Community Partnerships Strategy
The following is a summary version of the CHC Community Partnership Strategy 2023-2026
Calgary Housing Company
Community Partnership Strategy
Summary Version
2023-2026
Why Partnerships?
Calgary Housing Company’s (CHC) mission is to make life better for Calgarians by providing safe and affordable housing that enables positive social outcomes. Achieving this mission requires understanding and acknowledgement of the multifaceted components of poverty, the dynamics involved in living on a low income, and the ways housing can impact the lives of individuals and families.
Housing is a key pillar of the social determinants of health, and is connected closely to other areas such as income, education, food security, and early childhood development. It can, on its own, produce some positive benefits. However, a far more powerful and effective approach is to consider how housing interacts with other life areas, and to ensure people who may be struggling are connected to other resources and supports to support housing stability and improved quality of life.
Community partnerships offer a powerful way for CHC to leverage its own work and services to achieve more than could be achieved alone.
Why a Community Partnership Strategy?
Community partnerships offer CHC enormous potential to leverage and amplify its work to achieve more together with other organizations than it can alone. However, partnerships are not the answer to every challenge or opportunity. Establishing and fostering community partnerships can be challenging and resource intensive. A Community Partnership Strategy can help CHC make effective decisions on its investment in partnerships, build on its strengths, and improve its capacity and abilities to engage in partnerships effectively.
What Do We Mean By Community Partnerships?
The term “partnership” is a common term that is used in a wide variety of different ways and contexts. For the purposes of this strategy, partnerships are defined as:
An ongoing relationship between two or more organizations who are sharing risks and rewards and working towards common goals to enable positive social outcomes.
– adapted from the Oxford English Dictionary, as quoted by the Partnership Brokers Association.
There are different types of community partnerships in scope for this strategy that can be conceptualized across a spectrum:
How Do We Work With Partners?
The Partnering Cycle
The partnering cycle is designed to support organizations in navigating the partnership process over time. The partnering cycle developed by the Partnership Brokers Association[1] includes four phases, each of which require significant attention at different times in the partnership.
[1] More information and resources about the Partnership Brokers Association can be found at https://partnershipbrokers.org/
Partnering Principles
The key partnering principles outlined below have been adapted from by the Partnership Brokers Association partnering principles. These principles will guide CHC’s community partnerships work and set the standard of how partners are expected to engage in return.
What Are Our Community Partnership Priorities?
Who Do We Partner With?
CHC will prioritize partners who align with the following attributes.
Alignment
Contribute to our identified focus areas and needs and align with our values
Principles
Engage with CHC in a manner that upholds and promotes our partnering principles
Impact
Demonstrate high impact
Customer Focus
Build relationships with and/or knowledge of our residents and applicants
Inclusive
Prioritize and actively work towards Reconciliation, Anti-Racism, and EDIB
Flexible
Creatively look for solutions that best suit the situation and needs of customers
Reliable
Demonstrate organizational stability and consistently meet agreed upon obligations and expectations
Reputable
Maintain a strong reputation in the community and reinforce CHC’s reputation
