The 2018-2019 New Horizons for Seniors Program pan-Canadian Call for Concepts sought to: - fund projects that would build the collective capacity of organizations to recognize and address barriers to social inclusion faced by seniors; - promote improved access to information, programs and services for seniors to enhance their social inclusion within their communities; - support action research to better understand effective approaches for increasing the level of social inclusion of seniors in their communities; - develop innovative approaches to engage and retain senior volunteers to improve their social inclusion in their communities; and - address systemic barriers that contribute to the social exclusion of seniors. Funded through this call for concepts, Calgary Senior's Resource Society's Igniting Neighbours initiative aims to increase social inclusion and quality of life for seniors in Calgary, Alberta. Seniors who live alone in community are at higher risk for social isolation which can lead to many health risks. There is untapped potential in communities to engage seniors with their neighbours through volunteerism, both formally and informally.

Older people with vulnerabilities

Social protection

Civil Society Organization

Older people were part of the process at multiple or all stages

The New Horizons for Seniors Program recognizes that complex social issues are best addressed by multiple players working in partnership. Partnership-based approaches can inspire new and innovative ways to address complex social issues by bringing community organizations, the private sector, citizens, and different levels of government together to tackle social problems for seniors in a holistic manner. The 2018-2019 NHSP pan-Canadian Call for Concepts used the Collective Impact approach This approach brings together a group of collaborating organizations from different sectors to commit to a common agenda aiming for significant changes in their community. The group of collaborating organizations forms an integrated strategy to achieve the broad outcomes of the collective impact. The Calgary Seniors' Resource Society is leading the Igniting Neighbours for Kind communities Collective Impact plan and is working in collaboration with multiple community organizations. Together, the organizations have developed a common agenda, shared measurement practices, and mutually reinforcing activities. The initiative's collaborating partners include Carya, Calgary Chinese Elderly Citizen’s Association, Deaf & Hear Alberta, Dementia Network Calgary, F.O.C.U.S. on Seniors, Jewish Family Service Calgary, and Storytelling Alberta.

Since 2004, over 33,500 New Horizons for Seniors Program projects have been funded in hundreds of communities across the Canada. The expected outcomes of the Program include: • Recipient organizations recognize and address barriers to social inclusion faced by seniors; • Recipient organizations develop approaches to engage and retain volunteers; • Participating seniors share their knowledge and experience including with peers and different generations; and • Recipient organizations have capacity to support seniors’ initiatives in their communities. The Igniting Neighbours for Kind Communities initiative aims to improve the quality of life and increase the social inclusion for seniors. This is measured based on the progress towards seven common outcomes which include increased neighbour engagement, increased citizen engagement, increased public awareness, increased natural supports, increased access to resources, increased participation in community, and finally people are inspired to be more kind. The organization has been able to measure impact by seeing progress on these outcomes in their shared measurement framework. One example from this measurement framework is an increase from 20% to 50% of seniors reporting they feel like they are included in their neighbourhood.

While the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for most people, it had a significant impact on certain populations, including older adults. To support seniors during the pandemic, the NHSP responded quickly, introducing flexibilities and new investments to help address the issues seniors were facing. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted Calgary Seniors' Resource Society's project plans. Their collaborating partners had to adapt their activities many times in response to changing restrictions. They addressed this by providing flexibility and one on one support as the backbone organization. The most important factor in successfully navigating the pandemic was the strong relationships they built as a collaborative. High levels of trust and transparency and compassion carried them through the hardest times.

1) As part of the 2018-2019 NHSP pan-Canadian Call for Concepts, a Community of Practice was introduced to support funded Collective Impact plans. The Community of Practice provides an opportunity for organizations to come together to learn about topics that are common to each project such a partnership development, capacity building or sustainability and provides opportunities to discuss different ways to address issues they are facing. Having a strong Community of Practice has provided an opportunity for the Calgary Seniors' Resource Society to connect with other projects nationally and build strong relationships where they can call on one another for help and ideas and support. 2) Another lesson learned by the Calgary Seniors' Resource Society has been the use of human design and visual language in their program development work which has allowed the initiative to be innovative in new and exciting ways. This has also taught the organization a lot about what makes collaboration successful in a Collective Impact model.

The Calgary Seniors' Resource Society found that taking the time at the beginning of a collective impact project to build a strong foundation (establishing the common agenda, developing reporting structures etc.) is very important. This critical work cannot be rushed or you risk compromising the long term health of the initiative. Building strong partner relationships takes a time (and patience), but it’s well worth the effort.