Assessing Your Impact

Learning from Experience: Hamilton and Winnipeg

Hamilton Community Foundation: Hamilton Roundtable

Background

The Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction (HRPR) is a multi-sectoral, community initiative co-convened by HCF and the City of Hamilton in May 2005. The Roundtable has developed a shared aspiration of "Making Hamilton the Best Place to Raise a Child" and created a strategic framework for collective change, critical points of investment for ensuring the success of children in their progression toward prosperity as adults, and the foundational supports needed within a community. The first phase of the action plan was released in February, 2007, informed by best practices, community consultation, and collective leadership.

The graphic below summarizes the change framework:

Evaluation Approach

The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction will be documenting and evaluating three types of change in Hamilton; systems-level change, the changes resulting from the specific interventions related to the project, and community strategies. Using a developmental approach, specific indicators and outcomes will be developed for each area of change.

In their February 2007 report entitled "Making Hamilton the Best Place to Raise a Child: Starting Point Strategies", the HRPR listed a number of questions that will be asked in order to assess progress:

How does this effort show a shift from poverty alleviation to prevention?
How does this show a comprehensive approach tackling the root causes of poverty?
How does this approach work collaboratively across sectors?
How is this making a difference in the lives of individuals living in poverty? How does this effort involve individuals living in poverty creating solutions?
How does this emphasize innovation, risk-taking and long-term change?

For additional detail on the HRPR's approach, activities, and related documents see: www.hamiltonpoverty.ca