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Charting Our Path

April 2019 - April 2024

Funded by: Women and Gender Equality Canada

Gender equity in our systems and society governs the roots and responses to GBV.  Women cannot effectively achieve equity or participate fully in the economic, social and democratic life in Canada if the condition of being female means constant vulnerability and threat of violence and harassment in their lives, workplaces, communities and systems. This four-year, Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) funded project will provide the opportunity to bolster our capacities in a unique niche as a non-service provider feminist organization. Be the Peace Institute will expand our influence as a credible advocate in the field, collaborating with a wide array of partners for social and systemic change that can make a meaningful contribution to the movement for achieving gender equity and an end to gender-based violence in all its forms.

OBJECTIVES

  • Strategic/succession planning 

  • Partnership development, collaboration, networking 

  • Advocacy   

  • Results-based management and impact evaluation

  • Organizational financial health and sustainability  

OBJECTIVE 1:
STRATEGIC AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

Our organizational energy is precious and we must be strategic in how we use it while attracting and leveraging skills and talents to fulfill our mandates and aspirations and their sustainability over the long term.

OBJECTIVE 2:
PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, COLLABORATION AND NETWORKING

Together we can achieve more. Having a strong network of support, partnership and collaboration is essential to ensuring our project and advocacy efforts are fruitful.  Silos, protectionism and ownership dynamics often thwart efforts. Betrayal and mistrust characterize too many system and community dynamics. Our capacity to do the social/systemic change work we aspire to is inextricably linked to building collective capacity- shared learning, common language and knowledge transfer and application. We aim to be an example of trustworthy and eager engagement with a broad and diverse range of potential partners, mentors, individual and system allies, to strengthen our efforts and amplify our impacts.

OBJECTIVE 3:
ADVOCACY

Successful advocacy for social and systemic change requires understanding the complexities that govern organizational, institutional, social and governmental structures, policies and practices. We will develop expertise and adeptness in system language and capacities that improve our advocacy outcomes with government and system leaders that serve the needs and best aspirations of women/girls/survivors of gendered violence. As we improve our abilities to bring an articulate, knowledgeable and compelling voice, a critical gender-intersectional lens, and innovative ideas for policy, practice and systemic change, we will continue to seek and promote greater stature and influence for women, and amplify women’s leadership in  this domain. 

OBJECTIVE 4:
RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT

It is important to be able to evaluate our results as an organization, both internally, as well as in our social and systemic change efforts, with a continuous feedback loop to inform decision-making and course correction to minimize risks and maximize results.

OBJECTIVE 5:
ORGANIZATIONAL FINANCIAL HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY

As a small non-profit with a huge mandate and no core government funding, we must not only actualize all proposals for project funding, but also attract sustainable funding to support organizational operations and aspirations on an ongoing basis.

This opportunity to grow our capacities, resilience and influence for gender equity and addressing gendered violence IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES  involves strategic thinking and planning for improved advocacy results in social and systemic contexts over 5 years.  We will learn and take new steps to ensure our ongoing financial viability and human resources; bring an articulate voice and analysis of complex issues and systems to decision-making and policy tables that make a difference for women and survivors; become more adept with evaluation and impact metrics; share in learning new knowledge alongside diverse partners and allies to enhance our collective impact.