How We Work
Together, we are working to improve the well-being of children and youth in Waterloo Region and to move the needle on nine dimensions of child and youth well-being. We do that by working together in a Collective Impact model.
How we work: (Collective Impact)
When we come together as a collaborative, we use the collective impact model. Collective impact is a way of working together that brings together different organizations to solve large complex problems – in our case, child and youth well-being. Collective impact is built on five interconnected components to strengthen alignment and lead to large scale results. The five components of collective impact are: Common agenda, Shared measurement, Mutual reinforcing activities, Continuous communication, and Backbone support.
In 2018, the Collective Impact Recommendation Working Group was formed to produce a recommendation for CYPT members on a priority area of focus for Collective Impact. Their recommendation was to focus on sense of Belonging. To read their full report, click here.
How we’re governed: (Our Charter)
In 2018, Voting Members endorsed our charter document that outlines how we work, the roles and responsibilities for our members, and our governance structure. For details on the charter, including an infographic that breaks everything down, please click here.
Our Shared Foundations
We adopted a shared understanding for working together in 2015 and we called that our Shared Foundations of Practice. The Shared Foundation for Practice focuses on four pillars for working together with children, youth and families in our community.
The Shared Foundation for Practice document provides an overview of the pillars, general information and examples of how partners are using it in their own work.
Dig into each pillar:
Our Shared Goals
Prior to 2019, the CYPT used 6 shared goals to measure child and youth well-being. In 2019, CYPT Voting Members made the decision to evolve the Shared Goals for Child and Youth Well-being to include the Canadian Index of Child and Youth Well-being developed by UNICEF Canada. This shared measurement evolution was officially implemented in January 2020.
Members were excited to see so much alignment between what CYPT members had established locally with what children and youth across Canada said mattered to their well-being. The evolved framework benefits from the considerable research done by UNICEF Canada into the well-being of children and youth, as defined by children and youth themselves.
We now measure nine dimensions of child and youth well-being.
- We are happy and respected.
- We are connected to our environment.
- We are secure.
- We belong.
- We are participating.
- We are learning.
- We are healthy.
- We are free to play.
- We are protected.
Together, we are working to improve the well-being of children and youth in Waterloo Region and to move the needle on these nine dimensions of child and youth well-being. We believe, as a collective, that these focus areas are key to the well-being of children and youth.