Established in 2000, Neighbourhoods Alive! (NA!) is the Manitoba Government’s long term community development strategy. NA! represents a paradigm shift within the public sector. Rather than isolated programs being unilaterally administered to communities in distress, NA! uses a coordinated cross-departmental approach to address the complexity of community-defined priorities.
NA! provides “seed money” to innovative pilot projects and longer-term funding to projects demonstrating best practices. The success of NA! underscores the importance of meaningful community input and collaborative government – community partnerships.

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Significance 

Over 15 years NA! has developed long-term partnerships with community based organizations, increasing opportunities for residents to engage in renewal efforts and influence public policy.

Community Partnerships
Of the 44 organizations currently funded through NA!, 28 organizations have funding partnerships of seven years or more. The longevity of these relationships has significantly advanced the efforts of communities to create long-term positive change and compound the effects of community successes.

Community Renewal Legislation
With the passing of The Community Renewal Act in Manitoba in 2012, the significance of NA! as an effective administrator of public funds for community renewal was confirmed. This act requires community priorities to be determined by the community and requires continued collaboration of NA! with other levels of government, residents and community stakeholders in coordinating community renewal.