Call for Poverty Reduction Strategy Pillar Working Groups Membership
Introduction
Addressing poverty is a key priority for the City, as it affects the lives of all residents. Ottawa’s Poverty Reduction Strategy was approved by Council on October 30, 2024. The Strategy highlights the increasing and chronic needs across the city and best practices and evidence on how to meaningfully reduce poverty, given its complex nature. As a result of extensive resident and stakeholder engagement, data reviews, and expert engagement, the Strategy identified five strategic pillars (food security, employment, financial security, economic development, and integrated and simplified pathways), 10 priorities and 26 sub-priorities.
The Strategy will be implemented through work already underway by the municipality to reduce poverty, short-term actions that both the City and community can prioritize, and by aligning City-wide strategic directions and strategies of the provincial and federal governments.
Roles of the Pillar Working Groups
The governance of the Strategy during implementation will incorporate a collective impact approach. There will be multiple governing bodies that have a specific role and responsibility in implementing the Strategy. These groups consist of the Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee (CSWB AC),Poverty Reduction Strategy Advisory Group (PRS AG), Pillar Working Groups (PWG), and a backbone support unit (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Strategy governance proposed for 2025-2026.
The roles of each group are as outlined below.
Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee |
The mandate of the Community Safety and Well-Being Advisory Committee is to fulfill the duties of an advisory committee under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019, and guide the strategic direction of the City of Ottawa’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan. |
Poverty Reduction Strategy Advisory Group |
Formed during the development of the Strategy. Oversees and guides the Strategy implementation. |
Pillar Working Groups |
Formed during the first phase of implementing the Strategy. Carries out actions identified in the pillars of the Strategy. |
Backbone Support Unit |
Formed during the development of the Poverty Reduction Strategy. Provides coordination, consensus building, and resources to the partners involved in the Strategy. |
The Poverty Reduction Strategy identified short-term actions within the Financial Security and Food Security Pillars during the 2025-2026 year. For this reason, the first two pillar working groups will be the Financial Security Pillar Working Group and the Food Security Pillar Working Group. For a more detailed explanation of these pillars, please see the Poverty Reduction Strategy Narrative Report.
Application process
Please apply by filling out an application. You can use one application if applying as a network (that makes up many organizations) or as a representative of one organization.
- Link to Financial Security Application
- Link to Food Security Application
Deadline to apply is February 28, 2025.
Contact: Saira John, Strategic Programs and Projects Specialist, Community Safety Well-Being Policy and Analytics at saira.john@ottawa.ca.
