By Cindy Lindsay
News that Canada’s Vital Signs is receiving an Impact Award from the US-based Community Indicators’ Consortium serves as a terrific motivator leading into our 2012 Vital Signs launch on Oct. 2.
This recognition by our international colleagues is very rewarding – it reinforces the impact Vital Signs has when it engages the community around indicators and the opportunity to create change.
The award goes to “projects that best demonstrate the power of indicators to drive positive community change.”
Jim Farnam of CIC told me that our Vital Signs work came to his organization’s attention via two webinars conducted by my colleague Sara Lyons, CFC’s program director. They were impressed by “the story of how you have put together such a thorough project and continually refined the model to engage large numbers of people locally in the work,” he told me.
We see that phenomenon at work daily, in Vital Signs-inspired projects ranging from Connections and Engagement, a survey of community belonging by Vancouver Foundation; the Langar Project, a meal service for South Asian immigrants funded by Community Foundation of Mississauga; and a social marketing campaign targeting teen pregnancy spearheaded by the Greater Saint John Community Foundation.
And of course Vital Signs is intrinsically linked to Smart & Caring Communities, a new initiative from Community Foundations of Canada in response to a call by Governor General David Johnston, CFC’s Patron, for help in making Canada a more smart and caring nation.
Based in New Haven, Connecticut, the CIC is an active, open learning network and global community of practice among those interested or engaged in the field of indicators development and application.
The Impact Award will be presented to Canada’s Vital Signs in November during CIC Impact Summit 2012 in Maryland. We are thrilled to receive this honour, and to share the work of Vital Signs with a global audience.
Cindy Lindsay is CFC’s Director of Member Services, and is spearheading Canada’s Vital Signs 2012.
Canada's Vital Signs 