Social Research and Development: Practitioner Gathering

September 11 – 14, 2018
Ottawa, ON

This summer, the Social R&D Fellowship, with support from The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and Community Foundations of Canada, will convene the third annual gathering dedicated to growing R&D capacity across the social impact sector.

From ethnography and data science to technology and frontline services, this year’s Practice Gathering will convene 25 practitioners from across Canada for shared learning, peer support, demo sessions, and co-creation opportunities – all centred around strengthening the sector’s ability to pursue research and experimentation, and act on insights from a range of social R&D portfolios.

Highlights from the 2017 Practice Gathering:
97% of participants met someone new
83% learned something new
71% gained a new perspective from another sector or discipline or region
80+ expressions of interest for 35 spots

We are now inviting expressions of interest for this residence-style experience. Please email Jason Pearman with the following:

a) Brief description of what your organization’s R&D looks like (e.g. systematic review of research, capturing and analyzing data, running tests, prototyping, etc.);
b) Brief description of the tools, frameworks, and/or processes that you use in your R&D practice (e.g. research partnerships, outcomes database, ethnography, agile, etc.); and
c) What are some of the conversations that you’d want to have.

(There would be a nominal fee of $100 to cover accommodation, food, and hard costs.)

Space is limited.

What to expect:

A collection of case studies of organizations generating social impact breakthroughs via R&D will serve as the backdrop for participants to exchange journeys, showcase experiments they are running, cross-pollinate methods and insights from diverse issue domains, learn new and share practices that work, and support one another at a peer level.

About the venue:
Strathmere is a special place in Ottawa to celebrate, learn, and get away from the stresses of urban life.  Located in the heart of a picturesque 200-acre property is a pre-Confederation stone farmhouse built in 1860, a 150-year-old renovated barn, and a garden house with wrap-around windows surrounded by the fruit orchard, meadows and gardens.
 
About the Social R&D Fellowship:
Social R&D is a multi-year field-building exploration to help social mission organizations significantly improve their outcomes through frontline research and development. The Social R&D Fellowship is supported by The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, Community Foundations of Canada and Ontario Trillium Foundation.