Click here to receive our detailed Ortinola Prospectus PDF.
Click here to receive our detailed Ortinola Prospectus PDF.
LOCATION: County of Wellington
The vision within the 10-year Housing and Homelessness Plan for the County of Wellington is that “Everyone in Guelph-Wellington can find and maintain an appropriate, safe and affordable place to call home.” The reality is that the lack of affordable housing, both rental and ownership, is a growing issue for the County. Wellington County has a vacancy rate well below the 3% required for a healthy rental market. Affordable housing is not only an issue to low-income households, but also to moderate-income earners. The number of households at risk, especially taking COVID-19 into consideration, is expected to rise, and the demand for social housing will continue to increase. Meanwhile, growth rates in the County of Wellington and Guelph are far outpacing that of Ontario and Canada.
In no particular order, the most vulnerable groups in the County of Wellington include: i) recent immigrants; ii) people with activity limitations; iii) indigenous seniors; and, iv) LGBTQ+ seniors.
It is always a challenge to understand complex systems, let alone being able to make changes to them. Impact Bridges Group’s approach is to begin by providing clarity on how to design the evaluation of systems change.
IBG seeks to learn about complex systems by engaging with stakeholders in a robust and systematic manner. Through the use of proven methodologies and frameworks along with data analysis, the learning is able to contribute verifiable evidence towards affecting real change in the housing situation for marginalized and vulnerable groups.
Depending on the rigour used in the learning, it is possible for IBG to do analytical work and provide insights on which changes to the system will maximize net social benefits. In other words, the collective group will be able to identify those changes that will get the biggest bang for the dollar invested in them. By using an evidence-based approach, IBG can provide leverage points that can be included in program design, as well as in the development or amendment to public policy for affordable housing. This type of insight and analysis was used successfully in the Housing First strategy that provided verifiable evidence of the impact of making permanent housing the first priority.
The program activities and outputs are in the control of Impact Bridges Group and those collaborating on the systems-based approach to housing. The outcomes will require behavioural changes of system actors. Innovative approaches can be used to incentivize each of the actors to select choices that will maximize the net benefits for those in need of affordable housing.
The IBG Content/Process Expert will always work with an experienced Content Expert, one from each of the key vulnerable groups. All the planning for each of the four consultative meetings will be led by IBG and the respective Content Expert. Findings from the consultative meetings will be disseminated with the intent being to advocate for sustainable solutions to the affordable housing crisis.
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