Who We Are
Founded in 2019, Sustainable Livelihoods Canada is a national not-for-profit social enterprise. Our practitioners have over 20 years of program development, evaluation and research experience using the holistic strengths-based Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) framework.
Our mission is to advance people’s sustainable livelihoods in Canada, working in partnership with not-for-profit community practitioners across the country to improve client-focused services, and to advance the social and economic engagement of those living on low incomes.
Our mandate is to pursue a policy agenda aimed at promoting de-siloed holistic frontline supports and services that empower people by building their conditions and capacity to move towards sustainable livelihoods.
SLC’s Mission-driven activity
We focus on five areas of activity:
Sustainable Livelihoods Education
We train frontline staff, managers, and leadership teams to fully understand and embed the Sustainable Livelihoods approach. We offer tailored workshops and coaching to ensure that the framework is deeply understood and easily translated into operational work.
Evaluation Using SL
Our experienced associates work with staff to design customized evaluations that help support current program work, report back to funders on key successes, and build internal capacity. We also help organizations deepen their own understanding of the value of evaluation, and support them as they conduct research activities and pilot new strategies.
Research
SLC values community-engaged research, and has a long history of empowering peer researchers who are part of the communities in which we work. This approach brings the lived experience of people experiencing social and economic exclusion to the forefront of our activities and centers them in our research.
Knowledge Sharing
We produce informative, innovative and useful reports that combine rigorous quantitative data with illustrative stories. We also connect SL-using organizations in communities of practice, helping to build both their internal capacity as well as the sector-wide familiarity and usage of the SL framework.
Building Engagement
SLC is a longtime champion for social and economic inclusion, and we have a deep understanding of the Canadian context. We work with partners, clients and other stakeholders to advocate for changes to policies that create or perpetuate barriers for people living on low incomes.