Our partnership
Prudent risk-takers and Provocative makers.
That’s how you might describe our collaboration.
Vancouver Foundation & InWithForward
Vancouver Foundation is dedicated to building a lasting legacy of healthy, vibrant, and livable communities. InWithForward is dedicated to turning social safety nets into trampolines, and enabling people on the margins to flourish.
Vancouver Foundation’s methods of change include granting, running initiatives, convening partnerships, and hosting conversations. InWithForward’s methods of change include ethnography, co-design, prototyping, and storytelling.
Together, we’re dedicated to developing and testing with community fresh ways to support systems change and redistribute power. We don’t know exactly what that looks like yet. We do know that making visible assumptions and testing alternative grantmaking approaches is one way to demonstrate our commitment to critical reflection and open learning.
True to an emergent approach, we’ll iterate as we go guided by a set of principles:
Learn in Context
Whether in neighbourhoods, Vancouver Foundation Office, community events we will meet people where they are and learn from their experiences where the experiences happen.
Prototype everything
We view everything we do and make as a work in progress. We recognize there will always be a gap between where we are and where we want to be. We continuously try to close this gap by honestly acknowledging realities, and testing alternative courses of action.
All access
We see the staff, grantees, community members, and others this project bumps up against as knowledge holders, contributors, and potential collaborators.
Look inside
We believe that our own behaviours will influence how this project goes and we are committed to reflecting on our behaviour and growing based on the learning that emerges.
Be quick and nimble
Speed and agility are critical to move our work forward. We are committed to anticipating roadblocks, designing a way around them, and speedily circumventing red tape when it emerges. We believe in learning through intentional action and revision.