Community Partners

Research Broker

Esther de Vos, Civida

A key tenet of our partnership is to bridge the gap between academic research and the work of the community housing sector. The role of Research Broker is designed to promote communication and knowledge mobilization between community housing partners and academic partners.

Esther joined Capital Region Housing in 2015. She is passionate about increasing knowledge about the affordable housing sector in Canada. She has an MPA (Masters of Public Administration) from the University of Victoria, and a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta. Currently working on her doctorate in social sciences from Royal Roads University, Esther’s research interests include how wellbeing, intersectionality and social sustainability can be operationalized within the affordable housing sector.

Community Partners

Tier 3: Research

We look to community partners to lead activities – through direct participation in the research process (including active roles in data collection, data analysis and report-writing), and nominating senior staff to join our Executive Committee.

Lead Community Partner

“We are excited to be a Lead Community Partner working with the University of Alberta for the next five years on this Community Housing Canada research project,” says Civida CEO Greg Dewling. “We believe foundational research is a major pillar that supports the work we do to provide affordable housing to citizens and this project will help bridge the gap between academic research and providing social housing in a sustainable way to those who need it. This project speaks to one of our values as an organization – mastery: using the best information possible to focus on positive change and solutions.”

Community Partner

GEF seniors housing is a not-for-profit registered charity. We are the largest provider of subsidized senior’s housing in Alberta. Our mission is to provide friendly, affordable, secure housing services for seniors in the Edmonton community. With the help of our employees, volunteers and donors, we make a difference in the lives of more that 3600 seniors, giving their families peace of mind.

Tier 2: Facilitation

We rely on community partners to facilitate our activities – providing input on research design, assisting with recruitment and data collection, participating in projects as case study organizations, and nominating staff to serve on our Advisory Board.

BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA) is the provincial umbrella organization for the non-profit housing sector in British Columbia comprised of over 600 members, including non-profit housing societies, businesses, individuals, partners and stakeholders. Affordable and community-based housing is at the core of everything we do.

Calgary Housing is a unique organization in that it is both a business unit within the city of Calgary and also includes the wholly-owned Calgary Housing Company. Calgary Housing serves the multiple functions creating city-wide strategy and policy and designing and building new affordable housing. Calgary Housing Company is one of the largest affordable housing providers in Alberta, providing homes to nearly 25,000 Calgarians who have a diversity of housing needs.

The mission of CHF Canada is to inspire, represent and serve our members in a united co-operative housing movement. CHF Canada has been a united voice for the co‐operative housing in Canada for over 50 years. We have a strong record of advocating on behalf of our members and promoting and sustaining the of co‐operative housing principles. Our members are housing co-ops, as well as, the organizations and people who support them. CHF Canada also connects Canada’s co-op housing movement with housing co-ops in other countries and with co-operative enterprises in Canada and around the world.

Community Land Trust creates and preserves opportunities for low and moderate income households to enjoy stable, quality housing at a fair price. We do this by supporting a wide range of developments that include a mix of residential, retail, and community space. Community Land Trust is a non-profit, social-purpose real estate developer and asset steward, created by the Co-operative Housing Federation of BC. Our projects are designed to meet local needs, whether by upgrading existing housing in partnership with resident communities or providing new homes, available to low and moderate income households.

Horizon Housing is an affordable housing charity that provides affordable, integrated and supportive homes to more than 1,100 low income families and individuals in Calgary. Horizon works with more than 35 social service partners to support residents with a range of needs from mental health challenges and limited mobility to those leaving violence, addiction and homelessness.

Tier 1: Advisory

We depend on the advice of community partners – as members of Partners’ Panels, as experts who can provide feedback on reports, and as collaborators who can provide guidance on opportunities for policy development and implementation.

The Alberta Network of Public Housing Agencies (ANPHA) is the provincial membership association for the non-profit housing sector. We believe that housing for everyone is a critical part of building healthy, vibrant communities. Our work is centred on the principle that all Albertans should have a safe, secure, appropriate and affordable home. Our membership includes a range of housing providers and others, who serve a diverse cross section of Albertans representing over 30,000 units.

Catalyst is a B.C.-based not-for-profit real estate developer, with a mission to build vibrant, affordable, and inspiring rental homes and places for people to live and work. Between 2017-2019, in our first multi unit project, called Madrona, we conducted a community connections pilot with our tenants in order to understand tenant needs and improve their feelings of connectedness and belonging, and to understand the impact of connectedness and belonging on our business operations. We have four projects in occupancy and another 11 in various stages of development.

Hey Neighbour Collective is a research and practice collective of actors committed to the potential of better housing and community outcomes through closer attention to the sociability dynamics of housing. HNC brings together housing providers, researchers and experts, local and regional governments, housing associations and health authorities to experiment with and learn about ways of effectively building community, social connectedness and resilience in BC’s fast-growing medium and high density communities.

The Manitoba Non-Profit Housing Association (MNPHA) is an association of almost 150 non-profit housing providers and organizations/private-sector partners, representing over 24,000 units of affordable and social housing across 23 communities in Manitoba. It supports its members to build a thriving, sustainable non-profit housing sector in Manitoba.

NiGiNan Housing Ventures is a registered non-profit charity formed to address particular housing needs and requirements of Indigenous people living in Edmonton. We are dedicated to providing supportive affordable housing opportunities for individuals and families of native ancestry, who have not been successfully served by any other organization in Edmonton.

Ottawa Community Housing Corporation is a landlord who provides 15,0000 homes to 32,0000 resident including seniors, parents, children, couples, singles, and persons with special needs within many communities across the City of Ottawa. Ottawa Community Housing Corporation is the largest social and affordable housing provider in Ottawa, managing two-thirds of the City’s social housing portfolio, and the second largest in Ontario. OCHC is a corporation operating at arm’s length from the city of Ottawa, its sole shareholder.

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