- by Marilyn Struthers
Ever wonder what would happen if our municipalities collaborated more?; if we focused on planning for sustainability?; thought about our economies as about more than business, as a way to create the communities we all love to live in? These are some of the ideas that have drawn me to volunteer with the Institute of Southern Georgian Bay since last March when Covid 19 changed our world. While the Institute is more or less centred in Collingwood, I live in Georgian Bluffs and our participation extends all along the south Bay shoreline, from Midland to Owen Sound.
During the first pandemic lockdown the Institute launched the Road to Recovery Series, four online events where business, municipal and philanthropic/nonprofit sector leaders speculated together on what is required for our communities to recover well. Recovery quickly became understood to include everyone and to require the innovation most often found in dialogue between sectors and between municipalities, collaborating together to gain more leverage than those who go it alone.
The ideas from that first series included: recognizing the importance of the arts to our local economies (now an arts strategy working group); and that buying local is not enough, we must also invest locally to address the capital shortage in traditional social good organizations, and, create a better start-up environments for enterprises that create both and financial value (now a social finance study group). We also learned that the emergency of the Covid period spurred innovation, that “just do it” approach, by blurring the traditional roles of government/nonprofit/business to enable creative collaboration on long standing problems such as attainable housing, poverty and climate change as well as access to PPE and curbside dining.
Next up is a great new community discussion series called Our Sustainable Future launched by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, who pointed out that ‘citizens feel most closely connected to local government during a crisis’ and a lot more.
Next up four Area CAOs/City Managers talk with each other and our audience about Pressing Issues, Alignment & Innovative Solutions. Wednesday March 10, 4:30 to 6:00. Everyone welcome, register here. You will find me in the facilitator’s corner working the zoom chat – say hello!
Following in April we feature my favorite subject, Building the Next Economy, one that works for people and planet. Don’t miss the announcement, newsletter sign up here!
image: Road To Recovery series, Institute of Southern Georgian Bay Facebook page
