A 2023-24 Annual Impact Report story
Our 2023-24 Annual Impact Report highlighted stories about how we navigated significant changes over the past year. We are sharing these stories as they reflect how our work embodies our values and impacts those we collaborate with.
Generating and sharing knowledge
At PolicyWise, we understand that generating and sharing knowledge is a constantly changing process. It is laden with values, connected to power, interpreted differently, and shaped by context.
As we gather and synthesize information, we take a holistic approach when working with knowledge. We ensure that the knowledge we generate reflects the unique realities, priorities, and perspectives of the communities we collaborate with. We also ensure that this knowledge is grounded in social justice principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
With this new knowledge, we are committed to then share broadly what we have learned, making it freely available to the non-profit and social-serving communities and the public.
Launching a new capacity-building resource website
An excellent example that reflects our approach to gathering and sharing generated knowledge is our new capacity-building resource website, Resources for Practice. We launched it on September 22, 2023.
Through Resources for Practice, we make finding and using practice- and policy-relevant resources easier. We know a lot of great work and innovation is happening across Alberta and beyond, and we are committed to amplifying that knowledge.
Resources for Practice is a place where we share our generated knowledge and resources and those created by other communities that align with our mission. We provide direct links to webinars, tools, reports, and other capacity building resources.
Since its launch, the web pages on Resources for Practice have become some of our most visited. With so many people visiting the website, we hope they are using the resources to support programs and policies that build a brighter future for children, youth, families, and communities in Alberta and beyond.
Since the launch of the Resources for Practice website, there have been:
- Over 15,000 visits to the website.
- Over 1,000 social media engagements from posts sharing Resources for Practice links.
Supporting gender-diverse youth
With increasing legislative announcements across Canada about the health and well-being of gender-diverse youth, providers serving these youth are looking for accessible, evidence-based information on how best to support youth, their families, and their communities. Recognizing this need for knowledge, research, and resources, we launched Empowering Providers Serving Gender-Diverse Youth.
This initiative builds on the work we are known for, providing non-profit and social-serving communities with trusted research, resources, and evidence-based information so they can make wise decisions. When this initiative launched, we immediately began sharing resources for social-serving providers whose clients include gender-diverse youth.
As we shared these resources, we are also gathering research and information to support those in the social, education, and public sectors whose work focuses on the health and well-being of gender-diverse youth. We will use this research to develop Alberta-specific resources to help fill potential gaps in information and knowledge for these providers, as well as parents and other allies supporting gender-diverse youth. We will be sharing these new resources in December 2024.
Since this initiative launched, there have been:
- Over 1,800 visits to our web pages sharing evidence-based information and resources for providers serving gender-diverse youth.
- Over 350 social media engagements from posts sharing links to the initiative’s web pages.
To learn more about how PolicyWise is making an impact and to read similar stories, check out our 2023-24 Annual Impact Report.
