Social Planning Council of Winnipeg

Social planning aims to improve the living circumstances of individuals and communities through research, engagement, advocacy and action.

Research involves generating knowledge, through data collection, surveys, consultations, and observations. The sort of research anticipated by social planning involves not only the accumulation of numbers or statistics, but also channeling the viewpoints of individuals and communities, giving concrete voice to how individuals experience poverty or social exclusion on the one hand, or a sense of empowerment and control of their lives on the other.

Engagement means bringing together people to reflect, to participate in dialogue and debate about the issues important to them and to their communities, to become involved with others in some common activity, for example through hosting a community forum or convening a roundtable of stakeholders.

The focus on action suggests that something be done as a result of research and/or engagement – these activities are not undertaken in the abstract, they are done to improve the living circumstances of individuals and the quality of life of communities, and include mobilizing communities to address an issue, undertaking advocacy, promoting government policy changes, and so on.

Although there are many organizations in Winnipeg specializing in single issue advocacy there is only one whose mandate specifically focuses on social planning across sectors and communities - the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.

A Dynamic Past

The Social Planning Council of Winnipeg (SPC) was founded in the social upheaval preceding the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919. A group of citizens came together to identify and address the problems of a society undergoing rapid change. 

They formed the Community Welfare Council, precursor of the SPC and one of the first social action groups in Canada created to come to grips with unprecedented change in a major city. 

Today, Winnipeg and SPC face new tensions and needs. Frozen social assistance rates, child and family poverty, inner-city education, housing and homelessness, mental health and disability issues, and crime prevention and social development are only some of the challenges that the SPC is addressing in the second decade of the 21^st century. 

Non-partisan, rich in social science and human resources, the SPC is ideally situated as a vehicle for citizens to explore and assess controversial issues, bring new information into public debate and help form a public consensus around progressive solutions.

Challenging Future  

Much has changed in Winnipeg since 1919. Much more will change in this new century. How we shape and manage change; how we resist change when it is necessary to do so; how well we respond to the challenges and fulfill the opportunities inherent in change: These are the measures of a healthy community. 

Today we face an array of complications which threaten the health of our community. The challenges of race relations, immigration, discrimination, gang violence, unemployment and under-employment, Aboriginal participation in society, economic inequality, and the effects of global security issues on Canadians of foreign origin will persist into the future. If we are to change for the better, it will be because we have provided the community with relevant data and invited them to dialogue, deliberate and act on the issues of the day. Providing the community with data, a place to discuss important issues, and a springboard to launch into action is what makes the SPC unique.  

The SPC is ideally situated within the community to gather citizens and groups together to explore issues and provide policy-makers with alternative solutions based on lived experience and grassroots discussion. The SPC endeavours to bring previously unheard voices to the table and in so doing help to enrich the public debate and facilitate the building of action oriented solutions.