Constructive Engagement
Engage with policy makers, practitioners and the public to make changes that further your impact goals
Engage with policy makers, practitioners and the public to make changes that further your impact goals
Generating positive social impact often requires working outside your own organization with partners, the public and policy leaders. When a key barrier to making change sits beyond your control (e.g., a policy that must be adapted or a behavior that must be altered) community-sector organizations have a variety of tools at their disposal to engage with other stakeholders and influence that shift.
Constructive Engagement helps leaders of community-sector organizations develop effective strategies to understand and work with policy makers, practitioners and the public to make specific changes that will directly improve the outcomes that the organization seeks and advance their mission.
This process often involves defining the barriers and opportunities to advancing the organization’s mission, understanding the priorities, beliefs, and constraints of policy makers and determining potential areas for success. Finally, it includes assessing and deciding among engagement tactics that will meet key objectives.
Constructive Engagement is a tool that can lead to important outcomes through collaborative work. For instance, discussions between disability groups and several governments led to the creation of the Registered Disability Savings Plan, which has provided long-term income security for thousands of people with disabilities.
The Innoweave self-assessment tool is designed to help you determine your organization's readiness and whether your initiative or program model is well suited for Constructive Engagement.
This assessment has 5 questions.
Please respond to each of the questions to the best of your ability by choosing the option that most accurately reflects your organizational context.
Start NowFor organizations interested in Innoweave’s Constructive Engagement coaching stream, we encourage you to review our Information Session:
Can’t find what you’re looking for? We might have more events in French. Or, contact the Innoweave team to discuss hosting a learning event for you and other organizations in your community.
Innoweave offers coaching support to organizations that are well positioned to implement a Constructive Engagement approach. You can connect with an Innoweave coach to help you explore and implement your initiative. Then apply to Innoweave for funds to support that coaching engagement.
Jason
Doiron
Sarah
Thomas
Charla
Vall
Mariam
Larson
Sean
Moore
Nancy
Dubois
Marlo
Turner Ritchie
Mike
Coxon
Marilyn
Friedmann
Maham
Tarar
Your organization is eligible to apply for Innoweave coaching support if you have submitted an Expression of Interest and it has been approved.
Apply NowNo, Constructive Engagement is not about fundraising. It focuses on changing policies that can help lead to greater impact.
Coaching in this stream may help you identify how you can get involved in large policy issues, but you may need to consider acting through a broader coalition. Constructive Engagement approaches may be able to help you plan how to do this.
Coaching in this stream is not focused on social movements, but rather on the particular tools and approaches of engaging with leaders (in public and private sectors) to work with them to make policy changes.