Category: Past initiatives

In its first year in BC, WellAhead worked with six pilot school districts to see if a set of core values, a participatory change process and a focus on everyday practices could deepen schoolscategory commitment to wellbeing. After reflecting on their learnings, WellAhead has made some significant shifts in its strategy towards the integration of wellbeing in Canadian schools. One key lesson? WellAhead may be able to achieve more impact by working at a network level, instead of directly with school districts.

In 2015, WellAhead began working in British Columbia to experiment with ways to better integrate wellbeing into K-12 education. In Advancing Wellbeing in Schools, WellAhead shares 15 lessons about education, philanthropy & systems change learned through this process.

Mid-way into its initial mandate, the ALLIES network hired the Caledon Institute of Social Policy to conduct a review of its accomplishments and challenges. Network conveners, Steering Committee members and employer representatives were invited to talk about where they see ALLIES today and where they hope it will go. This report provides a snapshot of […]

Comprehensive table compares replication strategies and knowledge transfer strategies.

Towards More Systemic and Sustainable Approaches to Mental Health and Wellbeing in K-12 Education In Canada, K-12 education systems have a key role in developing strategies to support the mental health and wellbeing of students and staff. While stand alone programs have provided useful content for educators in addressing mental health and wellbeing, it is […]

Boston is home to cutting-edge initiatives in social entrepreneurship (EforAll, the MassChallenge); neighbourhood revitalization and civic innovation (The Mayorcategorys Office of New Urban Mechanics, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Roxbury Innovation Center); and youth engagement and social innovation (YouthBuild, DesignX-MIT and Mission Hill School). The city also inspires practitioners who have done extensive research in sustainability, smart cities and inclusion. Boston is not only an innovation hub, it is also one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the United States. From the historic streets of nearby Cambridge to the artistic Victorian town houses of Black Bay, the city suits a variety of lifestyles.

COVID-19 has demonstrated our collective need for increased social, economic and environmental resilience. This pandemic has often been framed as a ‘rehearsal’ – only one of many future crises. In this context, we have a collective imperative to rebuild our communities in ways that help us better weather future challenges. Supporting recovery and rebuilding requires […]

What is social infrastructure? “Social infrastructure” is the set of organizational arrangements and deliberate investments in society’s systems, relationships, and structures that enable society to create a resilient, just, equitable, and sustainable world; it includes social, economic, environmental and cultural assets. Education institutions can use the idea of social infrastructure as a way to organize and communicate their efforts to create positive social change […]

What is social infrastructure? “Social infrastructure” is the set of organizational arrangements and deliberate investments in society’s systems, relationships, and structures that enable society to create a resilient, just, equitable, and sustainable world; it includes social, economic, environmental and cultural assets. Educational institutions can use the idea of social infrastructure as a way to organize and communicate their efforts to create positive social change […]

What is social infrastructure? “Social infrastructure” is the set of organizational arrangements and investments in society’s systems, relationships, and structures that enable society to create a resilient, just, equitable, and sustainable world. It includes social, economic, environmental and cultural assets. Examples in postsecondary institutions include offering bursaries to students with specific barriers to accessing education, […]