, each year, The Atelier organizes a Social Innovation Fair, a “ hub “ or space for exchange, between several actors and organizations in the Ottawa/Gatineau region. With its numerous rooms, its open and flexible coworking space, its lounge and its kitchen, it can host dozens of organizations, information booths, activities and conferences to facilitate contacts between people from different backgrounds and with potentially common interests. During its second edition on September 26, 2022, more than forty Francophone, Anglophone, Indigenous and migrant related organizations were invited to present their initiatives, approaches and activities. A mix of community groups, advocacy organizations, social and solidarity economy enterprises, as well as curious citizens participated in the event, in which many future collaborations could eventually flourish. These moments of sharing, exchange and networking represent real springboards or catalysts for change, to increase the visibility of local initiatives, generate opportunities (for jobs, internships and partnerships), and even more sustainable coalitions between several organizations.

THIRDLY,

it is possible to stimulate collaborations between the university and the community by supporting projects developed by students of the School of Social Innovation. Since 2020, the Desjardins bursary (worth $10,000) has helped propel various initiatives to address different social needs and issues in the region. One of these projects, the Habitations Partagées Mirela2, is an alternative model of affordable housing that pairs two or more people with complementary affinities and needs - one who can benefit from a presence and support, and the other from affordable housing. This new organization facilitates the implementation of intergenerational habitats with a platform bringing together young and old people, thus making it possible to respond simultaneously to several issues related to social isolation, aging, the housing crisis, etc. Other collective projects hosted by the Social Innovation Workshop, such as an intergenerational centre, a self-managed health cooperative, a community garden linked to a high school, a platform facilitating the economic insertion of new immigrants, are different examples of initiatives based on collaborations that aim to have a positive impact on the world3 .

1 Etienne and Beverly Wenger-Trayner, “Introduction to communities of practice”, A brief overview of the concept and its uses, 2015. Visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice 2 For more information, visit the Website: Habitations partagées Mirela: https://hpmirela.ca/ 3 For an overview of these different projects, visit: http://innovationsocialeusp.ca/en/hosted-projects?

Breaking out of the “ivory tower” of the university or “silo work” within organizations is not easy. But this is made possible by collaborative spaces like The Atelier that facilitate creative exchanges.

In conclusion, although collaborations represent the heart of the Workshop, they do not arise spontaneously. It takes a lot of thinking, planning, mobilizing, canvassing, following up and applying for grants to make these activities and events happen. Collaboration is real “work”, a constant effort, requiring a lot of resources in terms of time, money and energy. Fortunately, by pooling each person’s ideas, knowledge, and skills, the effort required to bring about more sustainable projects and partnerships can be reduced. Breaking out of the “ivory tower” of the university or “silo work” within organizations is not easy. But this is made possible by collaborative spaces like The Atelier that facilitate creative exchanges. Other such spaces are already flourishing in different communities, cities and towns across Canada, and it is essential to encourage them so that the collaboration yields results!