OLIP’s Equity Ottawa Partnership: Phase IV Accomplishments
April 13, 2023As Phase IV of Equity Ottawa is coming to an end, we reflect on the important progress the Equity Ottawa Partnership has made to cultivate equitable and inclusive organizations. During Phase IV of the Partnership’s work, which ran for two and half years (January 2021 to May 2023), we focused on supporting partner organizations’ action strategies focused on defining and removing systemic barriers to equity in three key domains of change:
- Governance, leadership, and organizational culture
- human resources practices
- Service planning and delivery
The highlights of our accomplishments include:
Partnership Expansion:
We have also expanded Equity Ottawa Partnership’s membership base from 26 to 70 members, representing 40 organizations, working in municipal departments, healthcare, education, housing, social services, justice, child and youth welfare, and service sectors.
Experience-based Learning:
We hosted 24 Community of Practice (CoP) sessions, where partners used their experiences to dialogue about challenges and gain insights through each other’s work and seek support from peers. The sessions often included expert speakers that helped unpacked named challenges.
Free Guidance for Members’ Action Strategies:
Equity Ottawa Partnership members leveraged free guidance and advice on their individual organizations’ action plans and strategies, via the OLIP Secretariat.
Tools for Action:
Toolkits and resources on governance and equitable leadership, HR practices, and service planning and delivery have been developed to support partners’ action strategies. Stay tuned for the dissemination of the new toolkits to partners outside of the Equity Ottawa Partnership.
We are grateful to the members of the Equity Ottawa Partnership and community stakeholders who have contributed extensively to the results summarized above. For more details, including how your organization may join the Equity Ottawa Partnership, please contact Yusra Osman, Equity Ottawa Partnership Lead, at yusra@olip-plio.ca.