Our Past, Present and Future

Our Past

Though there’s still much to do, we’ve accomplished a lot in the past three years. 

We’re most proud of the following activities:

  • We undertook deep ethnographic research. We found people who have traditionally been left out of research activities, spent time alongside them, and learned about their aspirations and stressors. We also built capacity for future ethnographic research.                                                   

  • We created a framework for exploring problems and solutions. We segmented people in new ways and co-designed solutions with them. 

  • We quickly tested ideas, discarding those that weren’t promising, and elevating those that were. This experimental process led to lots of learning and innovation. We also built capacity within communities for how to coach the development of prototypes.

  • We explored the relationships between our public spaces and urban wellbeing, learning a great deal about how changes in the public realm can improve community wellness.

  • We hosted many community events in order to learn and share, as well as to invite others to participate in developing and testing ideas.

  • We developed an evaluation framework that continues to evolve as our work and understanding grows.

  • We connected with the local and global innovation communities, in order to learn together. 

  • We examined our aggregated data to see what it was telling us about urban wellbeing. 

“It’s not an either/or, but a both/and situation. We like to think of it as zipping things together - for example material and non-material considerations. It will take discernment to do this meaningfully.”

~ Recover Project Team

Our Present

In 2020 we are working on the following:

  • Testing Soulful City, our framework for urban wellbeing. Asking questions like: Does it make sense to people? Does it resonate with their experiences? Are there parts of it that make people uncomfortable?

  • Developing ways to apply the framework, and tell stories we encounter through it, to share our experiences, and to help people see how the wellbeing framework can create positive community change.

  • Strengthening our Indigenous lens and relationships.

  • Building post-secondary partnerships by matching students, faculty and staff with community efforts, so more people get experience leading urban wellbeing projects.

  • Evolving our approach to evaluation, so that it aligns with our wellbeing framework.

  • Supporting the Catalyst Group, our advisory and learning group.

  • Leading and supporting a variety of prototypes, intentionally incorporating the wellbeing framework into this work.

 

Current Prototypes

A significant part of our work, both past and present, has been in prototyping new solutions to old problems. By quickly testing new ideas, we can get a sense of the innovations that have the most promise, and direct our time and resources their way. 

In 2018 and 2019, we tested 25 new prototype solutions. This year, we are developing the best five ideas further, and are adapting them based on our wellbeing framework: 

Find out more about these projects.

 

“You can also think of it as weaving or braiding together the many threads of wellbeing - material and non-material elements or basic and higher order needs. We should always be thinking about peoples' need for dignity, respect and connection.”

~ Susan Holdsworth, Recover Project Manager

Our Future

Looking forward, we are seeking to further our community relationships and partnerships, as well as opportunities to apply our wellbeing framework to a variety of community and City projects. 

We will continue to support new prototypes, as well as the prototypes that are currently in development. This process involves researching, designing and testing ideas, and learning how to meaningfully incorporate the six kinds of connection. It also relies on pursuing partnerships to share in the cost and the development of this wellbeing work, and building relationships of trust in many different communities.

We will be looking for ways to enhance our partnerships with post-secondary institutions, and to assist professors and students who are using the wellbeing framework in their course work. 

And, as always, our work involves a lot of collaboration - with individuals, community groups, businesses, service agencies, governments, and other external partners. We are always interested in new and unusual partnerships to drive prototype development, and we’re excited about connecting further with our advisors within Recover’s Catalyst Group.

If you have ideas for community wellbeing that you’d like Recover to consider, please reach out to us.