When the first CCIs were created more than two decades ago, their designers understood that alignment of their many parts would be key to generating meaningful change in poor communities.

Skilled immigrants have been identified as a key source of labour supply for addressing the expected labour market shortages in Canada arising from an aging population and strong economic growth (Emery 2006; IAF March 31, 2009).

This report presents the results of the Canadian Women’s Foundation Economic Development Collaborative Fund.

The Collaborative Fund was a five-year $4.8 million program that provided financial and technical support to ten community programs1
across Canada that helped low-income women transition out of poverty and build a sustainable livelihood.

The Neighbourhoods Alive! (NA!) Community Outcomes Evaluation focused on the NA! strategy and model as well as the progress achieved by key program components, namely: the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF); the Neighbourhood Development Assistance (NDA); and the Neighbourhood Housing Assistance (NHA). A snapshot of findings is presented below.

Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFIs) were created by the Federal Government in consultation with Aboriginal leaders in the mid 1980s and early 1990s. The intended purpose of AFIs was to have them engage in the provision of repayable interest bearing loans to Aboriginal SMEs which were unable to secure loans from highly regulated conventional lenders in light of interrelated risk tolerance levels.

The Vibrant Communities (2002 - 2010) Evaluation Report contains the findings of a nine-year experiment that demonstrates the positive impacts of an innovative and collaborative approach to fighting poverty that is driving individual benefits, neighborhood changes and large scale community poverty reductions.