Social Impact Hub receives CCSIF grant to advance community innovation

Durham College’s (DC) Social Impact Hub is partnering with the Community Development Council Durham (CDCD) to launch a new applied research project designed to help community organizations across Durham Region address complex social challenges such as housing affordability, food insecurity, social isolation, and hate.

The three-year project, funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) College and Community Social Innovation Fund (CCSIF) grant, aims to build a more inclusive and sustainable approach to social innovation in Durham Region and beyond. Its goal is to support more coordinated, connected responses that make services and resources more accessible to the people who need them.

The project, titled The Future of Belonging – Reassembling Social Infrastructure for Inclusive Innovation in Durham Region, uses a model known as Future of Belonging (FoB), which was developed by Georgian College who will serve as a strategic advisor. The research will help the community organizations understand how relationships, institutions, resources, and lived experiences shape belonging and access to support.

DC will contribute applied research capacity and student learning opportunities.

“DC students will play an active role as paid research assistants and placement students reflecting DC’s commitment to experiential learning and applied research that prepares students to contribute meaningfully to their communities and future careers,” said Colleen McKay, Manager, Grants and Special Projects at the Social Impact Hub. “They will gain hands-on experience in community-based research, participatory design, systems mapping and equity-informed practice while contributing to research that addresses real-world community challenges.”

CDCD will help ground the work in local social planning priorities, community relationships and service-provider needs.

“Social Innovation is an exciting and growing space in colleges and supports more inclusive innovation for everyone,” said Nicole Norris, Director, Social Innovation at Georgian College. “We are really excited to be a strategic advisor and work alongside Durham College, continuing to adapt our Future of Belonging framework through this collaboration.”

Together, the partnership will examine how community decisions are made, whose knowledge informs those decisions and how organizations can align their efforts around shared priorities. Through Community Innovation Labs, residents and students will define shared challenges, co-design ideas and test approaches together.

“Belonging isn’t built by any one organization,” added McKay. “By bringing community members, students, and partners together to map where power and resources sit, we can help Durham Region build the kind of connected social infrastructure that makes it easier for people to find the support they need.”