Our Collective Approach

Tackling Big Challenges Together

Downtown Calgary skyline at sunset with the Bow River and autumn trees in the foreground.

Dementia Network Calgary takes a collective impact approach to achieving its strategic priorities.

Our Approach

Learning from and drawing on a long history of community organizing and social movements, collective impact emerged in the early 2000s as a formal framework to address complex social challenges.

Since then, this framework has been tested and adapted, articulated most recently by practitioners Mark Cabaj and Liz Weaver in their paper Collective Impact 3.0 (Tamarack Institute, 2016):

1

Shared Aspiration

Create and hold a bold vision for change that mobilizes the energies of a large and diverse network of people.

2

Strategic Learning

Use manageable, real-time measurement and feedback processes to support effective sense-making, decision-making and evaluation of impact.

3

Focus on High-Leverage Strategies

See beyond collaboration to where knowledge, networks, and resources exists for local actors to work together or independently on high leverage opportunities for change.

4

Authentic Community Engagement

Ensure authentic and inclusive involvement of a broad spectrum of system stakeholders, particularly those most affected by complex issues.

5

A Container for Change

Build a strong "container" of trust and empathy within which courageous conversations and power differences between stakeholders can be navigated. Facilitate participants' inner journeys of change, mobilize a diverse group of funders and stewards, and provide support for self-renewal and sustainment.
Resources

Knowledge Hub: Strategies & Solutions

Explore professional resources, reports, and research about dementia; learn more about systems change and collective impact approaches.

Guides
Document
Supporting Dementia Caregivers: A Decision-Making Road Map

This roadmap was developed by Dr. Seema King, Dr. Jessica Simon, Dr Jayna Holroyd-Leduc from their research into support needed by dementia caregivers in Alberta at key points in their person's dementia journey. The map was designed by Sam Hester as a way to visually represent information and helpful resources to consider at different stages, such as getting a diagnosis, driving, making day-to-day decisions, deciding on care options, and self-care.

Guides
Document
Supporting Dementia Caregivers: A Decision-Making Road Map

This roadmap was developed by Dr. Seema King, Dr. Jessica Simon, Dr Jayna Holroyd-Leduc from their research into support needed by dementia caregivers in Alberta at key points in their person's dementia journey. The map was designed by Sam Hester as a way to visually represent information and helpful resources to consider at different stages, such as getting a diagnosis, driving, making day-to-day decisions, deciding on care options, and self-care.

Guides
Document
Dementia Network Calgary Strategy Map

In 2023-24. more than 60 community memebrs and stakeholders participated in an iterative process to identify and map the areas of focus and action for the Network. Thank you to United Way Calgary and Area for their support of this process.

Guides
Document
Dementia Network Calgary Strategy Map

In 2023-24. more than 60 community memebrs and stakeholders participated in an iterative process to identify and map the areas of focus and action for the Network. Thank you to United Way Calgary and Area for their support of this process.

Guides
Article
Creating Dementia Friendly Communities

A guide to making your community dementia-friendly. Piloted in southern Alberta by the Brenda Strafford Foundation.

Guides
Article
Creating Dementia Friendly Communities

A guide to making your community dementia-friendly. Piloted in southern Alberta by the Brenda Strafford Foundation.

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