An Infrastructure to Build Community
This article was featured on page 20 in the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce’s May / June edition of the Chamber Advocate. Click here to view the full Advocate directly on their website.
“Eric Avner, CEO of Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF), is a strong voice and advocate for managing social change. He has noted that physical infrastructure is the visible systems of housing, parks, roads, public transit and recreation centres along with the less visible networks of power grids and sewers/watermains. Social infrastructure is the accompanying system of organizations, spaces and experiences that enable people to connect. They are the bridges to build trust and civic participation that ultimately guide community development.
The new strategic plan of WRCF challenges us to explore and invest in a system of social infrastructure. Interactions and connections between communities, neighbourhoods, groups and generations are critical for our future success. Fundamental concerns include the participation of all residents, most notably those interests that have been sitting on the sidelines and not fully engaged in civic life. The WRCF will support local efforts for integration, active engagement, and innovation.”
— Ian McLean, President & CEO of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce
Over the second half of 2023, the Board and team of Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF) crafted its first-ever strategic plan. We studied how the world was facing a polycrisis, how philanthropy was transforming, and most importantly, how Waterloo Region was continuing to change before our eyes.
As we were doing this, we were also releasing the 2023 Waterloo Region Vital Signs report (www.wrcf.ca/vital-signs). Amongst all the data outlining our challenges with affordable housing, a chart on Page 32 stood out.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 and 2016. Census of Population. Additional Chart explanation included in the Vital Signs Report
I knew our region was growing rapidly. I had heard we had Canada’s second highest in-migration rate, and in fact, we grew by 10% in five years (2016-2021), which is by 52,000 people. But that’s only half of the story. I learned through the report that our region also has Canada’s second-highest out-migration rate. We actually welcomed 108,000 new residents to the region during that five-year period… but said goodbye to almost 63,000 people who left town. Admittedly, 40% of that movement can be attributed to students coming and going, but 60% wasn’t. They are families and seniors, friends and neighbours, employees, volunteers, patrons, and donors. It’s tough to think so many people felt they needed to leave Waterloo Region to have the life they wanted.
It's perplexing to contemplate how to build community when 1/6 of our population is new every five years. I can’t imagine maintaining a business when there is that much staff turnover – or customer turnover. Our region’s rapid change – both in numbers and in diversity – holds immense potential but also possible peril. Our growth to one million residents should be a source of unique perspectives, new ideas, and fresh opportunities. It also could cause disruption, confusion, and a loss of shared identity. How do we ensure we don’t exclude people, neighbourhoods, or communities from the conversations and opportunities ahead?
As our larger society faces trends towards more polarization, isolation, and loneliness, we think Waterloo Region can instead realize our collective potential by growing into a place where everyone is valued, feels they belong, and can be part of helping to create something bigger.
How do we do this? By purposely investing in our community’s Social Infrastructure.
Physical infrastructure is the visible, built environment systems of housing, parks, roads, public transit, recreation centres, and the less visible systems of sewers and power grids. It’s the systems on which economic development traditionally relies.
Social infrastructure is the system of organizations, spaces and experiences that enable people to connect with each other. They are the bridges necessary to build trust and civic participation, to create a sense of belonging and wellbeing. It’s the system that enables sustainable widespread community development.
WRCF’s new strategic plan challenges us to explore, learn more about, and invest in a system of social infrastructure across our region. Everywhere we look, we see the need to build more trust and more civic participation to create a sense of belonging and wellbeing in all our communities. This is critical from the southern edge of North Dumfries to the northern tip of Woolwich, and throughout the neighbourhoods spread across all our cities and townships.
It’s been gratifying that so many individuals and organizations have reached out to tell us that they too see the importance of creating meaningful interactions between different communities, different neighbourhoods, different groups, and different generations. If we can build enough social bridges, we can be a community capable of coming together to accomplish big things, important things.
We feel there are some common traits that social infrastructure should embrace if we are to experience its full power and impact:
Connection – Build a sense of belonging. Feeling connected to something or someone is fundamental to the human spirit. It allows us to step out of our assumptions and prejudices and feel the joy of open-ended possibility and purpose.
Collaboration – Together, we can do more. Interaction with others – other organizations, other people, other communities – should reinforce our ability to work together to achieve outcomes we couldn’t reach alone.
Purposeful – We come together for a reason. Our communities benefit when we act with intention, embracing a clarity of goals aligned with our community’s shared values and aspirations.
Agency – We each choose how we participate. Individuals should dictate the role they want to play, or how they interpret a piece of art. Choices create engagement and power.
Openness, Safety, and Accessibility – All are welcomed. People must feel comfortable to openly be themselves and interact. Barriers like buying a ticket, transportation, or a lack of accommodation for people living with disabilities should be removed so communities have a better chance at defining what brings them together and how to support each other.
Chance – Allow for moments of surprise. We often need a jolt of the unexpected to discover new opportunities we didn’t know we were looking for. Joy can come from meeting someone new, stumbling upon an unexpected event in the neighborhood, learning a new skill, or just getting a welcome break from the day to day.
There is no shortage of ideas for where to start. Many people and organizations are already building social infrastructure. We look forward to supporting those efforts and trying out new ideas too. We’re intrigued by opportunities to build on what has already been done, taking into consideration the state of our region today and its ambitions for tomorrow.
Here's one easy way to get involved: Back in 2019, Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation led a community initiative called “On the Table” where we encouraged people to get together and discuss what matters to them over some kind of food and drink. People got together at their homes, businesses, and organizations, and we then created a report back to community that was used to take action on what mattered most to members of our community. Over the weekend of June 7-9, On the Table is coming back. This time we are going to ask hosts to consider linking their discussions to some prompts about social infrastructure. It will help us share the concept of social infrastructure with people across the community, and also provide us with the chance to incorporate community voices as we evolve the work we do. Let us know if you’d consider hosting a conversation (or two) in your company, organization, or circle of friends over that weekend. Visit wrcf.ca/onthetable to learn more and sign up to host a conversation.
We need to grow more community as our community grows, and we think investing in a system of social infrastructure is the way forward. If you have perspectives, stories, or links to share on ways to build more connections, please send them my way. I’ll read them all. My email is eric@wrcf.ca. Our team is learning more every day and welcomes your ideas on what’s possible as we build a system of social infrastructure that is right for our region, our residents, and our communities.
Eric Avner is the President & CEO of Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF), an organization focused on ensuring our communities are equitable, connected, and sustainable; and people are thriving. www.wrcf.ca