CENTRE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION by ACUNAR

WHERE CHANGE HAPPENS

CENTRE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION

WHEN YOU’RE HERE, YOU’RE HOME For nearly five years we have been trying to explain what the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) does and what social innovation is. We are officially giving up! Sure, we have created a dynamic shared workspace for people with world-changing ideas. And yes, we are home to some amazing incubated projects and an incredibly diverse community of change-makers; the energy is infectious as social innovators come together under one roof. We are pushing new ideas, new models, and new policies to reinvent the way things work. It is all true! But this just doesn’t begin to get at it. What we are really about is possibility. We are creating a vision of how the world could be and we’re working every day to bring it into reality. We are building new models, new initiatives and new ideas. We are hybrids. We are inter-sections. We are solutions. We are the inventors of new ideas that are resonating across sectors. We are social entrepreneurs, artists, activists, idealists and pragmatists. We are transforming the marketplace and finding ways to live in harmony with each other and the planet. We are about creating the world that we want, together. What is social innovation? It’s about ideas that are changing the world to make it better for all of us. It is about working together to create the models and systems that will define our future. And for us, that means prioritizing projects that are collaborative, entrepreneurial and systems changing. Here is just a taste of what we have been up to for the last five years. We hope this inspires you to be a part of our shared journey.

OUR THEORY OF CHANGE Imagine Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Now apply it to social innovation. Voila! The CSI innovation triangle. We start by creating the physical space. And we do this carefully, designing a space that’s functional, whimsical, inviting and energizing. The next step is community. What begins as a group of people looking for a place to work becomes a community through conscious and careful animation. These layers form the basis for innovation – the serendipity that happens when you mix the right people, the right values and the right environment. Just add a little intentionality and you are on your way. The results are unpredictable. And often astonishing. Or, when we look through the lens of complexity science, it’s all about setting the conditions for emergence. But more about that later…

Tonya Surman Executive Director

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CHANGE AGENTS HAVE A HOME @ CSI The Centre for Social Innovation has created the space for world-changing ideas. Over the past five years we have developed unique expertise in the design, creation, and management of community workspaces. Our flagship initiative – located in the Robertson Building at 215 Spadina Avenue in downtown Toronto – is a 23,000-square-foot facility whose tenants include artists, nonprofit organizations, social entrepreneurs, grassroots community groups, and social purpose businesses. Over 150 social mission groups call CSI their home.

HOT DESKS ARE SO HOT Get out of your pyjamas and into the CSI! We’ve created a number of Hot Desk packages tailored for those who just need an occasional place to work, meet and connect. Hot Desk members benefit from a permanent mailing address and full office facilities, including high-speed wireless internet access, fax machines, meeting rooms and photocopiers. Membership links you to our growing community, sparking new ideas and bringing your project to realization. Hot Desk packages range from $75 – 250 / month. Visit www.socialinnovation.ca for more info!

Our shared workspace model offers office amenities to initiatives that are typically under-resourced. Once here, members can connect with a powerful and exciting network of social change makers. The Centre for Social Innovation is an inspiring space that increases profile, provides mountains of social capital and offers an upbeat working environment. By bringing together these diverse organizations, CSI increases their efficiency, effectiveness, and impact. We have created a space for social innovation to thrive!

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A COMMUNITY CENTRE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION CSI is home to hundreds of meetings, capacity-building workshops, information sessions and community events every year. Over 10,000 people come through the Centre annually! They’re gathering to grow their networks, build their skills, and hatch new ideas for positive change in our city and around the world. To learn more about events @ CSI or to host your own, visit www.socialinnovation.ca.

Dig our model? Contact us to learn more about our consulting services and our plans for replication – info@socialinnovation.ca

OLLABORATION»

INSPIRED BY THE STARS: A CONSTELLATION MODEL OF GOVERNANCE Collaboration has been a buzzword for years. We’ve seen the increasing formation of partnerships, coalitions and strategic alliances. But we’ve also seen an astonishing lack of imagination. Surely there are better ways of coordinating movements and activities. Our idea? A constellation model of governance! Inspired by complexity theory and systems thinking, the Constellation Model strikes a balance between self-interest and shared interest to make social change possible. We know that individual organizations and actors have their own motivations and interests. When groups begin working together, we end up adding layers of protocol and bureaucracy to manage differences. Pretty soon we are bogged down in the process and distracted from our goals – the original reason we came together. The Constellation Model takes a different approach, emphasizing the role of small, self-selecting action teams that work together on a particular task or issue within a broader framework and under a shared vision. These teams – or “constellations” – operate interdependently, supported by a Stewardship Group but working in ways that serve the interests of the individual constellation members. Leadership rotates fluidly among partners, where each partner has the freedom to lead a constellation that matches its profile and skills, and to sit back from activities that are of peripheral interest. The result is a shift from strained partnerships to open and effective collaborations. This organizing model is a true social innovation. Initially created, tested and refined with the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment, the Constellation Model has been replicated and adapted to support the Ontario Literacy Coalition, the Frontline Partners with Youth Network, telecentre.org and the Ontario Nonprofit Network. The model’s transferability, scalability and adaptability give it resilience and relevance. To find out more about the Constellation Model, check out www.socialinnovation.ca.

THE ONTARIO NONPROFIT SECTOR GETS ORGANIZED The Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) is a network of networks with a mission to build communication and coordination among nonprofit organizations working for the public good in Ontario. CSI is incubating and co-chairing this initiative to strengthen the efficiencies and voices of the nonprofit sector. ONN is like collaboration on steroids … and with no side effects! ONN has been working on changes to the Provincial Corporations Act, proposing an economic stimulus package, responding to the new fundraising guidelines for charities, creating an enabling environment for social enterprise and social finance and much more. To learn how you can be involved in ONN, visit www.ontariononprofitnetwork.ca.

For the past twenty years nonprofit organizations across the country have been struggling with ongoing capacity constraints due to changing funding practices, cutbacks in government service delivery, and increasing demand from citizens and communities. Social enterprise has emerged as a key innovation to address these challenges. Social enterprise blends the community-oriented values of the nonprofit sector with the market-place strategies of the for-profit sector. The result: stronger nonprofits and healthier communities. At the Centre for Social Innovation we had been wondering why Toronto was so far behind in developing a vibrant social enterprise sector. So when we discovered the Enterprising Non-Profits (enp) social enterprise funding program in British Columbia, we knew we needed to adapt the model to our city. In 2008 we partnered with enp-BC and twelve progressive funders to deliver a pilot of the enp program in Toronto. Together, we held five sold-out social enterprise training workshops and awarded $100,000 in grants to sixteen successful applicants. Now we’re turning our attention to an ongoing enp program in the Greater Toronto Area. CSI is a thought leader in moving social enterprise forward in Ontario and Canada. Our roles as cochairs of the Social Enterprise Council of Canada and as co-founders of Social Enterprise Ontario are just part of our commitment to this important social innovation. To learn more about the enp program visit www.socialinnovation.ca/enp.

LOCAL LIVING ECONOMIES Green Enterprise Toronto (GET) is a movement of 400 locally owned businesses dedicated to the principles of a local living economy: strong communities, a healthy environment, and meaningful employment. GET believes that Toronto can become a sustainable world-class city by supporting its local, green businesses. Through market research, consumer awareness campaigns and building the capacity of locally owned and operated businesses, GET turns this vision into reality. One of CSI’s first incubated projects, GET is adopting an entrepreneurial approach to the market transformation that is key to our survival. Visit www.greenenterprise.net for more.

TOOKER GOMBERG MEMORIAL LIBRARY

MARKET TRANSFORMATION»

ENTERPRISING NONPROFITS

SYSTEMS CHANGE»

HUGE WINS ON TOXICS AND CHILDREN’S HEALTH In 2007, CSI was hired to facilitate a national, multi-stakeholder policy consultation on toxics and children’s health for the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment (CPCHE). The six-city consultation process culminated with an appeal to Health Canada to integrate a “children’s health lens” into bio-monitoring and to strengthen the federal government’s Chemicals Management Plan. The government responded by allocating $25 million to environmental health research. On April 20, 2008, Health Minister Tony Clement declared a ban on bisphenol A in baby bottles. The federal government set a powerful precedent by demonstrating that the precautionary principle can be put into legislative action. CPCHE is a partnership of eleven leading environmental and health organizations. CSI has helped CPCHE to adopt an “constellation” approach to their work, leading to significant systems change across the country. To learn more about the incredible work of the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment check out www.healthyenvironmentforkids.ca.

OPEN EVERYTHING Who knew that the Centre for Social Innovation would have something in common with Linux, Mozilla and Wikipedia? Open source began as a movement to share and co-create programming code. But we wanted to see whether this same philosophy could be applied to cities, to our Centre, and to social innovation itself. The result? Open Everything! On June 4, 2008, the Centre for Social Innovation hosted the first Open Everything event – a day-long conversation about the art, science and spirit of ‘open’. The conversation explored how openness, participation and self-organization facilitate positive social change. We’ve learned that open source isn’t just for the tech sector – it is an integral part of the social innovation scene. We’re adapting the principles of “open” to the Centre for Social Innovation, from our physical design to programming and community engagement. Open thinking is changing the way that we organize, empowering people to actively co-create the world we imagine. This is a social innovation that will empower many other innovations to come.

INCUBATION»

TECHSOUP CANADA How can the nonprofit sector be better at delivering messages, engaging constituencies and using IT tools to be more effective? TechSoup Canada! For years, Canada’s nonprofits and charities have been forced to route through the United States to take advantage of the TechSoup project. Through a unique partnership between the Centre for Social Innovation, TechSoup Global, the Information Technology Association of Canada, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, TechSoup has come to Canada! TechSoup Canada offers donated software from providers such as Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco Systems, Symantec, and Intuit, to eligible nonprofits and charities. TechSoup Canada will also offer a dynamic community for sharing ideas and strategies to support the sector. Check out www.techsoupcanada.ca to take advantage of the new program and to get involved with Toronto’s Net Tuesday learning events.

FRONTLINE PARTNERS WITH YOUTH NETWORK In December 2005 a group of people working directly with youth came together to support each other in dealing with the effects of gun violence. It soon became clear that although they were traumatized and heart-broken, frontline youth workers were also fiercely determined to make things right for youth, for themselves and for their communities. But they were struggling to find their feet and fulfill their potential. Over the past two years CSI has been working with the Frontline Partners with Youth Network (FPYN) to develop a governance structure based on the constellation model. We’ve helped define leadership for the group and we’ve helped secure funding for the network to continue, expand and deepen its work. FPYN now comprises close to 700 people working across the city and across sectors. FPYN reminds us that social innovation – when it really matters – directly supports the people who need it most. We are honoured to be associated with the project and we’ll continue to work with FPYN to make a difference in our city. To find out more information about Frontline Partners with Youth Network, please see www.fpyn.ca.

STATS 25% CHARITY 33% SOCIAL PURPOSE BUSINESS 35% NONPROFIT 23% ARTS FOCUSED TENANTS 23% ENVIRONMENT FOCUSED TENANTS 80% TENANTS WITH <3 STAFF 4% DRIVE TO WORK, 37% BIKE, 41% TRANSIT, 8% NEVER LEAVE MAMMALIAN DIVING REFLEX MOST INTERESTING TENANT NAME DAVID SUZUKI FOUNDATION MOST FAMOUS TENANT SALAD CLUB TUESDAYS BUSIEST DAY AT CSI MARGIE ZEIDLER OF URBANSPACE FAVOURITE LANDLORD

GET TO KNOW YOUR CSI STAFF Camila Bonifaz » Mike Brcic » Colleen Diamond » Getnet Ejigu » Yumi Hotta » Eli Malinsky » Tonya Surman

BOARD MEMBERS Sandy Crawley, Actor, composer, musician, writer, teacher and director » Brian Iler, Iler Campbell » Alice Klein, NOW Magazine » Eric Meerkamper, DECODE » Andre Sorensen, University of Toronto, Urban Planning » Jini Stolk, Creative Trust » Margaret Zeidler, Urbanspace Property Group

INSPIRED TO CONNECT? Join our mailing list at www.socialinnovation.ca. Or come for a visit Centre for Social Innovation 215 Spadina Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5T 2C7

Tel. 416.979.3939 Fax. 416.979.3936 info@socialinnovation.ca www.socialinnovation.ca

FUNDERS AND SUPPORTERS The success of the Centre for Social Innovation would not have been possible without the funders and supporters that have played a vital role in helping the Centre to develop a good idea into a thriving social enterprise.

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EMERGENCE The Story of the Centre for Social Innovation

For additional copies of this publication, please visit: http://stores.lulu.com/socialinnovation For more information contact: sssi@socialinnovation.ca http://socialinnovation.ca you are free

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EMERGENCE The Story of the Centre for Social Innovation

The Centre for Social innovation catalyzes and supports social innovation in Toronto and around the world. we create community workspaces, incubate emerging enterprises, and develop new models and methods with world-changing potential.

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We believe that society is facing unprecedented economic, environmental, social and cultural challenges. We also believe that new innovations are the key to turning these challenges into opportunities to improve our communities and our planet. We are working together to fix our future.

WANT TO HELP?

foREwoRd

he Centre for Social Innovation opened its doors in June 2004. At that time, we had incredible passion, extraordinary vision, and only an inkling of how we would make it all work. It was, needless to say, an adventurous start. At the time, we weren’t aware of any other similar models. It felt like everything we were doing was new. We were making it up as we went along, and through hard work, clear vision, and a fair amount of good fortune, we made it work. Our model and our team proved their mettle and within a few short years we were running a 23,000 square foot facility that was home to over 180 members representing missions from arts to environment to education to social justice. Slowly, as our model grew, we began to attract the attention of others who were interested in what we were accomplishing. Some were at the idea stage and interested to know ‘how we did what we did’. Others were already building shared spaces and wondered what they could borrow and adapt to their community. Still others were asking if we would come to their city to establish a Centre for Social Innovation. What began as an occasional trickle began to gain steam. By our fourth year we were overwhelmed with requests and inquiries about our model. We were, and continue to be, absolutely delighted and honoured by this attention. But we struggled with our own capacity. We are a small social enterprise that has been stretched to the limits evolving our own community and programs.

We tried to share as much information as we could, as frequently as we could, but we began to realize that we needed another strategy to meet the growing interest in creating shared spaces for social innovation...

...so we created this series. Shared Spaces for Social Innovation is about sharing our story and empowering others to learn from our experience. The Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) has always been open with its model. We’ve long preached the benefits of shared spaces and we’ve been doing our best to encourage as many new spaces as possible. We figured that the best way to open our model – to reveal everything we’ve learned in hopes of supporting the emergence of new and better spaces – was to document what we’ve done and make it available to anyone who was interested. It has taken a fair amount of courage for us to let it all hang out and give it all away! Many people advised us that we should be franchising, licensing, and holding our knowledge close to our chests. But this went against our values. Instead, we are putting this whole series into the creative commons for others to benefit from and contribute to. We believe that good ideas scale when they are open. We also believe that ideas get better when we share. We look forward to working with you on this journey to create and grow new strategies for social innovation.

The Shared Spaces for Social Innovation Series is made up of three books: emergence: The Story of the Centre for Social innovation. In this book we weave a narrative around our genesis and development. Starting back when the Centre was just a glimmer in the eyes of a few social entrepreneurs, Emergence follows our growth from concept to operation to scale. rigour: how to Create world-Changing Shared Spaces. This book is a manual for those planning or operating a shared space. It reveals the accumulated knowledge of six years of experience and offers a ton of tips, lessons and tools for developing a strong organization and vibrant community. Proof: how Shared Spaces are Changing the world. This report shares our most recent research on the impact of the Centre for Social Innovation in order to demonstrate just what shared spaces for social innovation can accomplish. Each book can be read on its own. Together they provide a comprehensive picture of the Centre for Social Innovation.

looking to build or grow your own shared space for social innovation? CSI offers tailored consulting, training, and speaking services to help you with challenges from start-up to scale. Get in touch by sending a note to sssi@socialinnovation.ca.

a worK in ProgreSS

Of course, the story of the Centre for Social Innovation is still unfolding. And yet the challenge with writing a book is the finality of it all. We therefore invite you to participate in our online space. At first, we’ll have pdf versions of the series publications and a set of templates and tools available for download. In time, we’ll make amendments to these books, release additions to the series and create a platform for a community of practice.

By contributing to a shared body of knowledge, we’re empowering others to be even more successful, building this field and advancing our own spaces in the process. We’re not yet sure what it will look like, and we’re very sure that it won’t be up to us alone to determine. But we’re hoping this effort starts us along a path to an open community of practice that is creating the spaces where people change the world.

oPen SourCing our Model

Shared Spaces for Social Innovation reveals just about everything we’ve learned about creating and growing shared workspaces. We’re telling our story, sharing our research, and offering the tools and templates we’ve created along the way.

Access new releases and supporting materials. socialinnovation.ca/sssi

but sharing is a two-way street. actually, it’s more like a highway interchange!

Identify yourself as part of this growing community.

While it is truly our pleasure to provide this material, our hope is that you will embrace the Creative Commons spirit. This means recognizing our contribution and letting us know what you’ve used, adapted, and developed. More importantly, it means sharing your experiences and tools with other shared spaces.

Download all of our templates and tools.

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

thank you We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the many people who have made the Centre for Social Innovation and this series possible. First, a thanks to the CSI Staff and Board team, whose vision and industry have made the Centre what it is today. Second, a special thanks to our incredible network of partners and supporters, including Urbanspace Property Group, Canadian Heritage, The Ontario Trillium Foundation, Canadian Alternative Investment Co-Operative, Ashoka, Harbinger Foundation and the Province of Ontario, Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. looKing forward

This series starts with the Centre for Social Innovation. But we know there are dozens of like-minded spaces around the world, and we hope to add other stories, experiences, templates and tools over time. Our vision is a vibrant, shared platform that includes the experiences of shared spaces dedicated to social innovation around the world – your experiences. We’re hoping to work with a community of likeminded people that is sharing ideas, strategies and… who knows? Just imagine a network where we can share promising practices, collaborate on joint projects and infrastructure, replicate good ideas and leverage investments from community to community. Let’s work together to support each other, our members and to build this exciting field!

A publication like this only comes together with incredible dedication. Eli Malinsky has played author, editor, project manager and overall superhero on this project; Shared Spaces for Social Innovation provides only a glimpse of the value that Eli brings to CSI and to this emerging field. Hamutal Dotan deserves special recognition for her writing on Emergence and Proof – her effortless style perfectly captures the tone of the Centre for Social Innovation. For turning beautiful words into compelling publications, The Movement continues to mesmerize and engage. We’d also like to recognize Margot Smart, who meticulously designed and analyzed the 2008 member survey, which forms the basis of our statistics. Finally, we would like to recognize our members. They are the reason we do what we do. They inspire us, they motivate us, they ground us and they challenge us. Their passion, commitment and creativity are what make it all worthwhile, and it is truly our honour to support their work.

Now let’s change the world together!

Tonya Surman eXeCuTive direCTor

Table of contents

FOReWoRD 6

context 14

how it all began

building the space

building the community

learnings

SCALING

the Hidden Depths

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Next

100

Epilogue 108

C HA P T ER

Context 14

“We’re part of a community that’s building the spaces where change happens.” Tonya surman on the emerging shared spaces sector

a Shared SpaceS gloSSary

SI Co-location refers to spaces that are shared among a number of separate organizations. Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Centers are types of co-location spaces that focus on the nonprofit sector.

Coworking refers to the sharing of workspace among freelancers and other independent workers. Coworking spaces provide workspace and community to people who are often working on their own.

Community Hubs are shared spaces that provide direct services to the geographic community in which they are situated. Community Hubs colocate service providers that offer a range of supports such as language instruction, job training, after school programs and drop-in groups.

Hot Desks are temporary, shared Incubators provide programmatic, workspaces that are typically found strategic, administrative and/or fiin coworking spaces. nancial support to small projects and organizations.

Social Innovation refers to new ideas that resolve social, cultural, economic and environmental challenges for the benefit of people and planet. Even more simply, a social innovation is an idea that works for the public good.

Alongside new technologies has been the rise of ‘independents’ who work with several clients but who are not bound by the restrictions of any one physical space.

For-profit and nonprofit strategies are blending together. Shared spaces – and frequently their members – are examples of how mission-based and marketbased approaches can coincide.

why are Shared There is increasing recognition that the problems we face are too complex to be addressed by any single player. Shared spaces connect diverse organizations and individuals, giving them the chance to collaborate, share knowledge and develop systemic solutions to the issues they are trying to address.

Real estate prices are soaring worldwide, making it increasingly difficult for small groups and individuals to find affordable workspace.

SpaceS emerging? The pendulum is swinging from global back to local. While the 90’s promised ‘virtual work’, the new millennium is reinforcing the importance of space.

The incentives for cost sharing have been growing. Nonprofits and charities are enduring ongoing cutbacks in administrative budgets while facing increasing demands from communities and individuals.

Shared workspaces are themselves a social innovation – an entirely new way of working. The dominant workplace model has been separate organizations working separately. That may have made perfect sense at one time and it may still make perfect sense in many instances. But it is by no means a universal or desirable approach. The nature of work is changing – and with it the workplace. These changes offer incredible potential for economic, social, cultural, and environmental progress in the coming years.

our theory of change

s we’ve built and expanded CSI over the past few years, we’ve developed our theory of change— it’s our way of capturing how the Centre for Social Innovation creates the conditions for social innovation to emerge.

Serving as the foundation is the physical space, the environment which our members see and feel and touch and inhabit every day. It’s at the very base of the pyramid because it’s what sets the tone for everything else: our members want to come to work simply to enjoy the space. The physical space is the container for everything that occurs at the Centre.

The physical space sets the conditions for community. Community develops as people start to feel comfortable in a space, are happy to spend time in it, and develop relationships with other members doing the same. A kitchen, for instance, isn’t just a place to eat; it can also allow for shared meals and impromptu gatherings, and those, in turn, are the basis of the relationships which lead to a real sense of kinship among the members. With some delicate animation, the bonds of community are forged and strengthened, building social capital and a network of relationships.

Community relationships allow members to exchange ideas, to collaborate easily, to find services and access knowledge that might otherwise be hard to come by. In short, community is what leads to innovation, because a community of other creative, engaged people is what blows away the cobwebs, allows you to see an old problem in a new light, and helps you find creative ways of implementing solutions you might not otherwise have considered. And that—all the myriad ways in which space and community foster social innovation—well, that’s the whole purpose of the Centre for Social Innovation.

Sierra Health Nonprofit Innovation Center in the Sacramento area (sierrahealth.org)

a three-pronged movement

he shared spaces movement is exploding. While various forms of shared workspace have been around for decades, the idea of shared space as a unique field of practice is more recent, and the past few years have seen a dramatic rise in the number of shared spaces and in the interconnections among them.

We have witnessed the birth and growth of three distinct but related movements. The first is a movement toward co-location. Co-location generally refers to the more-or-less permanent sharing of space among organizations. Within this field, there is a particular trend toward co-location of nonprofit organization within a single facility, often known as a Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Centre. The members in these centres are individual organizations who have decided to share space, often an entire building, as a strategy to save costs and advance their missions. The Nonprofit Centers Network in San Francisco (nonprofitcenters.org), a project of Tides Shared Spaces, is the primary organizing body for a network of over 200 such shared spaces, mostly in the United States, and is leading the charge in developing and connecting the field. CSI is a proud member of the Nonprofit Centers Network.

The Hub, a coworking space, also applies a social change lens to their work (the-hub.net)

The second movement is often referred to as coworking. Born of ‘independents’ (freelancers, sole practitioners, consultants, etc.) primarily in the tech and design sectors, coworking spaces are generally more informal and of smaller scale than co-locations. Many members are motivated by opportunities for social connectedness; as independents, they are too often working alone. Coworking spaces provide shared space for part-time members and are popping up all over the globe. This movement, more ad-hoc than the co-location movement, is being loosely connected and organized through the Coworking Wiki (blog.coworking.info). While most coworking spaces do not apply a ‘social change’ lens to their work, one notable exception is The Hub (the-hub. net), a global network of coworking spaces now reaching into over 20 countries around the world. CSI is an affiliate of The Hub Network.

National Community Development Institute builds capacity for social change in communities (ncdinet.org)

The third movement is a movement toward incubation of social change projects. Although it’s a fuzzy term, incubation generally refers to support given to earlystage projects and organizations. This support can include programming, trusteeship, shared services, investment and financial back-end services. The past few years have seen an increase in the application of traditional incubation strategies for commercialization to social enterprises.

a SoCial Change lenS

The Centre for Social Innovation is designed to support and foster social innovation. All of our members are selected based on their commitment to that goal, and all of our programming is designed to increase the capacity of social enterprises, nonprofits, charities, green businesses, artists, designers, creators, and activists to improve the well-being of people and our planet.

a foCuS on SMall

the cSi twiSt

he Centre for Social Innovation is a hybrid of these movements. Like co-locations we provide permanent, stable office rental to organizations. Like coworking spaces, we provide part-time desk spaces to ‘independents’. Like an incubator, CSI provides programming and shared services to its members, and offers a handful of projects support ranging from strategic advice to back-end financial services. This makes us unique. In fact, there are a few other unique characteristics of the CSI model.

We focus on groups with five or fewer staff. The vast majority of our members are one- and two-person operations. It is these small groups that are in the greatest need of shared facilities and administration; it is also these groups that are best positioned to collaborate and connect with others. PhySiCal deSign

We understand the critical role of physical design in setting the tone of a space and the behaviour of its users. We have developed a very specific approach to physical design that has been a key ingredient in our success and in the ‘experience’ of the Centre for Social Innovation. aniMaTion aS PraCTiCe

Community animation is what turns “a place to work” to a space of social innovation. We’ve been building the practice of animation and developing its role as a central feature of successful shared spaces.

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Community Economic Development

Social Services

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Incorporated for-profit and incorporated nonprofits are equally represented among our members, at 23% each. 25% of members are registered charities, and 24% are unincorporated.

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We are a community of the small but mighty: 94% of CSI members have three or fewer full-time equivalent staff.

Getting Here 4%

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52% of members describe themselves as working on the environment, 39% in culture, 31% in social justice, and 25% in technology (respondents were allowed to select multiple sectors).

n November 2008 we conducted a comprehensive member survey. The survey comprised more than one hundred questions, investigating everything from customer service to the effect of membership on organizational revenues. The results include, in addition to quantitative measures, more than 2,000 submitted comments, anecdotes, and suggestions. We are honoured and grateful that so many of our members were willing to share their thoughts and insights with us, and thrilled to now be sharing them with you1.

Professional% Association

member SnapShot

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Culture

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Sector Environment

So, just who are the members of CSI? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an eclectic mix that cuts across sectors and organizational types, ages and skill sets, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an altogether glorious jumble.

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Two-thirds of members are under the age of 40, doing their best to keep the other third feeling young! Thirtyseven percent of members bicycle to work every day (fewer in Toronto winters!).

[1] Throughout this report, unless otherwise noted, any statistics or feedback attributed to CSI members refers to the information gathered from the 80 respondents to our November 2008 survey, who represent about 30% of our membership.

Download the survey and a report of the results: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

It's qu

iet, fo

r the

mome

nt.

8:20 The l ig

A couple of others are on the phone, returning last nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voicemails.

hts ar e off

An early bird or two can be found at their desks,

and t

going through the morning routine:

he ha

llway

steaming mugs of coffee

is stil

Getnet Ejigu, one of the CSIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s community animators, and

front-desk-greeter/problemsolver extraordinaire, has

to-do lists

turned the lights on now, 28

and put the big urn of coffee on to brew.

9:35

Bagels!

Fresh from Montreal and laid out on the counter in the kitchen, for any and a to snack on.

8:20

9:35

People start clustering round

Getnet Ejigu, one of the CSIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s community animators, and front-deskgreeter/problem-solver extraordinaire, has turned the lights on now, and put the

chatting about their latest projects.

Bagels! Fresh from Montreal and laid out on the counter in the kitchen, for any and all to snack on. People start clustering round chatting about their latest projects.

big urn of coffee on to brew. A couple of others are on the phone, returning last nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voicemails. 30

12:55

1:10 No more Indian food.

11:00 2:12 p.m. Pant, pant, pant, lick, woof, pant. There's a dog in the lounge! One of the tenants felt bad leaving Maisie at home all day and brought her in for the afternoon. (She's friendly, and soon settles down.)

11:01 a.m. The lounge is going full throttle: impromptu consultations by the fridge, a scheduled meeting on the couch in the centre of the space, a strategy session at the round table in the corner. Someone reaches behind the reception desk to grab an ethernet cableâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the wireless has been on the fritz but a conference by instant-messenger must go on regardless.

1:46

6:15

Voices echo in the aptly named Think Tank—

How do I make more coffee?

someone’s having a meeting. A couple of other members wander up to the rooftop patio for a chat. Someone else comes out of the bathroom in a party frock, on her way to a function straight from work. One by one, lights start going off at desks across the floor.

one of the tenants asks, trying to combat afternoon doldrums

Executive Director Tonya overhears and helpfully steps in, going through the procedure step-by-step.

Oh, would you like some of my peanut butter? she says while the coffee is brewing

8:00

The lights are pretty much all out now. It’s

I have a thing about peanut butter 34

and then she passes over a spoon for dipping straight into the jar.

quiet again—for the next ten or eleven hours, at least.

oused on two floors of the Robertson Building, a historic factory building in downtown Toronto (located at 215 Spadina

Avenue), CSI is home to more than 180 social mission projects and organizations. It provides — as all good homes do — physical shelter, but a great deal more than that as well: security, community, the wisdom of those a generation older than you, and the boundless energy of those a generation younger. The organizations are all small, ranging in size from one to maybe a half-dozen

Welcome to the Centre for Social Innovation

staff. Some are just starting out, newly hatched in the minds of their creators and recently liberated from their basement home offices. Others are well-established, with secure grants or revenue streams and a track-record of years of accomplishment. What they share: a commitment to systems change; to not just improving people’s lives but finding new approaches to tackling social, environmental, economic, and cultural challenges. And, significantly,

membership

community

like-minded

organizations. CSI both fosters social innovation and is a social innovation — a new model for how individuals and organizations committed to social and environmental progress can pool their energy to both create a more humane working environment and do more effective work. And while that sounds like a wonderful goal, one whose merits are so obvious as to not even require defending, this was not always the case. CSI

was

founded

early

2004,

and

barely

anybody

understood what it was meant to be or do back then. This is the story of how CSI came to be.

C HA P T ER

how it all began 38

“If you’re in, I’m in…” “Well if you’re in, I’m in!” Tonya surman and Margie zeidler making a pact

sk those who’ve been involved in CSI from the outset just

Spadina Bus was founded in 2000 by Eric Meerkamper, a partner

why or when it got its start and you’ll get slightly different

in DECODE - a strategy firm dedicated to understanding young

variations on a theme each time. This, immediately, tells you some-

people and this new economy. “It was basically a networking asso-

thing: CSI is a collaboration, and like all collaborations it draws

ciation that was created to brand the King and Spadina area of

on the various experiences, proclivities, and perspectives of its

Toronto as being an innovation cluster,” he recalls. “A lot of these

creators. There is no agreed upon storyline because there is no

old beautiful buildings were fantastic,” and were filling with tech-

single answer to the question of how CSI was founded. Nor, more

nology and internet companies. The people starting these busi-

importantly, does there need to be. Some key players cite cer-

nesses “really loved the authenticity of the buildings,” and young

tain academic trends or developments in workplace culture, others

people began flocking to the neighbourhood. Four-hundred-and-

government research projects, still others economic crises which

fifty people showed up at the first meeting of Spadina Bus, a tes-

forced nonprofit organizations into creative cost-reduction. All are

tament to how invested the neighbourhood’s new residents were

correct, and none tell the whole story.

in its development. Though Spadina Bus is now defunct, that first

But begin somewhere we must, and so we shall start with an organization charmingly named Spadina Bus. Spadina Avenue — the

A lot of these old beautiful buildings were fantastic, and were filling with technology and internet companies. eric meerkamper

street on which CSI is located — is one of the oldest and busiest thoroughfares in Toronto, home to many historic buildings that date

community of people served as a kind of signpost, an indication that innovative redevelopment on Spadina — redevelopment which prized liveability and respected the neighbourhood’s history — was not only possible but welcome.

to the city’s earliest days. In the late 20th century Spadina went

Over the next couple of years Eric started wondering not just about

through something of a rough patch, with many of those build-

neighbourhood developments but about some other urban issues

ings becoming prohibitively expensive to maintain, and some even

as well, and specifically about the role of social mission organiza-

regrettably being left vacant. Zoning by-law changes eventually

tions. He had been having some conversations with Patrick Tobin, in

turned the neighbourhood around — specifically some new regu-

the Department of Canadian Heritage (an agency of the Canadian

lations which freed the area up for mixed-use development, and

federal government) about the challenges facing small nonprofits.

allowed for innovative utilization of the existing infrastructure. As

“Pat and I…started to speak with a number of not-for-profits, social

the King and Spadina neighbourhood was reborn it became a hub

enterprises, charities, and so on, to really try to understand what

in the downtown core, humming with both commercial and resi-

the key barriers were for growth.” The answer they got? “A lot of it

dential activity. New businesses, and especially “new economy”

was space.” Funding is often project-based, not stable, and these

businesses based on technology, gravitated to the area, as did the

small organizations were trapped because they couldn’t tap into

young people who worked at these firms.

reliable infrastructure and establish a firm foothold.

Older buildings in the area were filling with technology and internet companies. They felt authentic, there was a lot of space, the price was right.

King and Spadina Neighbourhood

that 401 members were healthier than many comparable organizations housed independently, and that community focused design and programming is what made the difference. (401 Richmond has, in the years since it opened, become an inspiration for many other cities across the globe.) Clearly momentum was building around the notion of using shared space and shared resources to ease the burdens on small organizations, but the concrete path to developing such as space was not yet clear. Pat came to the conclusion that government perhaps wasn’t cut out to for this particular task since government, as a guardian and distributor of taxpayer money, wasn’t necessarily in a position to accommodate something so new and unpredictable. The wheels had begun turning, however, and within a matter of a few months Eric and Pat would become instrumental in the notDECODE prepared a study for Canadian Heritage on a potential solution to this problem: providing better space for these organizations. The report was titled “Establishing a Social Innovation Centre in Toronto,” and published January 31, 2003. From his perspective, Pat Tobin too had multiple overlapping reasons for becoming interested in the state of the union at small organizations. In addition to his conversations with Eric, Pat had been doing some work with Margie Zeidler, the founder of Urbanspace Property Group, a mission-driven real estate development company. Margie had already opened a co-location for artists and cultural entrepreneurs in the King Spadina neighbourhood, at the building that became known simply by its address

yet-named CSI’s development, and Eric one of its founding board members.

nother of CSI’s founding principals was Mary Rowe, who at the time was president of Ideas That Matter, an organiza-

tion which ran events and issued publications inspired by the work of urbanist Jane Jacobs. Mary agrees that the origins of CSI are impossible to pin down: “like all good ideas you don’t really know where they started…CSI was an amalgam of a whole bunch of different energies and ideas…and different people.” She goes on to emphasize the way in which this exemplifies the kind social innovation CSI seeks to foster: “I think it’s an emergent idea…in that way it was a great instance of social innovation.”

— 401 Richmond. A study released in September 2003 showed

Margie had already opened a co-location for artists and cultural entrepreneurs in the King Spadina neighbourhood, at the building that became known simply by its address — 401 Richmond.

Mary, it so happened, knew both Pat Tobin and Margie Zeidler.

to be able to discuss with other people what they were doing.” This

According to Mary, Margie was already well on her way to under-

was a subtle but important shift in the conversation, moving from

standing just how powerful collaborative spaces could be: “Margie

co-location (housing organizations in the same building) to shared

was developing her ideas around how she was developing an eco-

spaces (having communally-accessed infrastructure and facilities).

system of users around her building (at 401 Richmond, the cultural

At the time, Margie happened to be finishing up renovations of

industries co-location space)…she was constantly watching and

215 Spadina, an old factory building she had recently acquired to

trying to learn from the ecology.” In May 2003 the two went to a

accommodate the overwhelming unmet demand for space at 401

conference in New York on the subject of shared facilities in this

Richmond (which, at the time, had 200 members on its waiting list).

sector. As Mary tells it, Margie got so inspired that one day while

She had a 5,000 square foot space still available on the ground

on a break from the conference, while they were sitting together at

floor, and thought that it might, just maybe, have the potential to

a bar, Margie turned to Mary and simply said, “I just think I should

serve as just such a shared space.

do this.”

Around the same time, Robert Barnard, DECODE’s CEO, came to

Like all good ideas you don’t really know where they started… CSI was an amalgam of a whole bunch of different energies and ideas…and different people. mary rowe

Alan Broadbent with a proposal to fund a meeting in Toronto with three generations of social innovators. Robert had been at a conference in Geneva in the Fall of 2002 organized by the Schwab Foundation where the idea of gathering social innovators was discussed. As a major supporter of urban issues (Alan is chair of the board at Ideas That Matter’s parent company, Avana Capital), Alan agreed to support and host the event. Mary Rowe and Margie Zeidler were both at that event and the idea of establishing a social incubator was floated.

t the exact moment Margie was getting excited about the potential for actualizing the notion of shared space, some-

one else across town was getting similarly energized — specifically,

helping social mission groups build effective and fruitful networks.

Younger people felt isolated… mostly what they wanted was community.

Tonya had been building online and offline communities and under-

margie zeidler

a woman named Tonya Surman. Tonya was a former member of Margie’s at 401 Richmond and a partner in the Commons Group, a consulting firm dedicated to

taking social ventures for fifteen years, in fact, and was becoming an expert in the field of collaboration, enterprise, and innovative governance models. Tonya had also been thinking about clustering

Margie, of course, attended. “It did come up among a lot of the

and constellations — bringing capacity builders in the social mission

younger people that they felt isolated,” she recalls, “because they

sector together — and had even looked at some office space that

were working in basements or wherever. They thought it would be

might be used in this capacity.

a useful idea to maybe share some simple equipment, like maybe a fax machine or phones — that was about as far as it got technologically — but mostly what they wanted was community, they wanted

Tonya and her husband Mark happened to throw a dinner party one night — only it wasn’t just any night, it was the very night after Maytree’s social innovation conference took place. And to this din-

ner party they happened to invite Philip King, the CEO of an online

In December 2003 Tonya, Margie, and Pat had a meeting with a

fundraising company. Philip had been at the conference and so,

cultural affairs officer at the City of Toronto. Tonya’s eyes invariably

in typical fashion, it came up as a topic of conversation at dinner.

light up when describing, not this meeting exactly, but what hap-

Philip happened (this story involves a charming and jaw-dropping

pened right after: “Margie and I walked out of the meeting and it

number of things that just “happened” to be the case) to mention

was one of those moments that I’ll never forget… We walked out

that his favourite moment of the day involved “this one woman, I

and there was a blizzarding storm, and there was this crazy hail, and

think her name was Margie or something, [who] was talking about

we were standing out…and I don’t even remember what we were

bringing together some nonprofits — she said she basically had a

talking about, but there was just this moment where she looked at

building, and was thinking about how to bring some folks together.”

me and she said… ‘If you’re in, I’m in.’ And I said, ‘Well if you’re in,

Tonya, in her own words, “interrogated him,” and gleaned as much

Margie and I walked out of the meeting and it was one of those moments that I’ll never forget… t o n ya S u r m a n

I’m in.’ And it was just this pact.”

information about the project as she could. She called Margie the

The five of them — Margie, Mary, Tonya, Pat, and Eric — held their

next day and told her that she’d been thinking about working on a

first meeting as now official founding partners of the Centre for

similar shared-space project. The two got together for coffee once,

Social Innovation in January 2004, decided that they wanted to

and then Margie introduced Tonya to Mary Rowe. The three met a

move things along as quickly as possible, and set themselves a six

few times over the next few months, refining their thoughts on the

month deadline for getting the operation up and running. Cana-

subject. “Tonya’s an instinctive mixer,” says Mary, and has “a kind of

dian Heritage provided $15,000 for a feasibility study of a shared

web understanding of interrelations…at the time Tonya was trying

spaces venture; the principals, already were convinced of its feasi-

to concretize these ideas about interrelations that she was seeing in

bility, used that infusion of cash to draw up the concrete plans to

the technology world.” Tonya, as soon as she heard what Mary and

back the vision up. Tonya happened to have some time available,

Margie had been discussing, basically said “let me at it,” in Mary’s

having recently returned to working life after taking time off to have

words. “She was ready to jump in with not just hands but hands,

a baby, and was on the lookout for interesting opportunities. Her

feet, fingers, toes…”

absolute enthusiasm for the project, and her deep knowledge of

For all three of them, the prospect of combining of social innovation and shared space was becoming ever-more compelling.

n a moment that would prove instrumental, Eric introduced Pat Tobin from Heritage Canada to Mary, Margie, and Tonya: the

catalyzing group of what would become CSI had finally all come together.

collaboration, proved irresistible: the group decided she would make the perfect executive director of the new venture. (Well, it wasn’t quite that simple. Tonya and Pat had, as a matter of fact, gone to meet with a potential executive director. Fortunately, someone else was astute enough to see what, in retrospect, seems obvious. The founders were having a meeting one day and Pat raised the issue of establishing a hiring process for the execu-

We wanted to prove our hunch that bringing groups together would spark innovation. pat t o b i n

tive director. At which point, Tonya recalls, Mary Rowe piped up

salary of the Executive Director and half the salary of an administra-

and said “’Well Tonya, don’t you want that job?” Tonya, of course,

tor for the first year, as well as an interest-free loan of $52,000 —

said yes, and then Mary went on: “Tonya, can you leave the room

An initial investment totaling over $250,000. Tonya, meanwhile put

please?” Tonya stepped out for a few minutes, and about ten

in buckets of sweat equity: she brought her successful consulting

than others do about it: “we gave the rent at a good deal,” she says modestly, “it wasn’t half of other people’s rent, it was just a tiny bit lower — but we didn’t require that they start paying rent until they had members.”

all have gotten CSI off the ground in alternate universes. Maybe. But as Pat had considered earlier, the barriers — born of the fact that CSI was a new kind of enterprise and didn’t fit neatly into any funding model anybody recognized — proved insurmountable. In their initial quests for funding, in fact, nobody wanted to touch the project, since it didn’t fall into any recognizable or existing funding

CSI was created on a cost-recovery model, that is, on a plan accord-

categories. “It was the brokenness of the boxes,” says Tonya, “that

ing to which there would be enough revenue from the rents to

was the problem.” Margie’s and Tonya’s contributions of money,

cover operating expenses. Thus, the primary financial challenge

time and labour allowed CSI to circumvent all those roadblocks

was getting started in the first place. Margie lays out the problem

and enabled the space to go from idea to execution with lightning

CSI would otherwise have faced: “Landlords typically don’t like

speed.

members who are very nebulous — they don’t like members where there are multiple members; they don’t like members that don’t have three years worth of financial statements to show; and so on.” Why then was Margie so eager to get on board? “In a sense I kind of considered myself the member, because it was an organization I co-created, because it was something I wanted to try.”

Tonya developed marketing materials in January and February and the founding members sent an email out, relying on all their existing networks, announcing the availability of member spaces in the now-named Centre for Social Innovation. At the same time, Tonya and the board also fleshed out financial projections, pricing models, space designs, member recruitment guidelines, and a whole

Urbanspace Property Group underwrote the build-out of the space

host of other documents that were essential to starting up. The

and the start-up for CSI tenancy, including partial support of the

Centre was registered as a nonprofit on March 22, 2004.

A • AD

22 3/2004

with her character, Margie speaks far more humbly of her own role

found: government assistance, grants, or private donors might

ROF

tributions were, simply, what made CSI possible. Entirely in keeping

Other financial start-up schemes, you might think, could have been

-P

of the whole operation, as it were. Her conceptual and material con-

of what might be possible.

years) likes to refer to Margie as CSI’s “angel“ — the fairy godmother

making the Centre work financially. Both were hooked on the idea

Tonya (whose enthusiasm has abated not one iota in the past six

consulting work until CSI’s fourth year of operation — essential to

fellow founders.)

practice and its revenue into the Centre, and continued to take on

•C

minutes later she stepped back in and was offered the job by her

GISTERED

C HA P T ER

building the space 50

“Trust me, it’ll look like this in three months.” Tonya surman reassuring a soon-to-be member

eveloping the facilities and developing the community happened simultaneously, and each had — or attempted to

have — an effect on the other. “There were things that were difficult,” remembers Margie, “but we stuck to the decisions we’d made. For example, we wanted to make it very open and visible and airy and light, and people immediately wanted to put filing cabinets in front of their glass walls to block themselves off so they couldn’t be seen, or put drywall up instead of glass.

Part of that was to bring light into the centre but part of it was also to create community. This particular Centre happened to be housed in a heritage building, an old warehouse with exposed brick and wood floors, which were, it goes without saying, pretty to look at. But they weren’t the essentials: those materials were the specific manifestation in this case, but others might have served the same purpose. It’s the purpose — the effect those materials produce — which matters.

There was a bit of fighting about that, and so it had to be laid down in the leases.” Design, in short, mattered an awful lot to everyone involved. There were some design principles which Tonya and Margie viewed as indispensible: they were part of the very character of the Centre they were trying to build not just physically but psychologically.

“It has to be open, I think,” says Margie. “Even though members have their own individual spaces, we’ve tried to open up…to have the doors be glass and have some parts of the walls be glass, to bring light into the hallways and also to increase visual communication between people in their suites and people in the hallways. It’s a security thing too: if everyone’s locked behind their doors you don’t know what’s going on — the more people can see each other, the better.” This approach to design is rather like taking a mixeduse block of your neighbourhood — the kind of space Jane Jacobs is famous for advocating — and bringing it indoors. In fact, Margie even borrows one of Jacobs’s metaphors to describe the interior of CSI: “eyes on the corridor,” a play on Jacobs’s slogan of “eyes on the street.” Buildings and workplaces, like neighbourhoods, function best when they are held in common. “There has to be lots of light, and I think that’s just common to any working condition,” Margie continues — light is how you achieve openness. North America lags behind Europe on this matter: in Germany, she points out, there’s a rule that “you cannot place a worker more than fifteen feet away from a [natural] light source. Here the cores in these [office] towers are typically sixty feet deep…executives get the best space and the walls go up and so everybody else

openness & light

“…light is how you achieve openness…I don’t think people should be anywhere where they can’t have access to natural light.”

is sitting in the dark…that’s inhumane. I don’t think people should be anywhere where they can’t have access to natural light.” Margie (who can talk for longer, and far more interestingly, on light than anyone you’ve ever met), continues: “Somebody did a calculation once: even on the darkest day the intensity of light outside is something like ten times what we can recreate in an interior space with even fantastic intensity of artificial light — it’s just the quality of it, the distribution of it, etc. is so much greater.”

alls, in fact, can be the biggest barrier to light, which is

Equally essential to creating and sustaining this

why the ones in CSI don’t go all the way up to the ceiling.

sense of community are common spaces. Every-

“All the offices are on the perimeter,” Margie points out, “where

one coming into or out of their office in CSI has

the windows are, and if you put [walls] up, that’s the end of the

to pass through the common area, and much like

story — you get no more light.” Though they were counter-intui-

the living room in your house, it contains all the

tive and took some getting used to, these partial walls had other

essentials for a comfortable break: an arrange-

benefits. Prime among these was their use in supporting good

ment of couches, a rug or two, a coffee table

air circulation, and doing so affordably. Without these open walls

piled with newspapers, a few plants and knick-

people in the interior of the floor space wouldn’t have gotten any

knacks that have been picked up over time.

air, and the cost of building out the duct work would have been prohibitive. Compared to traditional office towers, with un-openable windows and artificially controlled environments, “if you put trees outside, so you’re getting more shaded light, and you can open your windows to get some breezes, and you can use fans (which reduce heat by about 4º C in summer), you can do without air conditioning and you can also lower your heat load because you don’t have as much artificial light and therefore you don’t need as much cooling. It’s simple — people have forgotten.” The walls not going all the way up to the ceiling had another effect, and another intention, that was at least as important: it’s a design feature that fosters community. It is impossible to maintain insularity, to keep entirely to yourself, when you can’t help but overhear your neighbour’s conversations sometimes, and you know that they can’t help overhearing yours. The goal wasn’t to be invasive (pri-

presence

The walls not going all the way up to the ceiling had another effect, and another intention, that was at least as important: it’s a design feature that fosters community.

It’s a space which allows for a melding of the personal and the professional which crystallizes the kind of interaction typical of CSI.

Know any good grant writers?

vate phone booths are available for confidential calls, for instance), but to generate a sense that all the members were somehow in something together.

Did you check out that new dumpling place down the street?

How was your son’s birthday party?

In keeping with the open-concept ethos which underlies

the kitchen

Of course, of all the various kinds of common space, kitchens are most important. Margie and Tonya, quite sensibly, knew from the beginning that their new space couldn’t do without one.

both the space and the philosophy of CSI, the kitchen has no walls, and blends seamlessly into the cosy couch area. The cupboards are stocked with dishes and utensils, the coffee pot is always on, and recycling bins are clearly labelled. There is much wisdom in the old adage that bonds are forged and friendships formed over the breaking of bread. It is wisdom that holds to this day, and it was over shared meals and communal lunches that CSI’s members first and most strongly developed connections to one another. Coffee klatches in the morning, a communal salad bar at lunch, an impromptu glass of wine to celebrate the end of a long week — the kitchen is the heart of CSI like it’s the heart of any home. All the small but essential meetings, which characterize the texture of a day at CSI and are its life’s blood, would be impossible without it. “That’s the magic sauce, says Tonya, “community is built around food.”

hile Margie and Tonya were working on the physical infra-

first members. She had, in addition to the general email which the

structure of CSI, Pat, along with the other founders, were

founding group had sent out, called friends who were running the

working on developing its membership. (Though CSI is technically

kinds of organizations she wanted to see in CSI. One in particular

a landlord, renting out space to the small organizations which are

was Paul Bubelis, executive director of the Sustainability Network,

its members, people use landlord-member language far less than is

a capacity-building organization that works in the environmental

typical when describing the Centre. It’s designed, and experienced,

sector. He recalls getting a call from Tonya, who introduced CSI,

as something far more intimate.) The group used their collective

he remembers with a laugh, with the words: “I have an idea. Bear

social networks to recruit potential members, sending out emails

with me.” She pitched him and another contact, Chris Winter, at the

to advise everyone they knew that space would soon be available.

Conservation Council of Ontario, and both agreed to take spots at

Representatives of forty organizations came out to the two informa-

the Centre.

tion sessions the founders held, and twenty-five of those submitted applications for the fourteen available spots.

Pat, recalls Tonya, “was instrumental in filling the space with people. He was the one that made sure we had multicultural communities

Tonya, eager to flex her muscles as the newly installed executive

here, he was the one that made sure arts groups were brought in.”

director, made it her mission to personally bring in some of CSI’s

In fact, each of the founders brought their own experiences, com-

Networks, and just plain networking, were essential in getting the right members in the space.

munities, and perspectives to the selection process, advocating for the groups and potential members with which they had already had positive experiences. Tonya fought to ensure space for environmental groups while Margie, like Pat, went to bat for arts organizations. Mary Rowe, the complexity expert, was committed to a Two-thirds in favour of more established, sustaining organizations.

mix, and wanted to ensure that the members who were ultimately selected came from as wide a variety of backgrounds as possible, and Eric made sure there were a couple of for-profit members, further enhancing this diversity. The selection process itself was an exercise in breaking traditional workplace models in which factors far beyond a potential member’s ability to make rent were taken into account. Selection criteria included consideration of an organization’s social mission, its physical fit in the available space, its reach and profile, and its innovative nature. The founders were also mindful of wanting to create the right balance in the group of members as a whole, making sure that they came from a diverse array of backgrounds and were at

One-third in favour of emerging organizations

different stages of maturity. Selection ended up being weighted one-third in favour of emerging organizations, which were still in their formative stages of development, and two-thirds in favour of more established, sustaining organizations.

were exposed brick walls, some fantastic wooden floors, and pretty much nothing else. Of course, this is a great improvement over what had been there previously: Tonya recalls the “horrible” dropceilings and the “awful, disgusting drywall disaster” with a shudder. Folding chairs were set up amidst the construction debris and Tonya and Margie spoke to prospective members at two meetings in February and March. The information at the meeting, like the

tion of Canada, heard of the Centre via the email the founding

space itself, was bare bones but effective at conveying the key

members had sent out, and was the very first member to move into

ideas: Tonya distributed a one-sheet rundown of the rental costs,

CSI; he also wound up joining the board of directors. Before CSI,

and a copy of the floor plan Margie had drawn up.

building on College Street.” When the email landed in his inbox, therefore, he was intrigued enough to attend one of the information sessions and take a tour of the facilities.

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

at that point consisted of a gutted, completely raw space. There

Sandy Crawley, executive director of the Documentary Organisa-

he says, “we were located in a little cubbyhole of an office up in a

Download our member selection criteria:

“Facilities,” of course, was something of a loose term — the Centre

“Trust me,” Paul remembers her saying at the meeting, “it’ll look like this in three months.” 63

Download our member selection criteria: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

andy had never encountered terms like “clustering” before, but got hooked on the idea and, like Paul and Chris, decided

that he wanted to take one of the spaces. Flashing back to that early meeting, the message Sandy took away was that:

it could be social enterprise, it could be not-for-profit, but the thing was — you had to want to change the world. The Documentary Organisation of Canada moved in June 1, 2004 — just a year after the conferences in New York and Toronto which sparked the idea of building CSI in the first place. (This isn’t to say that there was a direct causal link between the conferences and the foundation of CSI — innovations are never born out of such simple connections. But there was something in the air, a shift in the gestalt, which helped CSI along and which CSI itself then helped strengthen in turn.) The founders had met their first major goal, and had members coming in to CSI right on the six-month schedule they had set themselves. “They weren’t ready,” laughs Sandy, “but we moved in anyways. The phones didn’t work for a month on and off…there was a table saw outside the office — it was a quite a go.” Plastic sheets curtained off the Documentary Organization’s office, and sawdust was flying as Sandy settled into his new desk.

C HA P T ER

building the community 66

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Are we expected to run this place as well?â&#x20AC;? jini stolk to Tonya Surman, asking about governance

he fledgling CSI needed organizations that were healthy

ately clicked with her,” Jini remembers of that meeting, “and that

enough to be responsible members — but after that it was

[CSI] would need to be professionally managed and facilitated…in

creating an exciting mix of people that was important. Among the organizations that moved in were not just arts-based groups like the Documentary Organization, and environmental groups such as the Sustainability Network and the Conservation Council, but humanitarian organizations like the Stephen Lewis Foundation (which developed so successfully that it eventually outgrew CSI space and moved into its own office down the street). Jini Stolk had just started the Creative Trust (a collaborative group whose membership includes dance, music, and theatre companies) when CSI was putting out feelers for members. “I had moved from my home to a desk in someone else’s office,” she says, when she heard about the new space. Pat Tobin put her in touch, and like Sandy at the Documentary Organisation of Canada, Jini came in for an information session and a tour. The meeting, she remembers, was held in CSI itself, which at the time was “absolutely raw, unfinished warehouse space.” Tonya’s presentation was “about a vision for a space where people from the various nonprofit sectors, and social enterprises, might share space and common activities.”

a friendly and enabling environment.” Tonya still recalls this exchange as well, calling it “the defining moment of our governance.” CSI would not be a co-op but a community, in which members could join in as little or as much as they individually wanted. CSI steered away from the co-op route in another respect: it was, from the outset, treated as and run like a customer service-oriented business. Not only were members free to partake in as little or as much of the social and organizational life of the Centre as they wished, they were freed from the routine daily duties that could hinder their efficiency and hamper their success. The Centre itself, rather than any members’ collective, assumed responsibility for basic office functions: it would take care of everything from copiers to cleaning, phone lines to parties. Yes, the members have to put away their own dishes and would be expected to take responsibility for their own messes, but the vast majority of mundane, time — and money — consuming details would be cleared off their desks. Crucially, this would allow CSI to afford its members the latitude and

Though this sounded great, says Jini, “I did have one question,

ability to enhance and program the space they shared, since mem-

which was: “‘I’m really busy running my own organization — are we

bers were freed of the need to expend energy on the space’s basic

expected to run this place as well?’” Worried about the “horrors

maintenance. Members would be encouraged to self-organize

of co-op or collective, which would have sent me over the edge of

things like a weekly Salad Club or the occasional meditation ses-

workload” Jini was essentially concerned that membership in CSI

sion.

would add a whole new layer of responsibility rather than alleviate pressure. This was also something Tonya and the other founders had been discussing — just what the respective roles of CSI and the member organizations should be. “Tonya said that this immedi-

The Centre would allow its members to focus on leading healthier lives and give them back many of their own internal resources, which they could put where they belonged — towards achieving their social missions. 69

Members would be encouraged to self-organize things like a weekly Salad Club or the occasional meditation session.

Staff and members brought vitality to the space every single day.

Of course, running a high quality customer service operation requires

Once the matters of organization and governance were settled Jini,

service providers: CSI needed staff. Annie Hillis was the Centre’s

like Sandy, not only signed up her organization with CSI, she joined

very first staff member, hired to assist in the implementation of the

its board of directors. The founders wanted to hear from members

space — everything from member recruitment to leasing photocopi-

and made a point of including member voices in the board. (These

ers. Annie helped with all the nitty-gritty details that are essential to

members joined the board as individuals rather than being nomi-

getting an organization up and running and took her leave when the

nated by their peers to officially represent the members as a whole.)

Centre opened; she was replaced by another key early staff mem-

Jini still smiles when remembering those first couple of months:

ber, Audrey Vince. Audrey implemented organizational systems and

“I loved having the new people move in — that was always really

helped the members troubleshoot any problems, creating a sense

fun… They had to be very flexible. If you were too buttoned up,

of order and security in the early days. And Audrey, a year or two

then this wasn’t the place for you.”

later, was replaced by Maria Pazo, whom members remember for her

vibrancy and energy — for epitomizing CSI’s sense of fun and community. “This place wasn’t run by the founders,” Tonya makes a point of saying, “it was run by the staff. They, along with the members, brought the vitality to the space every single day.”

The organizations which joined CSI in 2004 were of similar staff sizes and at similar stages of development, but had different experiences to share. And so, says Jini, “it was just easy to talk to people and ask questions and start having lunch together.” The members started to take a familial interest in each other’s work, she goes on: ”The mail would come and it would be just loaded with cheques for the Stephen Lewis Foundation…it was exciting.” 72

hough members began moving into CSI in June 2004 the space didn’t host its official launch party until October. Eli

Malinsky, an acquaintance of Tonya’s husband Mark, came by to check out the new space and reconnect with Mark, who he hadn’t seen in a while. He remembers being immediately impressed: “I came in and I looked around and I said ‘This is it... It’s a smart idea, it’s a necessary idea, it’s an idea that should have been done a long time ago.’” He was pursuing his Masters degree at the time, and not in the market for office space of his own, but CSI stuck in his memory. In the spring of 2005 CSI, wanting to develop its community and the relationships between its members further, put out a job posting for a Program Manager. At this point, Tonya freely admits, CSI hadn’t yet figured out — beyond establishing the physical space — how to bring about the bigger-picture goals of collaboration and innovation. The Centre hadn’t, in other words, landed on quite the right strategy for actualizing that part of its vision (“the methodology and the practice were virtually non-existent,” says Tonya), and the hope was that a new staff member might help with this.

Eli heard about the opening and asked Tonya to have lunch to discuss the position. After they met, he laughs, he “insisted on getting the job, basically.” He got it, too, and started in September 2005. When Eli joined the staff CSI had what he describes as a very friendly work environment, “friendlier than most,” in fact, “but looking back it wasn’t hyper-dynamic and any formal collaboration was more or less nonexistent.” Eli’s mission was to try and boost communal engagement within CSI, and his first attempt was to offer some programming around topics in which the members expressed interest. These, as it turns out, didn’t go all that well; though many of the members had any number of subjects about which they wanted to learn more, only a couple of them showed up for any particular event. Says Eli: “People want to learn what they want to learn when they need to learn it… Unless it’s really pressing for you you’re not going to try to accommodate it, so it’s mostly a matter of scheduling and juggling that amongst other priorities… They were interested and they were saying they were interested but it wasn’t as important as finishing the day-to-day tasks that they had to do.” What all of these early programming experience pointed to was that, while CSI had fulfilled its first appointed goal — to create a shared space that would lighten the load of its member organizations — there was still a lot of room to grow, and lots of untapped potential in terms of developing networks to connect those members. This prompted a seemingly small change of course, but one that would prove profoundly significant, towards what CSI calls “community animation.”

Animation, as opposed to programming, is all about enabling community rather than directly trying to create it.

Animation, as opposed to programming, is all about enabling community rather than directly trying to create it: it’s a philosophy of supporting and fostering an environment in which collaboration emerges naturally rather than intervening to try to instigate collaboration by sheer force of will.

In short, CSI shifted gears and decided to focus on creating the conditions for innovation — to provide the atmosphere and the infrastructure and the opportunity — and let member organizations take it from there. Rather than working directly to form new relationships between members the Centre decided it would act as a facilitator, clearing logistical questions (like those pesky phones and fax machines and internet connections) off small organizations’ desks, thereby freeing them up to pursue their goals as creatively as possible. Animation, explains Eli, “is the idea that we are curators of an environment — a physical environment, a social environment, a psychological environment — and that the magic is taking serious your responsibility to curate those three things.” The goal is to “spark

“Animators are the people who build the culture,” adds Tonya, “and the culture is the point.”

instigation” among CSI members rather than for CSI to be that instigating force itself.

C HA P T ER

learnings 80

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why write a plan when you should just open the doors?â&#x20AC;? mary rowe, exuding entrepreneurial confidence Mary Rown urging Tonya Surman

ne of the catchwords at CSI is “learnings.” Like all sensible

consultant does, a consultant writes a plan — said ‘well, who are

people, its staff and members knew from the beginning that

you selling what to, and why in God’s name would you write a plan

there would be some unexpected realizations along the way, and also some false starts, and that paying attention to these and integrating the insights garnered along the way would be essential to CSI’s continual growth and development.

when you should just open the doors?’. She was right.” The process of canvassing for and selecting members was also a very valuable learning opportunity. “First contact matters,” Tonya points out, “that was one of the most important learnings. How you

In fact, the learnings go back to before CSI even opened its doors.

define a culture happens in the first moment of contact.” Related to

Mary Rowe, reflecting on CSI’s establishment, says: “I remember

that is the significance of what might be called mythology: the way

Jane Jacobs saying that you can accomplish anything if you don’t

in which an organization figures in the minds of its founders, mem-

care who gets the credit…and I think that’s really critical here.” She,

bers, and the surrounding neighbourhood, communities, and city

and many others involved in founding the Centre, are convinced

in which it is embedded. “The story of the beginning is the story

that without this collaborative approach, in which the core group

you will tell for years to come,” Tonya goes on to say.

avoided ego-driven battles, didn’t pursue media attention, and didn’t compete for rank in CSI’s hierarchy, not only typifies CSI but is essential to its having gotten off the ground.

And once the doors were open, the learnings continued in earnest. Eli Malinsky, reflecting on CSI’s initial programming, says that several key insights emerged from those early efforts. One was that

Mary herself is responsible for one of the most important learn-

“given our small numbers, what we had to do was open up learn-

ings of all — one which is built into the very DNA of CSI. “She was

ing opportunities beyond the doors of CSI — we couldn’t expect

the complexity guru,” Tonya emphasizes, “she was the one who

fourteen members to pack the room.” This pointed to and rein-

planted the seeds of complexity theory from the get-go. She was

forced CSI’s ambitions to both expand its membership and physical

amazing.”

space, as well as to have some greater interaction between CSI

She was also, by all accounts, the no-nonsense voice who could cut through organizational Gordian knots fearlessly. One of the key learnings at CSI, after all, is that traditional models for organizing work needn’t necessarily be followed: that collaboration rather than hierarchy, flow rather than regimentation, can be both more effective and provide a healthier working life. Tonya goes on: “[Mary]’s the person who, when I walked in and I said, in one of our meetings, ‘should we do a business plan?’ — thinking that that’s what a

members and the social mission sector at large. And the other, as we’ve already seen, is that you can’t force people into community, much less do so on a schedule. Providing avenues by which people can start talking to one another — be it via an informal and spontaneous lunch gathering or an internal listserv on which members can ask each other for advice or put out calls for bits of work that other member organizations might be able to do — is far more congenial, and far more effective, than relying on a steady stream of workshops to build community.

Jini Stolk highlights the significance of these informal means of

that laying the groundwork for collaboration, innovation, and sys-

communication, and the kind of learning-by-osmosis which started

temic change was far more effective than trying to create it via

happening once the members had spent a bit of time together

direct intervention.

in the space: “For me personally and for our members it’s been I think a real benefit — an unexpected benefit — to be able to see my organization…in the context of the nonprofit world and of the social innovation and social change world. [Before moving in] it was relatively easy to avoid having a lot of interaction with people in other sectors — your sense of yourself in relation to the landscape at large was really hard to see. It’s helped me to verbalize and analyze things that I had not really thought much about before but just accepted.”

Creating a shared space to foster a community of social mission organizations was all well and good in theory, but what would it look like in practice? One day, several years after the Centre opened, Tonya and Eric sat down to try and refine and condense this learning into a readily comprehensible form. “Tonya and I literally did this on a napkin in [local bistro] Peter Pan,” Eric recalls. On the napkin in question was

There have been, fortunately, relatively few challenges from CSI’s

a diagram in the shape of a pyramid. The CSI pyramid has three

point of view in terms of managing its members. Eli says, grate-

levels, with space at the base, community above it, and innovation

fully, that the “CSI is blessed with the least imaginable amount of

at the peak. What this pyramid captured was that shared space

office politics. I don’t know how it happens. All things considered

is the essential foundation for building community, and commu-

we spend relatively little of our time dealing with emotional and

nity the foundation for creating innovation. The CSI is the pyramid

interpersonal problems. We deal with them, but given the nature

as a whole: not aiming at innovation itself, but a holistic ecosys-

of this it’s shocking how little.” The snags that do arise tend to be

tem in which innovation was supported and from which it naturally

practical rather than cultural or interpersonal, and thus, while some-

emerged.

times difficult, have clear solutions.

Tonya and Eric called this CSI’s Theory of Change, and though

hen CSI was founded there were, as there are in any new

seemingly simple, it represented the distillation of four years’ worth

venture, lots of questions to which the founders had no

of experience, experimentation, successes and failures, and con-

easy answers. Perhaps the most significant, says Eric, was that “we

tinual fine-tuning.

didn’t know going into this was the level of interaction that could be expected from the members.” As Eli points out, some of the earlier thoughts on how to make this happen didn’t entirely pan out, but over time a consensus emerged

C HA P T ER

scaling 86

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We needed to become something more.â&#x20AC;? Eli Malinsky musing on the expansion

he Centre for Social Innovation has been a restless organization from the outset. Though it started in a relatively small

space, some of the founders hoped from the beginning that it would soon outgrow those five or six thousand square feet, both literally and metaphorically, and take on new members and new projects. More importantly, it became clear that growth was a business imperative. Scaling up was necessary if CSI was to generate enough income to be self-sustaining: at full capacity the Centre was only bringing in about 60% of the revenue it needed. By 2006, says Eli, “we knew we wanted to expand. We had a waiting list of forty organizations, and we knew that in order for us to achieve our vision — which was being much more than shared space to fourteen organizations — we needed to become something more.”And, when the time came, the perfect opportunity presented itself. CSI considered buying or leasing a building externally, and began looking at some candidate spaces. Almost immediately they ran up against the problem any relatively new venture does: though appealing, these real estate opportunities would be challenging for an organization that didn’t have much by way of an accumulated surplus. Right as they were wrestling with this question, says Eli, “we received word that the fourth floor [of the Robertson Building; CSI was located on the ground floor] had opened up, and it was just fortuitous magical timing.” Much bigger than the first floor space CSI already inhabited, taking over that new terrain gave CSI the opportunity to really come into its own. Once again, Urbanspace

Eli, the detailed-oriented pragmatist of CSI family (Tonya, by contrast, is its fearless visionary), explains the expansion in the matter-of-fact terms anyone running an enterprise needs to respect: “I think it was clear that there was more market demand than we could satisfy, and so just like in a typical entrepreneurial business case you’ve got to be a complete idiot if the market’s asking you for something that’s going to be profitable and you’re not finding a way to respond.”

stepped up to underwrite the entire build-out to CSI’s specifica-

That wasn’t, however, the only reason to grow. The other “was a

tions.

sense that whatever collaboration and dynamism we had with fourteen would be multiplied and magnified with more.”

The fourth floor space gave CSI the chance to offer not just more

very fluid way, with lots of programming and excitement, and lots

but more kinds of workspaces: in addition to full-sized offices there

of energy and public-ness about all of it.”

were spaces for permanent desks, including lockable storage, that were ideally suited for one- or two-person organizations. There was also — and this became key to the development of the atmosphere and culture of the fourth floor — an area set aside for a robust “Hot Desk” program, in which individuals can buy access to workspace for a set number of hours per month. And the heart of the fourth floor is the huge, open-concept reception, lounge, and kitchen area which hums with activity at pretty much any hour of the day. In fact, CSI’s Noise Policy describes it as “ the place to talk, laugh, meet, connect, ramble, introduce, hula hoop, party and engage.” (Yes, there actually is a hula hoop hanging there, ready for anyone to use.)

and the fourth floor the teenager of the CSI community. “Teenagers” isn’t meant pejoratively here: it’s rather a way of capturing the fourth floor’s tendency to attract more of the brash experimentalists, the ones willing to throw something at the wall and see if it sticks. It’s louder and more rambunctious. The first floor, by contrast, is calmer, and its members more tightly-knit. The pace is slower and the atmosphere more placid. As Tonya puts it: “There’s a steadiness that exists down here [on the first floor]. Upstairs there’s a diversity and a vibrancy and a life, but a lack of stability. Way more emerging [organizations] upstairs, way more transition, way more noise — but life.”

within four months. It became clear soon after that CSI was not

Because it contained organizations that were, as a rule, smaller and less established than those on the first floor, and because a significant percentage of the members were Hot Desk members who came and went according to the demands of their schedules, the fourth floor was from its beginning a much more fluid and fastpaced environment than the first. Founding first floor member Jini Stolk puts it this way: “I kind of tend to think of the fourth floor as the kids…there seems to be just a lot of wacky, slightly untamed energy up there — it just seemed to me to be a bit more like the Wild West.” Eli Malinsky echoes this sentiment, though in slightly different terms: “The fourth floor is a dynamic community of a wide variety of people and sectors coming in and out of the space in a

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

between the two floors is that the first floor is like the grown-up

The fourth floor opened in March 2007 and reached full occupancy just expanding its physical footprint — its culture was evolving too.

Download our noise policies:

The way that many members describe the cultural differences

he opening of the fourth floor ushered in another major shift: with so much more physical space, and so many more mem-

bers, it became clear that one support staff person wasn’t going to be enough. The increased revenue brought in by the additional rental space was enough to cover the cost of some additional staff members, and gradually, over the next couple of years, the Centre hired several community animators. Each community animator had specific areas of activity (communications, administration, etc.), but all were responsible for enlivening and activating the space. It can sound kind of ephemeral, but it’s really rather simple when you put it in concrete terms — and, fortunately, one of CSI’s animators has done just that. Yumi Hotta has been an animator based on the fourth floor of CSI for quite some time now, and she recently described that experience in Rabble.ca, a Canadian online magazine:

Community can’t be reduced to a formula, but if it could it would look something like what she’s describing. Or perhaps like someAs a Community Animator, I work with hundreds of members every day. They are activists, artists, social entrepreneur s and nonprofits. And very few of them know what I actually do. I think most people see me as a regular office manager or receptionist. Not completely unjustifie d, as a good portion of my job goes to fixing everything from grumpy printers to scra ped up biking knees to clogged toilets. But here’s the kicker -- that’s just part of my job. There’s more, it’s just harder to see.

thing Mike Brcic describes when he explains why, after a life of

So what’s the more that makes me a

itating

and five permanent desks. Plus, of course, the essential ingredi-

community. The daily tasks (the printer, the

an open-concept kitchen, lots of natural light, and an aesthetically

Community Animator? The more is facil

the space to create and expand a strong toilet, the knees) are really a way for the

Community Animator to have conversa

tions

with community members. And the real magic is in the conversations themselve s. These unstructured, day-to-day inter actions allow me to gather informat ion to connect people, create events & program s to engage the community, and maintain an incredible workplace experience for ever yone. I’ve connected people to everything from volunteers to graphic designers to gran t databases; we’ve had events & program s on everything from conversations on the impact of current politics on social inno vation to yoga to accounting for self-emp loyed persons.

choosing not to work in offices, he made an exception to take a position at CSI: “The main thing for me was being involved in a community of people who share similar values, who are inspiring and inspire me and inspire each other.”

further sub-group within CSI was created in the summer of 2009, when the Centre opened a third space in the Robert-

son Building. The 3,000 square foot area (referred to by its location in the building, Suite 160) has nine offices, two meeting rooms, ents for a vital and happy group of members: a common space, appealing design. The majority of the members in Suite 160 have relocated from CSI’s fourth floor, and are now occupying offices that are bigger and quieter than the spaces they had there. Colleen Diamond, Executive Assistant and Project Coordinator at CSI, was given the fun, and the responsibility, of managing the renovation of Suite 160 in preparation for its new members — a sign of just how much trust the founders now put in the Centre’s staff. Interestingly, the opening of Suite 160 has helped change the dynamic of CSI as a whole, and recalibrated the relationship between the floors. “Now that we’ve got this new space on the first floor, there’s this new energy [in the original first floor space],” says Tonya gladly, a kind of redistribution of collective engagement across the spaces.

C HA P T ER

the hidden depths 94

â&#x20AC;&#x153;These projects, by nature, work under the surface.â&#x20AC;? A familiar refrain from the STAFF and FOunders

hough CSI is thought of first and foremost as a physical site,

CSI’s distinctive kind of incubation is perhaps best thought of as

the Centre does not just create an environment in which orga-

something like venture capitalism for social change: the Centre

nizations can flourish. It spends a considerable amount of its time,

tends to play a more active role than a typical incubator. It sits on

energy, and resources on trying to better understand the principles

projects’ advisory committees, provides management oversight,

it exemplifies in the physical space—like collaboration, network-

leverages its networks and relationships, and ultimately brings

building, systems change—and putting this understanding to work

whatever it can to the table to ensure success. And it’s working.

in helping to get some new projects off the ground.

The incubated projects have attracted constituencies, funding, and

Since its very inception people have often described CSI as an incubator, but in its earliest days this wasn’t actually the case. After a

momentum, and CSI has already seen a number of these initiatives leave the nest—a sure sign of success.

little while though, the Centre decided to take this felt sense of

The Centre also has a natural attraction to policy advocacy, due to

nurturing to heart and begin experimenting, to see what an incuba-

its essentially systems-changing nature. Through Tonya’s consult-

tor for social change might really look like. Its first experiment was

ing, CSI led a multi-stakeholder policy consultation on toxics and

to support the work of green entrepreneur Chris Lowry by fostering

children’s health in 2007, one which ultimately helped produce a

the creation of Green Enterprise Toronto (GET), an initiative that

ban on Bisphenol A in baby bottles in Canada, triggering a market

helps strengthen the community of sustainably-minded indepen-

transformation. Meanwhile, CSI’s work on the Social Entrepreneur-

dent businesses and customers in Toronto. Playing things by ear

ship Summits of 2007 and 2008, and on the Social Enterprise Coun-

and learning as it went, CSI offered GET trusteeship, bookkeeping

cil of Canada, has been instrumental in building a movement of

services, coaching, and management support. Once GET was up,

practitioners and decision-makers who are beginning to create the

running, and on stable footing, CSI repeated the success, work-

conditions that will enable social enterprise to thrive.

technological assistance to nonprofit organizations), Frontline Partners with Youth Network (which connects frontline youth workers so that they can support and learn from one another), and the Ontario Nonprofit Network (which facilitates the sharing of knowledge and development of coordinated policy initiatives amongst nonprofits in all sectors across Ontario).

Networks are increasingly prevalent in the social change sector. Many of us have invested time and resources in network development on the assumption that networks are important vehicles to advance our goals. But how do we know if our networks are really working? And what can we do to improve their performance?

Since one of the defining and distinctive characteristics of CSI is the way in which it fosters networks and collaboration, these sub-

In 2007 and 2008, the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation and the Centre for Social Innovation convened a diverse group of social change practitioners for a series of meetings on network evaluation. Together, we explored the unique character of networks and developed a Framework for evaluating their health and impact. This book contains the results of our exploration.

jects have been central to its research and theoretical work as well. The Centre has explored questions around the impact of networks

The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation was created by an Act of Parliament in 1998 with a 10-year mandate (2000-2010) to improve access to post-secondary education and recognize exceptional merit, as defined by academic excellence and community leadership. In this time, the Foundation disbursed more than $3.2 billion to students across Canada.

with a year-long Think Tank on network evaluation, releasing a

book entitled Network Evaluation: Cultivating Healthy Networks

The Centre for Social Innovation catalyzes and supports social innovation in Toronto and around the world. We create community workspaces, incubate emerging enterprises, and develop new models and methods with world-changing potential. For more information visit: www.socialinnovation.ca

for Social Change. It has also been a leader in investigating how

In all cases, these projects met the Centre’s increasingly strict incu-

open source thinking is changing our landscape with its pivotal

bation criteria: they are based on networks, focussed on systems

“Open Everything” event in 2006, which was later replicated in a

change, and embody an entrepreneurial, bootstrapping spirit.

half-dozen places from Singapore to Berlin. And then, a little closer

ISBN 978-0-9865436-0-9

90000

9 780986 543609

NETWORK EVALUATION: cULTIVATINg hEALThy NETWORKs fOR sOcIAL chANgE

ing to help build projects like TechSoup Canada (which provides

NETWORK EVALUATION cULTIVATINg hEALThy NETWORKs fOR sOcIAL chANgE

the centre & canada millennium for social scholarship innovation foundation

to home, CSI co-hosted “Sharing for Social Change” in 2007, con-

projects, and methodologies from the ones that are merely good in

vening 230 practitioners to explore how collaboration might build

theory. Because in the end, it’s the practice of social innovation that

more resilient social mission groups.

makes a difference – and it’s the practice of social innovation that CSI

More recently, CSI has found itself playing a leadership role in convincing funders and policy makers to see the potential of social enterprise with its replication of the highly successful Enterprising Nonprofits (ENP) program. Based in Vancouver, the original ENP supports the ongoing growth and success of selected nonprofits by providing them with grants to help underwrite their business development. CSI brought this innovative micro-granting program to Toronto, and convened twelve funders to support social enterprise in Toronto. Crucially, ENP doesn’t just hand over a cheque and leave nonprofits to their own devices: it offers skills training, programming, and networking opportunities to help the nonprofits along the way, and screens applicants thoroughly to ensure they have the best possible chance of success. Like its incubation activities, all these initiatives hold a few things in common: they all rely on networks, work across sectors, and demonstrate entrepreneurship in action. These projects are at once integral to CSI and incredibly easy for the casual observer to miss. They are integral because they exemplify the spirit with which the Centre was created, and are instances of its social innovation principles in action. But if you don’t have reason to be directly engaged in one of them you might never know they were there. CSI is continually refining its social innovation programming and clarifying its social innovation work. It has made the most of opportunities as they presented themselves, experimented, and tried things out along the way to separate the truly effective ideas, tools, 98

is dedicating itself to.

All these initiatives hold a few things in common: they all rely on networks, work across sectors, and demonstrate entrepreneurship in action. 99

C HA P T ER

what’s next 100

“Our calling is pulling us into the broader community.” Eli Malinsky sees a need for CSI to extend its reach

hough CSI, like all healthy organizations, is continually honing

But once again, CSI proved its mettle. Within four short months, the

its practices and fine-tuning its operations, it is also looking

Centre for Social Innovation secured a City of Toronto Loan guaran-

into the future. By its nature an organization that embraces uncer-

tee, a mortgage for 75% of the building’s projected value, and $1.7

tainty and emergence, there is never perfect clarity about what the

million in private debt financing. On May 18, 2010, the Centre for

coming years will bring. But CSI also knows when a framework or

Social Innovation took possession of its newest project: the Centre

plan has landed. And recently, a new framework for understanding

for Social Innovation Annex.

the Centre’s trajectory has landed.

The first aspect of growth for CSI is physical and locally rooted: the creation of more shared spaces for social innovation in Toronto.

Tonya Surman board@socialinnovation.ca; staff@socialinnovation.ca

“We’ve really always prided ourselves on this idea of local knowledge and the importance of understanding context—we’ve always rejected the idea of franchising,” explains Eli. CSI knows Toronto,

We are now the proud owners of 720 Bathurst St.

and knows that the city isn’t satiated—there is a great deal of pentup demand for shared workspace in the social mission sector. CSI has had a members’ waiting list for as long as it has existed, a waiting list that now numbers several dozen organizations. What was at one time a vague intention became suddenly clear in December 2009 as CSI came face to face with an opportunity to purchase a building in the Annex neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. Having explored the market and rejected a few potential spaces, it became clear that 720 Bathurst Street had all of the ingredients for success: size, character, condition and location. The next

This morning we removed the conditions on the building and handed over the non-refundable deposit of $150,000... Closing date will be May 18th. Brian, Alex, Dean, Janna, Karine — a special thank you... There will be champagne here at CSI at 4:30 today if you can join us... This is me screaming a giant OH MY GOD!!!!!! Tonya

part – the hard part – would be structuring and closing a deal on a super tight timeframe.

102

103

sions: working internationally to advance the field of shared spaces to support social innovation. Of course, this very book is a step in that direction. CSI would like to support a global community of

“How can we improve the operations and impact of our spaces?”

shared space practitioners, allowing each one to share its learnings, tools, knowledge, and strategy, and stimulating the overall development of the sector. A related goal is to network shared spaces, building connections between them that will eventually lead to the development of shared tools and the free flow of ideas and services that are changing the world.

shared space

And this segues nicely into the second area of growth CSI envi-

“How can we bring more members into our community?”

“How can spaces benefit from working together on shared tools and knowledge?”

The third major area of growth involves a deepening of the understanding and practice of social innovation. Resting on the knowledge that local, contextualized knowledge is essential, CSI will focus on social innovations that are possible and needed at home. “We are focusing on prototyping new methods and models that

“What would a global community of shared spaces focused social innovation look like?”

local

international

are achieving real impact in the world” says Tonya, “and we want to start right here at home.” In Toronto, there is an increasing focus among urban leaders on civic entrepreneurship and on the ways in which citizens can actively co-create solutions to the myriad challenges facing our city. “This appetite for change speaks volumes about how we can work solution. We just need to find a way to leverage their passion.” And so, CSI is shifting from developing the conditions for change to actually going out into the world and creating change using the tools of innovation and collaboration to tackle real-world problems. “How can we become more intentional about fostering social innovation in our communities?” asks Tonya. “What will it take to gener-

104

“How can we share our models and methods for social change?” “How can we create a city which creates the conditions for social innovation emergence?”

social innovation

together to fix our future. People are hungry to be a part of the

“How can we be more intentional in fostering social innovation in Toronto?”

“Who would benefit from a global platfor m for local action?”

Quadrant 3: Local social innovation

ate and apply the new ideas that will break the log-jam and achieve systems change? The dream is to build a series of innovation labs within CSI in which citizens and organizations can proactively collaborate, innovate and create models that will change the world. “We’ll also be reflecting on and sharing the results of our experience globally,” explains Eli, with the aim of “creating an international dialogue around social innovation.” In partnership with colleagues around the world CSI will work toward a global platform that empowers local action through an international lens. CSI is also beginning to release a series of publications that share its own models and methods with an international audience. After six years of working at a local level, it’s now time to reveal its learn-

All in all, it’s a full slate for a growing organization that’s fostering social change… and having some fun along the way.

ings to the broader social innovation community; a coming out party for all of the Centre’s great work. All in all, it’s a full slate for a growing organization that’s fostering social change…and having some fun along the way.

106

107

Epilogue 108

The common area on the fourth floor is crowded, and the crowd is feeling rambunctious. Cheering, shouting, whoops from every corner. And in the very centre of the room: a battle of wills. Two contestants are waging battle, each with a steely gleam of determination in their eyes.

110

The stakes? Honour, glory, and bragging rights for the next year. 111

Welcome to CSI’s annual Cookies and Cocktails Smackdown. Every December, just before the winter holidays, CSI throws a fabulous bash. Along with providing the usual holiday party entertainment (grateful speeches, snacks, and the entertaining antics of mildly tipsy colleagues), this party offers a special treat: finely honed, carefully mixed cocktails, and an array of artfully crafted, homebaked cookies. It’s a friendly rivalry writ large, an annual tradition that CSI members wouldn’t dare miss.

112

113

Tonya explains:

For four years running now we have been holding the Cookies and Cocktails Smackdown. Now, the Cookies and Cocktails Smackdown is a holiday celebration which is an excuse to get everyone to bring out their best drinks and baked goods and compete with one another. We collaborate all year round and it’s time to just hammer each other and compete.

114

“We collaborate all year round and it’s time to just hammer each other and compete.”

115

More whoops. A winner has been declared!

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all in good fun, of course, and it gives CSI members and staff an opportunity to revel in each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successes.

116

Just another day in the life of CSI.

117

Strategy & Research Communications

THE MOVEMENT

Interactive Platforms

This book was designed by The Movement, as part of our effort to work with people and groups who are doing better. Working with social entrepreneurs and innovators, we use the power of design thinking & doing to give form to complex ideas. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a network of committed people ready to tackle complex problems, and a studio dedicated to delivering results. We work openly with groups, on challenges that matter.

info@themovement.info

RIGOUR How to Create World-Changing Spaces

For additional copies of this publication, please visit: http://stores.lulu.com/socialinnovation For more information contact: sssi@socialinnovation.ca http://socialinnovation.ca you are free

to Share â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to copy, distribute and transmit the work to Remix â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to adapt the work under the following condiitons

90000

9 780986 543630

RIGOUR How to Create World-Changing Spaces

the Centre for Social innovation catalyzes and supports social innovation in toronto and around the world. we create community workspaces, incubate emerging enterprises, and develop new models and methods with world-changing potential.

{

WANT TO HELP?

fORewORd

...So we created this series. Shared Spaces for Social Innovation is about sharing our story and empowering others to learn from our experience. The Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) has always been open with its model. We’ve long preached the benefits of shared spaces and we’ve been doing our best to encourage as many new spaces as possible. We figured that the best way to open our model – to reveal everything we’ve learned in hopes of supporting the emergence of new and better spaces – was to document what we’ve done and make it available to anyone who was interested. It has taken a fair amount of courage for us to let it all hang out and give it all away! Many people advised us that we should be franchising, licensing, and holding our knowledge close to our chests. But this went against our values. Instead, we are putting this whole series into the creative commons for others to benefit from and contribute to. We believe that good ideas scale when they are open. We also believe that ideas get better when we share. We look forward to working with you on this journey to create and grow new strategies for social innovation.

The Shared Spaces for Social Innovation Series is made up of three books: emergence: the Story of the Centre for Social innovation. In this book we weave a narrative around our genesis and development. Starting back when the Centre was just a glimmer in the eyes of a few social entrepreneurs, Emergence follows our growth from concept to operation to scale. rigour: How to Create world-Changing Shared Spaces. This book is a manual for those planning or operating a shared space. It reveals the accumulated knowledge of six years of experience and offers a ton of tips, lessons and tools for developing a strong organization and vibrant community. proof: How Shared Spaces are Changing the world. This report shares our most recent research on the impact of the Centre for Social Innovation in order to demonstrate just what shared spaces for social innovation can accomplish. Each book can be read on its own. Together they provide a comprehensive picture of the Centre for Social Innovation.

Looking to build or grow your own shared space for social innovation? CSI offers tailored consulting, training, and speaking services to help you with challenges from start-up to scale. Get in touch by sending a note to sssi@socialinnovation.ca.

a worK in progreSS

open SourCing our model

Access new releases and supporting materials.

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

But sharing is a two-way street. Actually, it’s more like a highway interchange!

Identify yourself as part of this growing community.

Download all of our templates and tools.

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

Now let’s change the world together!

Tonya Surman eXeCutiVe direCtor

Table of contents forew0rd 6

context context

defining the model

creating the space

business basics

roles and responsibilities

shared services

member relations

community animation

branding ______

beyond shared space

conclusion

106

114

120

126

C H APTER

context

Creating the spaces where change happens

context

a shared spaCes glossary

SI co-location refers to spaces that are shared among a number of separate organizations. Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Centers are types of co-location spaces that focus on the nonprofit sector.

coworking refers to the sharing of workspace among freelancers and other independent workers. Coworking spaces provide workspace and community to people who are often working on their own.

community hubs are shared spaces that provide direct services to the geographic community in which they are situated. Community Hubs colocate service providers that offer a range of supports such as language instruction, job training, after school programs and drop-in groups.

hot desks are temporary, shared incubators provide programmatic, workspaces that are typically found strategic, administrative and/or fiin coworking spaces. nancial support to small projects and organizations.

social innovation refers to new ideas that resolve social, cultural, economic and environmental challenges for the benefit of people and planet. Even more simply, a social innovation is an idea that works for the public good.

Alongside new technologies has been the rise of ‘independents’ who work with several clients but who are not bound by the restrictions of any one physical space.

context

For-profit and nonprofit strategies are blending together. Shared spaces – and frequently their members – are examples of how mission-based and marketbased approaches can coincide.

why are shared There is increasing recognition that the problems we face are too complex to be addressed by any single player. Shared spaces connect diverse organizations and individuals, giving them the chance to collaborate, share knowledge and develop systemic solutions to the issues they are trying to address.

Real estate prices are soaring worldwide, making it increasingly difficult for small groups and individuals to find affordable workspace.

spaCes emerging? The pendulum is swinging from global back to local. While the 90’s promised ‘virtual work’, the new millennium is reinforcing the importance of space.

The incentives for cost sharing have been growing. Nonprofits and charities are enduring ongoing cutbacks in administrative budgets while facing increasing demands from communities and individuals.

context

our theory of Change

The physical space sets the conditions for community. community develops as people start to feel comfortable in a space, are happy to spend time in it, and develop relationships with other members doing the same. A kitchen, for instance, isn’t just a place to eat; it can also allow for shared meals and impromptu gatherings, and those, in turn, are the basis of the relationships which lead to a real sense of kinship among the members. With some delicate animation, the bonds of community are forged and strengthened, building social capital and a network of relationships.

context

Sierra Health Nonprofit Innovation Center in the Sacramento area (sierrahealth.org)

a three-pronged movement

The Hub, a coworking space, also applies a social change lens to their work (the-hub.net)

National Community Development Institute builds capacity for social change in communities (ncdinet.org)

context a SoCial CHange lenS

a foCuS on Small

the Csi twist

5 [D] * A

context

Arts

39 39

Social Justice

Capacity Builder

Technology

Community Economic Development

Social Services

Other

Law / Advocacy / Politics

Health & Disability

Public Space

l Form

porat

member snapshot

Professional% Association Recreation

ed Fo

porat

r-Prof

10 8

ed N

on-Pr ofit

Unico

rpora

Regis

tered

Char

ity

Know

Incorporated for-profit and incorporated nonprofits are equally represented among our members, at 23% each. 25% of members are registered charities, and 24% are unincorporated.

25 6

r he 10%

ke Bi 37

Wa lk

We are a community of the small but mighty: 94% of CSI members have three or fewer full-time equivalent staff.

Getting Here 4%

Don't

ted

52% of members describe themselves as working on the environment, 39% in culture, 31% in social justice, and 25% in technology (respondents were allowed to select multiple sectors).

Incor

% 52

Culture

Lega Incor

Sector Environment

riv

Tra

Two-thirds of members are under the age of 40, doing their best to keep the other third feeling young! Thirtyseven percent of members bicycle to work every day (fewer in Toronto winters!).

Download the survey and a report of the results: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

C H APTER

defining the model

theories and missions are great, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the business model that determines viability.

defining the model The Third Party Operator

Most opportunities to share space are among a small number of organizations who band together to create a shared space, or when a single organization suddenly finds itself with more space than required and must consider inviting a new organization in as a way to collaborate or save money. These models can and do work. But our finding is that the most successful models have an independent, third-party operator whose sole mission is to manage and develop the shared space. Successful operation of a shared space requires dedicated attention and expertise.

our basic business model

At its most basic, we are a landlord. We rent space from a building owner and sublet it to other organizations and individuals. We add a layer of shared services to alleviate the administrative burden that many of these small groups experience. We charge a premium on the space that is sufficient to cover our operating (primarily staff) costs.

In some cases, this simply isn’t an option. We therefore suggest that in cases where several organizations are coming together to create a shared space, you create a separate committee of representatives whose responsibility is to manage the space. Resources must be allocated, and roles and responsibilities defined, if you want a successful relationship. In cases where you are an organization with excess space – or when you have been invited to join an existing space that was not originally created as a shared space – make sure you spend time on courtship… and a strong pre-nuptial! You should have a shared clear sense of responsibilities, expectations, and financial obligations.

Tip:

Scale Matters

The Centre for Social Innovation operated for three years in 5,000 square feet. But the truth is that we would never have been selfsustaining at that rate – the margins simply weren’t sufficient and we had to bring in additional revenue through consulting, grants, and other activities. It was only when we scaled to 19,000 sq ft that we could approach and achieve self-sustainability; finally, our space was big enough that our margin could cover our operating costs. That’s not to say that you can’t make it work on 5,000 ft, but you need to carefully estimate potential revenue and expenses. Our experience tells us that small spaces only succeed with Hot Desks, which have the highest possible margins (and risk); office space provision requires an overall larger footprint.

add a layer oF ShareD ServiceS

sublet to individuals & organizations

rent space from landlord

defining the model Governance & Incorporation

The Centre for Social Innovation is a nonprofit organization governed by a voluntary board of directors. Our board includes a mix of nonprofit sector leaders, private sector representatives, a lawyer, an academic, a CSI member and former member, and the landlord of the building. Shared spaces can be successfully run as charities, nonprofits or for-profits. The choice is really up to you. Consider carefully the relative advantages and disadvantages. A nonprofit is perceived as part of the sector; simply being a nonprofit can carry you a far way in reputation and trust. On the other hand, a for-profit generally has a bit more freedom in its activities, greater opportunities to generate financing, and strong ability to respond quickly without navigating a board of directors. Ultimately, the question may come down to resources. If you intend to rely in part on grants, donations and volunteers, then you must incorporate as a nonprofit. If however, you seek loans through debt or equity, then you may elect to become a for-profit. It is important to consider the relative advantages and disadvantages when wrestling with this decision. If you do decide to become a nonprofit, your own board should reflect the realities of operating a share space. Consider finding board members or advisors who occupy some of the following occupations: architect, developer, lawyer, city councillor, member, voluntary sector leader, and business leader. However, what is more important than who is on your board is how you decide to operate. In our case, we prioritized board members and a board culture that was entrepreneurial, nimble, and strategic, rather than mired in day-to-day administration. Spend time developing a shared vision and acclimatizing new members to that vision.

No matter how you are incorporated, you need to operate like a business with a fundamental commitment to your customers.

No Loa Inter est n

defining the model structuring the deal: Buying, Leasing, & Financing

Will you buy? Or will you rent? Who are your investors? What will you offer them?

• leasehold improvements

• the costs of rent during the build-out • estimated vacancy rate before full occupancy

Patient Capital Loan

31%

• capital infrastructure investments

Expansion Capital

32%

These are questions that you must carefully consider. The Centre for Social Innovation, without any pre-existing assets and no major investor backing, became a tenant in an existing building rather than purchase its own space. But that certainly doesn’t mean that there are no expenses to incur! Consider:

Sponsorship

• a million little things from forks to flipcharts! Ownership has the advantages of greater control and equity. Tenancy has a lower bar of entry and does not require the property management expertise of building ownership.

32%

Download samples of our fundraising & investor materials: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

Now that CSI has built its reputation and relationships over six years, we have positioned ourselves to purchase our own space. On May 18, 2010 we assumed posession of a 36,000 square foot building in downtown Toronto–a major milestone in our growth. We purchased the new building through a combination of a traditional mortgage, private debt financing, and community bonds.

n Gra

Raising funds for your shared space is a challenging task. You must cultivate relationships with funders, corporate sponsors and other private investors who see value in your project. In our case, we had an angel investor who offered a significant loan and a donation to get the space up and running. When it came to our expansion, we secured a combination of a no-interest loan, an interest bearing loan, a capital grant and a sponsorship deal. (See Emergence: The Story of the Centre for Social Innovation for more.) Sources of Funding for the 2007 Expansion

We had a budget of approximately $300,000 for our expansion into an additional 14,000 square feet that would ultimately support 150 members. $100,00 to leasehold improvements, $100,000 to technical systems and equipment (internet, VoIP, A/V), $100,000 to furniture and furnishings (including desks, reception area, meeting rooms, and kitchen)

defining the model

Raising Money

You may have more than you think! What are the assets of your shared space? Does it provide any sponsorship opportunities? We decided to sell naming rights to one of our boardrooms to a co-operative bank (Alterna Savings). This created a true win-win scenario. We secured important core revenue and entered into a relationship with an organization we trusted and with whom we were proud to associate. Alterna Savings gained incredible exposure to thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations in their target market. Create the investment documents and sponsorship packages that will convince funders and financers to support your project and collaborate on your vision.

Download the investor/ donation packages that we shopped around during our expansion: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

defining the model

We have seen several variations on the Hot Desk model. In some cases, the desks will be split by two individuals. In others, the desks are sold by the number days they will be used in a month. In others, you are simply granted access to the workspace and there is no specific amount of time you are entitled to. In other words: you need to create the packages and protocols that work best for your mission, space and bottom line.

workspace options

All private office and permanent desk members are on a 12-month lease. Hot Desk members are on a 6-month lease. We do have a clause that allows them to break their lease with 60 days notice, which isn’t always necessary, but which gives uncertain members some assurance and creates a strong sense of comfort and appreciation. The entire space is accessible 24 hours a day but requires an access key outside of regular business hours. Our mix of workspace options is unique to the Centre for Social Innovation. It is based on our belief that different people and projects have different workspace needs. This model accommodates a variety of different groups. It also helps ensure a diversity of organizational types. Our private office space members often bring elements of stability and experience that our permanent desk and temporary desk members do not. Our permanent desk members bring energy to the space and a strong willingness to collaborate. Our Hot Desk members allow us to accommodate an incredible variety of groups and to add a sense of dynamism to the space.

Hot desks

Office Space

One interesting consideration that has recently come to a head at CSI is the question of whether the base unit of membership is the organization or the project. Can three staff share one desk or one Hot Desk package? Can they all be there at the same time? We’ve resolved this by explaining that our desks and Hot Desks are rented to individual users. We’ve added a $50 charge for those who want to share and offered a $50 discount on second desks rented on behalf of the same organization or project. The Lease

The lease – or sub-lease – is a critical document that defines the legal and financial relationship between you and the member. Make sure it is carefully reviewed by a lawyer and then be prepared to stick to it; we find that some office members will request changes based on their lawyers’ opinion, but unless you want to manage a dozen variations of the lease, keep it simple and standardized (but certainly consider any legitimate changes). We prefer one year leases for any permanent members and 6-month leases for any Hot Desk members; however, we allow any member to break the lease with 60 days notice. We attach to the sub-lease a copy of our own Head Lease as an appendix, as well as a set of Member Co-operation Policies that outline the expectations regarding shared behaviour in the Centre for Social Innovation.

Tip:

The Landlord

A landlord can make all the difference. In ideal conditions, you will find a landlord who is excited about having a shared space inside his or her building, recognizing the attention and social and economic value that such a space can generate. In more likely scenarios, your landlord will be indifferent. But beware the landlord who is skeptical or concerned about your activities – or from whom you get a set a sense of unreliability. Do your research! As a tenant who is subletting your hands are occasionally tied when it comes to serving your own members, because some of the activities may be part of the landlord’s responsibilities. The last thing you want is a landlord who is slow to fix elevators, washrooms or temperature issues – your members will not hesitate to voice their concerns!

Finally, we charge a $125 set-up fee to cover the initial costs of administering the lease process and to cover the costs of signage and pass-keys. Permanent Desks

C H APTER

creating the space

A great community workspace requires thoughtful consideration at every turn.

creating the space

site selection

In 2005 the Centre for Social Innovation undertook a small research project to explore the factors that were most important in our members’ site selection.

the dimensions of space

In the past six years we have done a lot of research and conducted a fair number of experiments – some successful…others not so much! This section shares our best suggestions, tips and lessons for creating a dynamic, healthy and attractive workspace for members and visitors alike. The most important thing to remember is that you are not just creating a physical space – you are creating a social, environmental, and psychological space too. Each of these elements deserves careful and deliberate “curating“ to achieve the vision and goals you have set.

Location

Building

Location was the single most important consideration for site selection. Within location, several variables were identified, offered here in order of priority:

The building itself is the second most important criteria in site selection. Here’s what our respondents told us they valued most:

• Accessibility by transit

• Plenty of natural light

• Proximity to the downtown core

• Interesting aesthetic features; exposed brick/beam, high ceilings, etc.

• Proximity to surrounding personal and professional amenities (printers, restaurants, professional services) • Proximity to clients and colleagues

• A sense of history and spirit to the building; perhaps a former incarnation that can be woven into the present plan

• Proximity to/availability of green space • Availability of parking • Safety and security

Download our site selection report: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

creating the space

It is easier to build community horizontally than vertically! Look for spaces that keep people on the same floor rather than splitting them between floors.

Kitchens don’t make money – but they do build community. Don’t cheap out or box it in – this is where the magic happens.

Beauty, eh? We all love beautiful things! Make your space attractive – it makes people feel healthy and happy.

Good community design is essential. Put a chair in a reception space. Now replace it with a couch. What changes? Try the same thing with a harvest table instead of a small table. Your design informs Foster mobility – put services and amenibehaviour and action! ties in different parts of the space so that people move around – it’s mobility that gets people to explore new spaces and people.

Tear down those walls! Glass reflects values of transparency and openness and fosters a sense of collaboration and dynamism; create large open spaces for open sightlines and mass connection.

Create unstructured social space; serendipity is more likely to happen around the kitchen table than the boardroom table.

Lockable space is essential for members – they need some closed storage for their essentials

Use comfortable and communal furniture: couches, cosy chairs, welcoming rugs and harvest tables.

Build in an environmentally considerate way.

Fabrics need to handle dirt – invest in ones that are heavy-duty. Cohesion matters – all these elements need to hang together in a design that works and feels harmonious.

Go industrial – there will be hundreds of people using the space and it will show – get the most durable that you can afford.

Put things on wheels and keep them light – you want to be able to move them easily.

Tip:

Utility vs Whimsical Your space must first and foremost be functional for members. This means keeping the space clean and keeping the amenities (photocopiers, printers, internet, etc.) working. But all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl! So remember to spice it up with the little features and interventions that breathe life and levity into the space, like message walls, member photos, member profiles…or even board games and building blocks! (yes, we are serious!)

Design for the Bottom Line

Couches, harvest tables and rugs – it all sounds so romantic. But don’t forget that you’ll need some office spaces and work stations too! First and foremost, think carefully about the proportion of private space to common space that will help you cover your operating costs. But remember that a shared space without sufficient common spaces won’t be attractive enough to retain members – and won’t serve your community-building goals. At the Centre for Social Innovation we have a 40:60 ratio in favour of private space. We’d suggest that you’d need a minimum of 30% common space if building community is part of your goal.

Tips for A functional - and profitable - space:

• Consider designing meeting spaces for the external community as well as members; your visitors will need various room sizes, including a good workshop space. • Use modular furniture: let people configure and reconfigure the room to serve their various purposes, from yoga classes to boardroom meetings to workshops. • Design for flexibility: All organizations change size over time. Can you use a mixture of office spaces and desk spaces to accommodate growth and shrinkage among your members?

• Design sensible areas for printing, faxing and copying – make sure people can work easily in those spaces. • Re-use materials wherever possible – it’s more affordable, and it models the environmental principles your members will likely care about. • Beware of high-end design – keep replacement costs in mind when making purchases. • Don’t try to do everything at once – the needs of your space and your members will become clearer over time.

• Private office spaces generally give you stability and require little administration; permanent desks and Hot Desks require a bit more work but have a higher profit margin. Find the baance that suits your vision.

creating the space tips for meeting spaces

• A good shared space will have sufficient meeting rooms relative to the number of members. • Consider meeting rooms of variable sizes: several small or medium-sized rooms plus a larger workshop room. • Add flipcharts, whiteboards and chalkboards for idea development. • Use modular furniture to maximize flexibility. • Locate meeting spaces in publicly accessible areas and away from member offices whenever possible. • Proximity to a kitchen is important if there are going to be catered events or need for other kitchen facilities. meeting rooms

Every organization has meetings at least occasionally; your space should offer a variety of meeting rooms to accommodate different purposes, from workshops to interviews. Our rental model includes a set number of free hours for each member every month; we charge for overages. Rooms are available on a first come first serve basis and we encourage users to take the smallest room that will serve their purposes, saving larger spaces for others. For years, we have used a manual system for booking – literally a calendar on which users themselves block out the time they require. It’s only now that we are exploring an online system, but you may find that an online system is the best way to go, and several options are available. Online systems allow members to book spaces remotely and make it far easier for you to track usage (helpful for keeping an eye on overages and for understanding usage patterns).

You must also decide if your meeting room space is going to be rentable by the public and set prices accordingly. Renting meeting room spaces to the public serves a few key goals: • generating revenue for the organization

• Have a clear request form and an insurance waiver for external clients. • Consider a minimum 72 hour-in-advance request policy to give your team time to prepare for the event.

• helping turn the space into a community resource and shared learning space • raising the profile of your centre and your members by ensuring a steady flow of people through the space. However, your decision to serve the public must not come at the expense of members, who are your first priority. Make sure that the traffic doesn’t interfere with your members’ ability to perform their work and that they are still able to access meeting space when they need it. We generally advise that members and guests are responsible for their own room set-up and clean up. It’s important to do a quick sweep after meetings to make sure the space is clean and ready for the next booking. Consider levying a charge for rooms that are left in disarray as an incentive to maintain cleanliness.

Download the room booking agreement: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

Tip:

Design and Budget are Mutually Informative You cannot design without giving consideration to the budgetary implications. And you can’t set pricing without thinking about the design. This needs to be an iterative process. Try a specific design and layout and run the numbers; those results should then inform the design. Do you need more desk spaces to meet your budgetary goals? Have you created too many meeting spaces? Budgeting and design go hand in hand!

Security

The security of your shared space is absolutely essential. Members must feel comfortable and secure in the space and you must put into place the systems necessary for security. • Provide some separation between your most highly trafficked common areas and the workspaces. • Situate the Hot Desk area close to an exit as a strategy to minimize the flow of these more transient members.

“I love the open concept and the lounge area. You really don’t feel like you are in a office, more like a home away from home.”

• All offices should be lockable and all desk spaces should have a lockable drawer; consider having lockers for any Hot Desk members. • Install a security system for arming and disarming every day (last one to leave, first one to enter) that uses unique, trackable codes for each person. Consider swipe keys for access to certain spaces or work with the landlord on a coordinated solution for monitoring sensitive areas. • Most importantly, encourage members to be security conscious and to act as an informal ‘community watch’ that disarms any uncertain situations with a few friendly inquiries.

Tip:

Get inspired! When designing your shared space consider visiting other similar spaces, either in person or online. Take or cut-out pictures of spaces or furniture you like, or pictures that reflect the mood and culture you want to create. And know your limits! Hire architects and interior designers if you don’t have the skills you need, as well as contractors who understand your vision. Find the supports you need to bring your vision to life.

“I love the space. It’s cozy and inspiring.”

“I like that I am a very proud tenant and proud of being part of the place. Anybody that I bring to the place gets a great impression of the space”

creating the space Keeping it Clean

Noise may be the second most important issue in your space, but cleanliness is likely to be the first. Shared spaces with collective responsibility can turn into spaces with no responsibility as members duck their role in keeping the space as clean as possible. This is especially true of the kitchen, where it all seems to come to a head! • Outline an expectation of shared responsibilities for cleanliness and orderliness of the space. • Get enough dishwashers to process the kitchenware you are regularly using so they don’t pile up in the sink. • Get a big sink with space for washing.

managing noise

This is a big one! The problem with an incredible, dynamic, and collaborative community is that they can make a lot of noise. Certainly, your shared space is unlikely to be a very quiet office – and that’s a good thing! But noise abatement can become a pressing issue if decibel levels challenge your members’ productivity. • Be upfront about the probability of noise – shared workspaces are not libraries.

• Have cleaning products on hand – make it easy for members to pitch in. • Hire weekly, bi-weekly or monthly cleaners for a deep clean. • Do a comprehensive clean up every morning before the space opens and again late in the afternoon; the cleaner your space, the more likely that members and guests will keep it that way. • Create clear signage and policies with visitors that explain it is there responsibility to maintain the space and clean up after themselves.

• Create a set of noise policies and include reference to them in the Member Cooperation Policies. • Limit the use of speaker-phones.

Download our noise policy: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

• Divide the space in such a way that the noisier elements are clustered together: Hot Desks should be self contained instead of scattered amongst the permanent members. • Create phone booths for members who are working in open space so they have a comfortable option for personal or lengthy calls.

C H APTER

BUSINESS BASICS

We may be a nonprofit, but unless we operate as a business we will fail.

business basics Tip:

Labels! When you are asked twenty times a day where the spoons are, you learn that labels can be your best accomplices in creating a “self-serve” space. Affix labels on all storage that let members and visitors know where things are, and have instructions written beside your equipment. These will prevent a lot of repeat questions. (But not all of them!)

business orientation

Succeeding as a business means fostering an entrepreneurial and professional organizational culture and staff team. It also means keeping a careful eye on expenses and revenue – and receivables. As a business-oriented nonprofit we need to market our services and build our profile, treat our community as customers, and work to deliver above and beyond expectations. It also means that sometimes we need to make tough decisions – like increasing rates or evicting members who can’t pay their rent – without apologies. But this “business orientation” must be softened with the realities of our sector. Sometimes a little flexibility can go a long way and will ultimately better serve your needs and your mission. better serve your needs and your mission. Customer Service Orientation

Self-Service Orientation

In order to be a successful business you must serve the needs of your customers. Our staff team and our organizational culture is dedicated to excellence and to extraordinary customer service. We are pulled in a million directions by our members and clients, asking for support on professional and personal issues, demanding attention and service, and offering feedback or criticism of our actions. At all times it is absolutely essential to serve the needs of these customers – with diplomacy, expediency, and a sense of humour.

Customer service, however, does not mean that you cater to every whim or that you wait on members hand and foot. Your role is equally to empower members. Give them the information, tools, and means to solve their own problems as much as possible. It is an extraordinary task to meet the needs of 180 customers on a day to day basis – this can be mitigated by finding ways to help members help themselves.

Our staff team must be willing to drop whatever they are doing to immediately address any substantial problem that arises. In the end, your dreams of radical social change are worthless if the photocopier isn’t working; your first priority is a clean and functional workspace for members and guests.

business basics

budgets Careful budgeting is the cornerstone of a successful shared space. You must work to anticipate all of your costs – both start-up and ongoing – and your revenue. Be realistic and grounded in your estimates; err on the side of caution and plan out at least three years in advance. And make sure to have dedicated attention on this activity – budgets require ongoing revisions, especially in the early days as revenue and expenses are in fluctuation. Ongoing Budget Management

Our budget and cash flow forms are based on a five year prediction. We created this five-year template when we were seeking support for our expansion. Annually, at the close of our fiscal year, we break-up the next year into 12 separate months of activity, and add a “new” fifth year projection to the budget. This budget is a living document. As we add members, secure contracts, or lose support, we make adjustments to the budget. This makes sure we have an accurate and ongoing account of our financial well-being. A third-party auditor creates Financial Statements each year.

Accounts Receivable

Require a one month deposit

Check your A/r regularly

Enforce Regular Payments

We have learned a lot about accounts receivable in five years of operation – through some very painful lessons! And unfortunately, we are still learning and our systems aren’t yet quite perfect. We have encountered about four or five cases where members have disappeared with a balance owing to the Centre.

This means that you have recourse for any member who defaults on a given month or who seems like they will be unable to pay.

If possible, provide options for payment and use an online billing system so clients can see their own invoice and payment histories. We’ve recently moved to Freshbooks and moved from an exclusive reliance on cheques to bank payments, and may eventually permit credit card payments (we’re uncertain now owing to the associated fees which would compromise our revenue).

Have a clear policy for rental payments. At CSI, we issue an email within five days of the start of the month, advising any members who owe for rent that they have 15 days to catch-up or their membership will be terminated (this gives you ten days to find a new members and sign the paperwork). If they don’t pay, you can apply the deposit against the outstanding balance.

The best way to ensure that this doesn’t happen, of course, is to insist on rent payments in advance. You can require postdated cheques, or consider invoicing one month in advance. We’ve tried to show some flexibility – perhaps to a fault – to accommodate the fluctuations in our member’s budgets as an effort to show good faith and understanding of the challenges of their work. But you must find a balance between “good faith” and “hard business”, as a small loss is perhaps inevitable, but you should be protected from any substantial or ongoing losses.

You should also have a policy to protect against NSF cheques – we charge $50 for cheques that bounce.

The following are some tips based on our experience.

business basics shared amenities

Fee-for-Use

Shared Amenities – or shared services – are aggregated into a monthly fee that members pay over and beyond their rent for the facilities and services that are shared in common (think of them like a condo fee, but a fair one!). You should decide on which amenities to offer based on those that are common across the majority of organizations, those which provide a value-add or cost savings to members, and those which you can administer with relative ease. Our shared amenities fee includes:

Finally, some expenses are charged based on actual usage. • Photocopying • Printing • Long-distance charges • Telephones These are all based on individual usage and a coding system allows us to charge back these expenses on a quarterly basis.

• Cleaning supplies • Internet access (wired and wireless) • Photocopier leases

pricing At the Centre for Social Innovation we distinguish between base rent, shared amenities, and fee-for-use revenue. base rent

Base rent is the set amount that members pay on a monthly basis for workspace, and this amount is static for the term of the lease. One of the first and easiest calculations you should do to begin thinking about pricing is to determine the ratio of common space to private space. Let’s say that you have a 1:1 ratio: 50% of your space is rentable and 50% is common space (kitchen, hallways, reception area, etc.). You immediately know that you must double the square foot pricing you are charging members in order to meet your own rent obligations; your goal is to have members cover the full rental costs of the space. However, you still have a staff team to consider. Therefore, this calculation should be the baseline for further adjustments; you may need to layer an additional percentage – anywhere from 10–50% – to cover all of your operating costs in addition to rent, not to mention access to a large footprint of common spaces.

• Fax machines As a result, we don’t sell our spaces based on square foot price, which can often appear high given the added costs that the rental fees cover, but on an overall price for the office or desk. Remember, there is always cheaper office space out there: your compelling offer is the added value you provide – community, connectedness, shared services, well managed facilities, profile, and a happy workplace. When it comes to pricing, we do have some accommodation for office features, such as windows, exposed brick, privacy, etc. You should also recognize that there are different margins for different spaces; you’ll have the slimmest margin for office space and the largest margin for Hot Desk space (where you can get multiple people into a very small footprint), with permanent desk space sitting somewhere in the middle. Keep in mind that any decision about the relative number of such spaces not only has design and budgetary implications, it also has deep implications for your community – these decisions must be grounded in your vision for the space.

• Shared equipment costs (e.g., audio-visual) • Repairs and maintenance • Security systems and monitoring • Coffee/Tea Your shared amenities fee should be determined by the total cost divided by number of members, plus a margin that covers your costs of coordination and provides some flexibility in case of price fluctuation. Keeping this fee separate from the base rent allows you to make changes to the shared amenities fee as you add or decrease services, or as the price of existing services fluctuates. It also shows members that there is a real cost behind these services that is tied to their actual usage. Currently, CSI charges a monthly $130 shared amenities fee to office members and a $65 shared amenities fee to permanent desk members. For Hot Desk members, we built the shared amenities fee directly into the pricing. Crucially, we don’t tolerate exceptions for members that want to opt out of some of the services in the package (e.g. The “but I don’t drink coffee” refrain). This is part of being in a shared community!

business basics

k es

esk

The majority of our space is dedicated to offices. Offices are easy to administer and provide stability in workplace culture. Hot Desks can be densely packed into a small footprint. You want to make sure permanent desk members have enough room to comfortably work; our permanent desk workspaces are approximately 8’ x 5’.

sk De

Offices

19%

Des

Workspace by Income

Offices

59%

Workspace by Footprint

77%

This chart illustrates a key characteristic of the model: Hot Desks generate six times more income relative to their footprint. Remember that you’ll have multiple members cycling through the same spaces; in our case, we have 100 members in 20 workstations. As a result, the most profitable workspaces are those that focus on Hot Desks. But Hot Desks require heavier administration and ongoing recruitment. Think carefully about your approach - the layout of the space should flow from your vision.

business basics

$800-$2400 + $130 for shared amenities

80 - 400 square feet 10 hours of monthly meeting space Self-furnished Private offices are lockable spaces that belong to a single organization or individual and cannot be accessed by another. CSI does not provide office furniture. Strategies and Considerations

When it comes to pricing your spaces, you need to consider your own operational requirements, your member’s budgets, and the market in which you are competing. Your space must be somewhat in tune with other workspace options in your city. But hopefully you are creating something unique - something of value. For this reason, a relatively higher cost is going to be an inevitable and natural outcome. This is something you shouldn’t have to apologize for. The key is to ensure that your “value add” amenities (community, profile, facilities, services) really are of value to the community. With respect to our own pricing, the base rent for our offices ranges from $700 (for a small 80 sq ft office) to $2,600 (for a beautiful 400 sq ft office with a gorgeous view of the city). Generally, the sq ft price increase may be highest on your smallest offices. This is because: 1.

There needs to be a significant price differential between an office and a desk space

Small, one or two-person offices are often very difficult to find, and hence the market can bear a higher price.

$300 + $65 for shared amenities

1 desk, shelving & lockable filing 10 hours of monthly meeting space

Permanent desks are private desk spaces in a shared open environment but which belong to one individual and cannot be used by another. CSI provides furnishing for the desk spaces.

$75

$125

5 hours of monthly workspace

20 hours of monthly workspace

2 hours of monthly meeting space

3 hours of monthly meeting space

$200

$250

60 hours of monthly workspace

100 hours of monthly workspace

6 hours of monthly meeting space

8 hours of monthly meeting space

Hot Desks are desks that are shared by members. Members work in a shared space called the Workspace Commons which has approximately 24 work stations available on a first-come first-serve basis. CSI furnishes the Workspace Commons.

C H APTER

roles and responsibilities

Our success is a testament to our team.

roles and responsibilities

leadership

There needs to be a true leader at the helm of the organization. This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean someone who will control everything and boss everyone around. It means having a leader with vision â&#x20AC;&#x201C; someone who inspires staff and the member community, who paints a compelling vision and sells the vision to the world. Of course, selling a vision isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough. Your leader needs a proven track record and the capacity to balance visionary leadership with basic and effective management.

Operations

Someone needs to focus on the overall operations of the space. This includes budget development and management, space construction and infrastructure improvements, member relationships, vendor negotiations and overall facilities management. Look for someone hyper-organized who gets off on spreadsheets and checkboxes.

Administration and Bookkeeping

Marketing and Communications

Even a successful shared space needs to tell its story.

payroll belongs in the hands of someone with an eye for detail and an obsession with perfection. Administering leases, paying invoices, issuing invoices, tracking accounts receivable and administering all require a very thorough mindset. Make sure you have systems in place to manage these details and the right control freak at the helm.

It needs to build its profile and attract new members. An effective and coordinated marketing and communication program allows you to define and build your brand while engaging an internal and external audience.

Community Animation

A culture of collaboration does not manifest without a conscious effort. A shared space that seeks to go beyond simply a “collocation” must invest in the programming, energy and ‘atmosphere design’ that only a Community Animator can provide. Community animation is serious business – it takes work to have fun!

Versatility is a virtue

You may not have a staff person in each of these roles – they may be blended or shared among a few people. CSI, for example, did not have anyone in charge of marketing and communication until its fifth year, when it grew from four to seven staff. And at one time, the executive director was occupying all roles in a half-time position!

C H APTER

Shared services

shared services are the basic ingredients of a collaborative workspace.

shared services

1/photocopying and printing 2/high-speed internet 3/Fax machines 4/Mailboxes 5/Kitchen facilities 6/Meeting rooms 7/Coffee/tea 8/Security 9/Cleaning 10/Audio-visual equipment

10 6 7

Shared services are an essential part of the support we provide to our members. These are the core services of our model.

shared services

The Formula

tips and lessons The provision of shared services and shared amenities is one of the key reasons why members join a shared space. This is especially true of small organizations. When you are a oneperson organization and the internet goes down or the copier breaks, it’s you that has to address it; it isn’t much better in a two or three person organization. A shared space should save members from the administrative burden of managing shared services, allowing them to focus on their missions rather than administration. It should also save money and increase access to facilities through economies of scale.

economies of scale

1. tea/coffee, Fridge, Copier

competitive pricing

2. Umbrellas, Notepads

desirable by members

3. Insurance plan, Accountant

There’s a basic formula that underlies your decision of whether to offer a specific service to your members: Can you achieve economies of scale that are low enough for you to take a margin that covers your time investment and still offer the service at a discounted price to members? For example, if your members can walk down the street and get a black and white photocopy for $0.07/ page, offering photocopying services is only worthwhile if you can beat that price for them while still generating some revenue for yourself. But there is a twist! Sometimes a shared service doesn’t make economic sense but it makes community sense – it makes your members happy. If we couldn’t make any profit offering b/w printing at $0.05/ page, we’d still want to make this service available to our community.

Start SimPle

It’s probably not a good idea to start right off with a shared insurance plan! Trust and camaraderie take time to build; there is no insta-community. Start with the simple things like copiers and refrigerators. Over time, layer on more and more services as your community develops, relationships solidify, and you have a more nuanced sense of your members’ needs.

treaD careFully with technology

t i m e - s av i n g Technology* One of the most attractive features of a shared space can be a shared technical infrastructure. But unless you have technical expertise on-site, be careful with the technology you decide to offer. Technology is often more expensive and complicated than originally anticipated and you must not underestimate the potential drain on human resources, which is all too easy to overlook. Human resources are a cost to your organization that doesn’t always appear on the balance sheet but needs to be carefully considered. We learned this lesson in spades when it came to our investment in a VoIP telephone system!

your branD & your venDorS FAIRTRADE ORGANIC - COFFEE brought to you by CSI

A member community can often achieve economies of scale and drive down the costs for the individual members. But who are your vendors? What does it mean to strive to be an environmentally and socially conscious organization if your vendors aren’t doing the same? Consider prioritizing green businesses, socially responsible companies, and social enterprises when it comes to your procurement. Always remember, at the same time, that the baseline is excellence – if you strive toward excellence but your coffee, copier or telephone provider keep letting you down, your brand and reputation are taken down too.

shared services

The system for both photocopiers and printers should be capable of accounting for per page use by user – you need to easily track and charge for usage.

a/v equiPment

PhotocoPying & Printing

It’s generally a good idea to offer A/V equipment to support meeting space users.

Photocopying and printing are required by most organizations and are a relatively straightforward service to offer. Here’s what you should look for when shopping for a copier:

• Consider all variety of a/v equipment, including projectors, laptops, TVs, DVD players, a PA system, flipcharts and markers, whiteboards, and chalk boards. • Keep the equipment in good working order, manage the inventory, and keep a close eye on all associated cables and peripherals. • Write clear instructions for all technology – even the most obvious! – to make it easier for users and to limit questions.

• Get a robust machine - you will need something that can handle the traffic of your members. • Users should be able to download the drivers themselves – this process should be straightforward. • Make sure that the printer can handle multiple platforms and operating systems; you may have Macs, PCs, and users of Windows and open source platforms. • The system for both photocopiers and printers should be capable of accounting for per page use by user – you need to easily track and charge for usage. • Get at least two suppliers to bid on the machine; compare initial costs and ongoing/maintenance costs, plus reputation for service. • Scanning is a great and useful addition to the copier.

shared services Internet and Wireless

voip telephone

Reliable high-speed internet is a must-have for a shared space. It’s also a very appealing service to offer because it can be a massive headache to manage. Here’s a checklist of things to consider:

We provide a VoIP system to our members. VoIP can require a steep upfront investment, and is associated with expensive ongoing costs. In our case the math made sense, but we didn’t adequately account for the expense of changes, additions and deletions, over and above that of routine maintenance. Anytime someone wants to add a line or change a staff person you may have to get involved. Think carefully about whether it’s worth it. If it is:

• Look for high bandwidth. • Find a reliable provider with great support. • Wireless is a huge bonus, and more or less essential if you are offering Hot Desk services.

Cabling is expensive! How can you tie your internet and telephony infrastructure together?

• Make sure to get access to technical support for your internal infrastructure. • Get a clear sense of all the costs involved, including cabling, routers, servers, maintenance, etc.

• Compare a few proposals and make sure you learn enough to understand the differences. • Look into hosted or open source solutions. • Clearly understand ongoing maintenance costs. • Determine the scalability of the system; what if you expand? Does the system have the capacity to grow without being replaced? And what about costs for additional lines or licensing? • Cabling is expensive! How can you tie your internet and telephony infrastructure together? • Will a staff person be trained to make changes to the system or are you reliant on external providers? Do you have the in-house skills and capacity?

shared services Coffee/Tea

Kitchen Management

Such a seemingly simple topic deserves its own section! If your space is anything like our space – i.e., on earth – then coffee will be a serious issue:

A fully stocked kitchen is a massive environment saver and a great resource to offer your community and visitors. We adopt a strict “no waste” policy for all external events and use our facilities whenever possible.

3 8

Freshly roasted organic fair-trade coffee is delivered weekly, alongside organic milk and cream.

Get multiple urns so you can serve multiple events simultaneously.

Consider providing coffee service – or at least coffee access – to visitors and meeting room renters as a way to generate revenue.

2 5

4 9 10

We accommodate a high number of coffee drinking members and guests so we got very robust machines that tie directly into the plumbing.

Put a piggy bank near the machine so guests can drink guilt-free.

Remember the tea drinkers!

Provide the basics: plates, cutlery, glasses, mugs, etc.

While we don’t have cooking facilities, we do provide a toaster, microwave, cutting boards, etc.

The kitchen is often the focal point of the space – this is where the magic happens! Keep the space open, bright and big…if you want to build community, don’t scrimp on the kitchen .

10. The kitchen is also the most contentious space, prey to abandoned moldy items, battles for space, and neverending dirty dishes battles. Use clear signage, outline expectations, and model the behaviour you want to see (and occasionally call out the folks who aren’t doing their part). 11. Get a large robust refrigerator and dishwasher, and consider getting a second of each if your space warrants it.

shared services

insurance

There are three kinds of insurance worth considering: contents, liability, and health and dental. We found that it was too expensive to insure all of the contents of the members under our own policy, so our sub-lease has a stipulation that they require their own contents insurance. We do have liability insurance to cover all possible injuries in the space; this is part of the shared amenities fee. After four years, as levels of trust had grown in our community, we began a shared health and dental program. This is a great benefit but can be an administrative drain, especially dealing with members coming in and out of the program. Again, consider the human costs in your decision-making. We do not get involved in any shared general operating or Directors and Officers insurance.

Can you create a carpooling system? Can you secure discounts for rail travel? What about a reduced â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bulk advertisingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; price with local newspapers? 89

shared services

Wireless Internet Wired Internet Photocopier Printers Flipcharts Fax Machine Whiteboards Phone booths Projector Speaker phones Storage lockers Nap room VoIP system Hot Desks Phone DVD Player PA system Television Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

The importance of various amenities to our members

For each of the above amenities, to what extent do you agree with this statement: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This amenity at CSI is essential to my work.â&#x20AC;?

Strongly Agree

shared languag classes /yoga classes/organic vegetable/bread free range chicken delivery shared bicycle program/ massage therapist/ discounts on the local carshare program/ discounts on 91

C H APTER

Member relations

members are the reason for your existence and the centre of your business model.

member relations

Information Sessions

Ongoing Promotion

When your space is secured and you are beginning the leasehold improvements, hold a few information sessions to welcome potential members into the space, share your vision, and generate excitement and member leads.

Just because you are full doesn’t mean you should stop promoting yourself: what if you decide to expand, or what if some members lose their funding or outgrow the space? Have on-site materials that promote your centre.

Choose a few dates at different times and days of the week to accommodate people’s varying schedules.

member recruitment With hard work and a little luck your space will be thriving, and filled to capacity with a waiting list of eager members. But things don’t often start that way! Attracting the membership you want takes deliberate planning and work. As with most aspects of shared space management, this starts with your vision. Who is the space intended to serve? What is your vision for the culture and dynamic among members? These questions form the baseline of your member recruitment strategy. Start Early and Build Momentum

Planning a shared space? Then get started building your community! There’s no reason to wait until you open your doors before inviting people into your vision. Once you have a sense of direction and a reasonable plan for development and launch, start spreading the word. Here’s where your brand and tone really come in handy. (More on that shortly.) Let people know about your vision. Invite them to join a mailing list, a meet-up, a Facebook group or some other device that allows you to start collecting names and sharing

the word. This momentum will come in handy when it’s time to start later stages of promotion and member recruitment. Define your Offer

What is it that you are offering members? Why should they join your space? You must define your offer. We don’t think you should ever attempt to distinguish yourself by price; there will always be another organization or building that can provide space at a lower cost. And don’t just sell office space – a million places sell office space. A shared space can sell many things: community, social capital, profile, flexibility, health, happiness etc. Build these ideas into your messages.

• Create and grow an external mailing list to promote your member community and programs so that, when the time comes, you have a great promotional channel.

• Use all possible colleagues and networks to promote the message. Make the invitation compelling and get people excited about the vision and possibilities from the get-go.

• Encourage members to promote their association with your space through their website, printed materials, etc. • Maintain a waiting list so you can go back to the list whenever a space opens up.

• Prepare a set of information packages that include the vision, floor map with pricing (even if it’s tentative) and the application forms.

• Consider monthly tours to promote the space to potential members.

• Start the session with a brief presentation about the vision – use the right salesperson to get people energized.

• Use social media to build networks and to connect nonmembers to your work

• Encourage everyone to introduce themselves; this simple act can show the variety of potential colleagues. • Take the members on a tour and encourage them to identify those offices or spaces that they would like to apply for – even if the space is being developed, illustrate the details of your plan.

• Host events and activities that welcome a broader audience - connect to the community in which you are situated and build a name for your work • Be excellent. The best promotion is word-of-mouth from happy members

• Let people know that not everyone will get in; create some cache by describing your selection process and your vision.

member relations

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

e Oth

Othe r

Download the CSI promotional brochure and Hot Desk postcards:

ire

15%

14%

25 %

Of fice

Where Members Worked Before me

rch

39%

a b Se e W

Word of Mouth

13%

Me et

ing

60%

Read Publication 6%

20%

ace

d Sp e r a h

How did you hear about CSI?

The majority of our members worked from home before they came to CSI. This poses two interesting challenges: First, How do you motivate people to begin incurring rent expenses? Second, how do you reach people who work primarily from their own homes? To answer the first question, your message needs to focus on what’s needed by these would-be members. This includes office amenities like photocopiers and meeting rooms, but it also includes the soft stuff like exposure to new people and a sense of community. For the second question, see the next page.

Never underestimate the power of networks. The statistic for ‘word of mouth’ demonstrates the importance of your members’ experiences and relationships. We try to incentivize members to ‘spread the gospel’ by offering a $50 referral fee. But a referral fee is just the icing on the cake; it won’t incentivize members nearly as much as a genuine affection for the shared space. This graph also shows the importance of opening your site to public events – this is how most people first experience the space.

member relations

member selection Just as you must curate your physical space, you must also curate your membership. This means taking seriously your responsibility to select members on the basis of your vision. If things go well this will be quite easy because most applicants self-select: those who aren’t really a fit aren’t likely to apply if they get a chance to experience the space. But you must prepare for more formal processes and protection. All members should have to apply for space using a detailed application form that gives you the information you need to make an informed decision about their viability. Remember to ask why they are applying to be part of the shared space – this can be a good way to assess enthusiasm and fit. If possible, move the form online so you can easily store and analyze this data. Finally, you should meet every member before they are approved (invite them to a tour or to check out the space) – never under-estimate the importance of gut feel! The selection process has two elements: the criteria for selection and the decision-making process. It is absolutely critical for your team to define your member vision in advance. Do you want members of a certain size? A certain sector? Of certain values? Consider carefully your vision for the space and curate your community just as seriously as you curate your space.

Download our member selection criteria: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

The Centre for Social Innovation Board and staff team are responsible for member selection. Here are the criteria that factor into our decision-making process. the wilDcarD: PerSonality anD enthuSiaSm

The member selection process can occur at a staff level, board level, or can even include existing members. It could include a grading scheme or a simple yes/no majority or consensus approach. Make sure you have defined the criteria and process so that you can streamline decision making. It can all look good on paper, but what if someone arrives and they insist on complaining all the time? Or gossiping? These can be poison in your shared environment and a very difficult thing to anticipate in advance. Our best suggestion is to have at least two staff meet with members in advance for a tour and a chat so you can get a quick sense of “vibe” or “feel”. Your members should be enthusiastic and excited about being part of your great community. And of course, make sure your member co-operation policies account for any such disruptive behaviour so you have a document to fall back on if a specific individual is really compromising the well being of the community.

Social Mission: Members must be able to articulate how their work is making the world a better place.

Community-Mindedness: Members must understand – and embrace – the fact that they are joining a community.

Shared Values: Members must align with CSI’s values, such as open-mindedness, respect, tolerance, passion, solutionsfocus, etc.

Multi-Cultural Participation: CSI seeks to reflect the diversity of our city and will prioritize initiatives and individuals who represent and work with Toronto’s diverse ethno-racial communities.

Physical Fit: CSI can accommodate groups of five or fewer staff, and no one organization can have more than two office spaces. Innovativeness: Priority will be given to those individuals, projects and organizations whose work is new, creative and promising. We are looking for members who are pushing boundaries.

Diversity: The overall mix of the Centre for Social Innovation must reflect a diversity of missions, legal forms (nonprofits, for-profits, unincorporated, etc.) and developmental stages, including both stable and emerging organizations. Commitment to Collaboration: We seek members who have demonstrated that they work well with others.

Reach: As a network of networks, CSI is interested in supporting umbrella groups and other connectors into the social mission sector.

Energy: CSI embraces entrepreneurs, animators, connectors and others who bring their energy with them. Good energy in the world attracts good energy within CSI.

Profile: Groups whose profile will add value to the Centre for Social Innovation and to its members will be prioritized.

Nonprofit Priority: A minimum of two-thirds of all permanent desk and office spaces will be reserved for nonprofit organizations.

member relations

member relationships Unfortunately, getting members in the door isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite enough. Once they are in you need to navigate and manage the diversity of personalities and relationships that are an inevitable part of your shared space. Fortunately, this is often the most rewarding aspect of the work. Members bring incredible experience and ideas, and it is the web of relationships with and among members that make your days so enjoyable Member Co-operation Policies

Create a set of member co-operation policies that can be appended to the lease as a requirement of membership. This allows you to outline the expectations of members upfront and in a transparent manner, while providing some legal recourse if someone is really contravening the rules and expectations of the space. These policies should include physical and practical considerations (such as lighting, noise, and cleanliness) as well as interpersonal and cultural aspects of membership (such as respect for colleagues, willingness to participate in certain activities, etc.). You can also add a value statement or Community Charter to these policies, outlining the shared vision for the space (this can be a community driven exercise). Orientation Sessions

If you expect a lot of turnover, or if you are offering a Hot Desk service, consider a monthly orientation session for new members. This gives them a chance to meet each other, ask questions about the space, better understand your organization, and familiarize themselves with the services and amenities offered. If you can, make this social â&#x20AC;&#x201C; doing it over a shared meal like Salad Club (more on that shortly) will cement the sense of camaraderie. We also provide a two-page quick Orientation document for new members.

Download our orientation document: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

Download our Member Co-operation Policies: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

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member relations Member Engagement and Committees

Many shared spaces create committees for members, which may address topics such as programming, service offerings, member selection, etc. These committees give members a known channel and opportunity for feedback. We have shied away from such committees: these require a fair bit of administration and can lead to questions of representation, which can add an element of politics and politicking to your space. We don’t operate by consensus – with 180 members this would simply be impossible – or at least a whole other job on its own. Instead, we make every effort to make it apparent that all staff are available to receive feedback and to follow up on all comments that are received. If we get a sense that a concern is bubbling we host an ad hoc meeting, providing a week or two of notice and inviting all concerned members to attend. We listen carefully and we share our own thoughts. At all times we make sure to follow up with a response indicating how we will address the concern or unmet opportunity, or explaining why we may choose a course of action different than what was requested. Whatever you do, you must leave room for member input: they experience the space in a different way than you do and it’s critical to have their feedback and perspectives. The best management policy is to walk around the space and engage in it: listen, reflect, adapt, and act.

Exchange ideas Exchange contacts Understand mission & activities Become friends Undertake initiatives Do business Purchase products & services Make shared purchases Sell products & services

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

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Strongly Agree

With other members its important for me to...

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keeping the peace: conFlict reSolution

benevolent dictatorship

It is well worth it to establish a conflict resolution policy and to append this to your Member Co-operation policies. Hopefully it will never be used, but it structures expectations and provides clarity around the process should it ever be required. This is essential in assuring members that conflict can be effectively and transparently managed. We encourage members to resolve issues themselves; if this is unsuccessful or impractical then our staff team offers a solution. If this solution is deemed unsatisfactory both parties are required to document their concerns in a letter, which is then reviewed by our Board. The Board then issues a final decision which must be adhered to, or which can otherwise trigger a member’s eviction.

Co-operative and consensual decision-making have their place, but this place may well be limited in a shared space. We have found that too much dialogue and surveying can prevent action and paralyze the community. In general, we don’t cede decision-making to the members but instead retain final say on matters of significance. We absolutely listen to and respect the contributions of our members but in the end, it is our responsibility to manage the overall well-being of the space and community, and sometimes that means making decisions that are not unanimously agreed upon. However, we have earned our ability to make unfavourable decisions because we have demonstrated over time that the community’s best interests are our priority.

difficult conversations

mbwa

A shared space can be a source of fascinating conversation and engagement. Unfortunately, a shared space is also a business, and as with any business, it means having difficult conversations at times. In general, these are conversations about financial capacity (i.e., paying the bills); occasionally they are also about negotiating personality conflicts. Take these conversations seriously and address concerns early, before they have a chance to fester – and do so with the same spirit of community that all conversations are held. Respect the privacy of members and do not divulge their financial information or any personal concerns with other members. Remember that you should never say anything in private that you aren’t prepared to defend publicly; treat all members the same way and keep your principles and priorities as the guide for your conversations.

The reference to “benevolent dictatorship” is somewhat in jest – but just somewhat! In our case, and owing to our legal structure, we have the capacity to ‘call the shots’. This may not be possible in all cases. The basis of our ability to oversee the space is not based on some kind of power trip – it is based on our heartfelt commitment to our community. This is best exercised through our practice of MBWA – or Manage By Walking Around. MBWA means that our ears are to the ground as much as possible and we have the chance to resolve issues before they become issues. We listen for feedback and we focus on customer service. This gives us the opportunity to address issues that may arise head on and with a solutions-oriented approach. You cannot manage member relationships from the comfort of your office – from there you won’t even get to know your members and their personalities and concerns. Get out and mix and mingle – this is an essential part of the job and should be more than a management strategy – it should be one of the best aspects of the job.

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C H APTER

Community animation

We turn a shared workspace into a community space by inspiring and connecting members.

community animation our animation philosophy

In six years of operation we have learned a few critical things about animation that inform our work. Your role is occasionally to create, but generally to enable and facilitate; to find ways to help bring member needs and ideas to actualization.

community animation

Community animation and programming are the ingredients that turn a shared workspace into a community space, inspiring and connecting members while sparking new ideas and demonstrating the unique value of working together. These activities require dedicated attention and ongoing creativity to serve the emerging needs of your community while constantly pushing the envelope of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible.

Community Animation may sound like a frill but it is at the root of absolutely everything we do.

Community animation is the glue that holds it all together and the air that breathes vitality into the space. The goal of community animation is to create a physical and social environment that: 1.

is warm, welcoming and hospitable

facilitates the work of individual members and helps them discover their potential

contributes to a sense of community

maximizes opportunities for idea development, exchange and collaboration

solves problems and drives customer service

Community animation is the glue that holds it all together and the air that breathes vitality into the space.

Your role is occasionally to create, but generally to enable and facilitate; to find ways to help bring tenant needs and ideas to actualization. Adopt a light touch â&#x20AC;&#x201C; heavy-handed or prescriptive animation will be deservedly resisted. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect uniform participation: tenants will naturally dip in and dip out of programming and have different degrees of connectedness to the centre at different times. Model the culture you hope to see.

Experiment. This terrain is wide open. Community animation manifests in every action and interaction, and begins with your first contact with a new member or visitor. Balance the natural and organic qualities of community animation with intentional opportunities for connection and service. Achieve a balance between relaxation and professionalism; between casualness and excellence.

Every staff person is a community animator.

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community animation

the DimenSionS oF community animation Our model identifies three dimensions of community animation: physical, social, and technical. None is more important than the others: they work in concert and to varying degrees for different purposes and for different members.

tone

The tone of your communication is a key component of community animation. Every e-mail, tour, greeting, and conversation is an extension of your brand – who you are and what you stand for. The tone of your shared space is everything, and it manifests in every written and spoken word. Our tone is open, human, approachable, professional, enthusiastic and empowering, even when we are delivering messages about rent increases. We strive to make sure that all communication reflects our values – that everyone is important, that everyone can achieve incredible social impact, and that everyone is a valuable member and contributor to our shared space.

Physical animation

Social Animation

Technical animation

Physical animation refers to the artifacts or interventions that appear in the physical space as a means to foster connectivity and spark collaboration. You must look at your physical environment and consider the myriad opportunities for physical animation.

Social Animation refers to those activities that allow people to get to know each other on a personal level. We try to do a formal event every quarter and a number of informal events throughout the year.

Technical animation refers to activities that happen in the online or virtual space. Members aren’t always on-site and they aren’t always available. Creating and growing a technical infrastructure allows you to accommodate members so they can engage on their own schedules and at their own locations.

Some of the things we’ve tried include: • turning walls into chalkboards • hanging photos of members with captions describing their missions • installing comfy couches and harvest tables • creating maps showing where members sit • creating notice boards, job postings and events listings

introDuctionS

Your staff should make a habit of meeting all members – and introducing them to each other! This is the social capital that forms the basis for all the good things that come out of shared spaces.

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• keeping a coffee and tea station

Some of the things we’ve tried include: • annual summer picnics • sailing trips • holiday parties (featuring the “Cookies & Cocktails” smackdown!)

We’ve been exploring: • e-mail lists to share information • a members-only website • online member profiles

• CSI anniversary parties

• online events listing

• birthday celebrations

• online FAQ

• Salad Club • Speed Geeks • drinks night • salons

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community animation Programming

In addition to ongoing animation activities it’s a good idea to create and implement programs to serve the community. These programs may be “one-offs” or part of an ongoing series of activities designed to meet the needs and build the skills of members. There is no shortage of possible programs you could run: it just depends on your imagination, or better yet, the imaginations of your members. Possible programs include: • yoga classes unleaSh the energy!

law oF two Feet: Follow the energy

At the Centre for Social Innovation we have an amazing team of creative and dedicated staff. They truly are exceptional. But even we know that eight incredible staff can’t possibly compete with a community of over 250 individual members. Our goal, therefore, is not to anticipate and serve every possible activity but to create the conditions for members to offer their own ideas to the community – that is, to provide them the conditions for self-organization. This is a cornerstone of community animation.

Evolving out of ‘open space technology’, the law of two feet tells us that whoever shows up is who needs to show up: i.e. their own feet will guide them to or from the conversations and events they want to be part of. Members have their own lives and their own organizations to run – they aren’t obligated to attend our events. So give a program a try and see what happens… The law of two feet will let you know if it’s working or not. It’s like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks!

Your members are the best indicator of the activities and programs that should be happening in your space. Give them the tools and supports they need to let their ideas come to life. Invite them to share their ideas, their knowledge and their experiences with others. Let them organize themselves in your facility: you don’t always need to intervene, you need to make it easy for them to do things on their own. This not only alleviates some of your responsibilities, it creates a sense of ownership among members and helps them to model possibilities for one and other.

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• language classes • marketplace • lunch-and-learns

marketplace

The marketplace is a series of one-minute pitches (keep it short!) where members share a few words about a project they are working on. We do this at parties and other member events and usually invite 10-12 people to sign up in advance. This is a great way to reveal some of the great work that’s happening at the Centre.

• salad club • skills training workshops

Salad Club

• political/current event discussions

Salad Club is open to anyone who wants to share a meal. There is one simple rule: bring two items that could conceivably go into a salad and you instantly become a member. Every Tuesday and Thursday our members gather for a collaborative, real-time salad bar and then we share: food, ideas, and cleanup.

• guest speakers • speed geeks • book or article discussions • communities of practice

Speed Geeks

Speed Geeks are sessions that help members learn about each other. We select six to eight members to present: each occupies a station and the rest of us break into six to eight groups and start at one of them. There’s five minutes for presentations and questions – once the bell rings, it’s time to move to the next station!

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C H APTER

Branding

a brand is what captures the spirit of your community and your vision.

branding

a brand expeirence

Branding is often misinterpreted as a dirty word. But branding is about identity: creating an image that conveys the meaning you want to share with the world through words, tone, colour and imagery. Once created, the brand becomes a touchstone for your work, guiding your decisions and influencing your sense of yourself as much as others’ perceptions of you. Your shared space deserves its own identity; the creation and maintenance of an identity is an important ingredient in its success. Your brand identity should flow from your vision for the space. In our case, the Centre for Social Innovation is a direct reflection of our goal to create a hotbed of social innovation. Work to define and differentiate your organization. Create a logo that reflects your centre, your members and your vision. Don’t reject the notion of “brand” as a private sector strategy or sleazy marketing jargon; think about the experience that you want members, visitors, funders, and partners to have when they interact with your shared space. Design elements should carry through all of your materials and through your physical space – a look and feel built on your vision and resonant with your community and your surroundings. Establish a tone in your writing and in person that connects to your audiences and communicate your identity through every medium and opportunity possible.

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branding a riSing tiDe liFtS all boatS

Recognize that you and your members have a mutual interest in drawing attention to the relationship you have with each other, and in raising each other’s profile. The more attention you can bring to them, the greater their success and the stronger the perceptions of your shared space. The more attention they can bring to you, the more resources that can be directed to and invested in the shared space. Raising the profile of members is a key reason for their participation in the shared space. This becomes a virtuous cycle of reinforcement; a rising tide lifts all boats! • Encourage members to signal their association with your shared space in their contact information, website, and in printed materials. • Create a logo they can use on their materials, or some standardized language that serves both your interests. • Do your best to draw attention to members through your own materials and communication channels, through speaking engagements and other activities. • Position member profiles on your web site.

Public Website Signage in Space External Newsletter Workshops & Speeches Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly Agree

• Promote member events and news via an external mailing list. • Put signage in the space that identifies who members are and what they are doing.

how should csi promote member offerings?

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C H APTER

beyond shared space

many shared spaces serve only their members. CSI operates a bit differently.

beyond shared space

permeable walls

Early on in our evolution we decided to open our space to external event renters. This brought an incredible array of people and organizations through our doors. Our walls and our scope become permeable as members and external community members each began taking advantage of our resources. And because of our own interests and curiosity, we began playing with this permeability and finding new avenues for community engagement and impact.

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your focus your decision

A Hub of learning

off site on mission

fill gaps as a trusted player

We believe that a shared space can not only serve members but also the communities in which it is situated. Shared spaces can be economic engines, idea generators, learning spaces, and incubators. Each centre must decide for itself whether and how it will relate to the world outside its walls – these activities may prove to be those with the greatest impact.

Open your space to the community by hosting workshops and presentations. This approach can turn your centre into a hub of learning and skills development, as members and external visitors increasingly look to the space as a place of capacity-building and organizational enhancement.

You may also decide to host, co-host, or engage in events that are off-site but which are consistent with your mission. Since opening our doors we have held a handful of events in other spaces: from a Ralph Nader speaking engagement at the local university to annual Social Innovation Summits and a Sharing for Social Change conference, the Centre for Social Innovation has organized and delivered largescale community events that build our brand and support our mission.

Sometimes there are pressing issues and topics that no one seems to be addressing. Over time we found that our organization gained increasing prominence as a ‘neutral’ and respected player in the social mission sector, and so we began to rise to the challenge of considering these subjects. We began to strategically convene think tanks, conversations, and “idea camps” around pressing issues so we could begin moving forward on solutions.

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beyond shared space the big city

CSI is both a service provider and a social innovator itself. Our goal with respect to our social innovation agenda is to develop, discover and share methods and models that others can use to create change in their local communities. In the past few years, we’ve created and shared our work developing new forms of governance, strategies for network evaluation, and insights into the practice of city innovation.

incubating change

The Centre for Social Innovation has also explored ‘incubation’ as a new activity area. This is a rather vague term but, for us, generally means providing some kind of support to an emerging initiative that is not yet incorporated. The supports we provide range from simple brand association and networking to back-end financial secretarial services (whereby we assume fiduciary responsibility for a project, using our own bank account and administrative systems). These projects rarely cover the costs of hosting them, so only those projects who serve some strategic interest – or whose value is near and dear to your organization or its mission – should be incubated.

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Building a shared workspace is an amazing experience. It is also a heck of a lot of work! The variety of tasks – from design to management to engagement to marketing – requires a broad range of skills and interests…and bucket loads of passion and commitment.

conclusion

This book was written to support the development of shared spaces dedicated to social innovation. It is based on our experiences here at the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto. We know that your experiences – like ours – are and will be unique. Our hope is not that you will mimic what we’ve done, but will instead adapt our model and innovate your own solutions to fit your community.

Ultimately, this isn’t even about shared space. It’s about changing the world. Shared spaces are just a vehicle to support the people who are making the world a better place. By connecting shared spaces in a community of practice, we’re improving our ability to support their work. We imagine a world where change agents are connected, empowered, and thriving - a world where we’re working together to fix our future. Join this growing community of shared space practitioners: socialinnovation.ca/sssi

And we want to hear what you’ve done! The whole purpose behind this series is to shed some light on how different organizations are creating shared spaces for social innovation. Did our work inspire you? Do you have improvements to what we’ve assembled or your own experiences and materials to offer? We want to work with you – to form a community of practice that will grow this field and allow us to exchange experiences, tools and ideas. So please do let us know what you’re up to by visiting our online space and adding your name to our growing community.

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Strategy & Research Communications

THE MOVEMENT

Interactive Platforms

info@themovement.info

proof How Shared Spaces are Changing the World

For additional copies of this publication, please visit: http://stores.lulu.com/socialinnovation For more information contact: sssi@socialinnovation.ca http://socialinnovation.ca you are free

to Share â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to copy, distribute and transmit the work to Remix â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to adapt the work under the following condiitons

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proof How Shared Spaces are Changing the World

the centre for Social innovation catalyzes and supports social innovation in toronto and around the world. we create community workspaces, incubate emerging enterprises, and develop new models and methods with world-changing potential.

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WANT TO HELP?

foreword

The Shared Spaces for Social Innovation Series is made up of three books: emergence: the Story of the centre for Social innovation. In this book we weave a narrative around our genesis and development. Starting back when the Centre was just a glimmer in the eyes of a few social entrepreneurs, Emergence follows our growth from concept to operation to scale. rigour: How to create world-changing Shared Spaces. This book is a manual for those planning or operating a shared space. It reveals the accumulated knowledge of six years of experience and offers a ton of tips, lessons and tools for developing a strong organization and vibrant community. proof: How Shared Spaces are changing the world. This report shares our most recent research on the impact of the Centre for Social Innovation in order to demonstrate just what shared spaces for social innovation can accomplish. Each book can be read on its own. Together they provide a comprehensive picture of the Centre for Social Innovation.

a work in progreSS

open Sourcing our Model

Access new releases and supporting materials.

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

But sharing is a two-way street. Actually, it’s more like a highway interchange!

Identify yourself as part of this growing community.

Download all of our templates and tools.

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

Now let’s change the world together!

Tonya Surman executiVe director

Table of contents

forew0rd

mission

networks

ideas

context t

introduction

impact

collaboration

money

happiness

conclusion 64

C H APTER

context

Creating the spaces where change happens

context

a shared spaCes glossary

SI Co-location refers to spaces that are shared among a number of separate organizations. Multi-Tenant Nonprofit Centers are types of co-location spaces that focus on the nonprofit sector.

Coworking refers to the sharing of workspace among freelancers and other independent workers. Coworking spaces provide workspace and community to people who are often working on their own.

Alongside new technologies has been the rise of ‘independents’ who work with several clients but who are not bound by the restrictions of any one physical space.

context

For-profit and nonprofit strategies are blending together. Shared spaces – and frequently their members – are examples of how mission-based and marketbased approaches can coincide.

Real estate prices are soaring worldwide, making it increasingly difficult for small groups and individuals to find affordable workspace.

spaCes emerging? The pendulum is swinging from global back to local. While the 90’s promised ‘virtual work’, the new millennium is reinforcing the importance of space.

The incentives for cost sharing have been growing. Nonprofits and charities are enduring ongoing cutbacks in administrative budgets while facing increasing demands from communities and individuals.

context

our theory of Change

context

Sierra Health Nonprofit Innovation Center in the Sacramento area (sierrahealth.org)

a three-pronged movement

The Hub, a coworking space, also applies a social change lens to their work (the-hub.net)

National Community Development Institute builds capacity for social change in communities (ncdinet.org)

context a Social cHange lenS

a focuS on SMall

the Csi twist

5 [D] * A

context

Arts

39 39

Social Justice

Capacity Builder

Technology

Community Economic Development

Social Services

Other

Law / Advocacy / Politics

Health & Disability

Public Space

l Form

porat

member snapshot

Professional% Association Recreation

ed Fo

porat

r-Prof

10 8

ed N

on-Pr ofit

Unico

rpora

Regis

tered

Char

ity

Know

Incorporated for-profit and incorporated nonprofits are equally represented among our members, at 23% each. 25% of members are registered charities, and 24% are unincorporated.

25 6

r he 10%

ke Bi 37

Wa lk

We are a community of the small but mighty: 94% of CSI members have three or fewer full-time equivalent staff.

Getting Here 4%

Don't

ted

52% of members describe themselves as working on the environment, 39% in culture, 31% in social justice, and 25% in technology (respondents were allowed to select multiple sectors).

Incor

% 52

Culture

Lega Incor

Sector Environment

riv

Tra

Two-thirds of members are under the age of 40, doing their best to keep the other third feeling young! Thirtyseven percent of members bicycle to work every day (fewer in Toronto winters!).

Download the survey and a report of the results:

socialinnovation.ca/sssi

C H APTER

introduction

the summary version is: itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s working

introduction

n 2004 a small group of social entrepreneurs launched the Centre for Social Innovation in the heart of downtown Toronto. We did so in the belief that sustainable design, thoughtful communitybuilding, and responsive programming could foster social innovation, and that working collaboratively was more powerful than working alone. We created an open-concept space in a beautiful heritage building and selected a diverse group of social mission organizations with which to fill it. We didn’t entirely know what would happen next, but we had no doubt that it was worth finding out.

CSI housed thirty-five people working in fourteen organizations when we opened. We’ve had several growth spurts since then, and we now provide shared space and services to over 180 social mission organizations and projects. Our members are nonprofits, activists, artists, tech wizards, and all manner of sociallyminded entrepreneurs, and they work in sectors ranging from the environment to social services to arts and culture. CSI members generate an estimated $25 million per year in revenues. It’s a lot of activity to pack into 23,000 square feet, and a testament to the value CSI and its members create. After just a few years of existence CSI is a vibrant minieconomy, dynamic and constantly evolving. We have been recognized (we can’t help but be a little proud to say) at the local, national, and international levels for our work, and have been honoured with, among others, the Toronto Community Foundation Vital Idea Award, the Canadian Urban Institute City Innovation Award, and the Ashoka Global Fellowship for executive director Tonya Surman.

space + community = innovation Our aim, in building CSI, was to catalyze social innovation. A social innovation is a new idea, or a new application of an old idea, that resolves social, cultural, economic, and environmental challenges for the benefit of people and planet. More simply, a social innovation is an idea that works for the public good. Social innovation is about doing things differently, and social innovation happens when people re-examine assumptions about how things ought to be done.

More simply, a social innovation is an idea that works for the public good.

introduction

public sector

When we created CSI we had more questions than answers: nonprofit

ow does social innovation emerge? Well, it can’t be neatly pinned down or reduced to a formula, but we can say for certain that it requires the freedom to explore and the opportunity to collaborate across silos. Social innovation can emerge in the for-profit, nonprofit, and public sectors and, increasingly, it is happening in the intersections between the three. It requires energy, practical smarts, the ability to do a lot with few resources—and perhaps most of all, it requires a community of support. That is why, around the world, we are witnessing the emergence of shared spaces designed to foster social innovation.

for-profit

Would members benefit from exposure to others who were likeminded? Would they be able to work more efficiently? Would organizations that came to work in the same place end up working together?

Social innovation is happening in the intersections between sectors. Organizations, governments, and businesses must explore beyond traditional divides.

Would social innovation actually emerge?

Turnover is low, the waiting list is permanent, and CSI is only going to keep growing over the next few years to keep up with demand. Members have made new connections, shared knowledge, improved their bottom lines, and increased satisfaction in their work. They are fulfilling their missions, fulfilling them better, and developing a much deeper understanding of and engagement with the social mission sector of which they are a part. Quite simply, CSI both fosters social innovation and is a social innovation—a new model for how individuals and organizations committed to social and environmental progress can combine their energies to both create a more The detailed discussion of CSI’s impact humane working environment and do more unfolds over the following chapters, effective work. but the summary version is: it’s working. Now, more than six years after we first opened our doors, we finally have the time, the experience, and the body of evidence to help us answer these questions. In the pages that follow you will find a summary and analysis of our findings—our internal report card, in a manner of speaking—based on the member survey we conducted in November 2008. We have, under one roof, the collected wisdom of nearly two hundred member organizations: it’s an unprecedented opportunity for reflection, evaluation, and learning, and we didn’t want to let too much longer pass before making the most of it.

Community support is required to foster this innovation.

introduction

We believed in our theory of change from the very day we decided to open CSI: we were convinced that if we created the right kind of space that community would emerge, and if we supported the right kind of community that innovation would emerge. What we didn’t know back then was just how that innovation would manifest itself—we didn’t know what shape it would take. We started to get a sense of this as CSI and its members flourished and grew, but it didn’t fully come into view until we conducted our member survey. By then we had a substantial population with a significant amount of experience in the space, all of whom were very generous in sharing their experiences and insights with us, and we were able to draw out a more nuanced sense of the ways in which space and community were contributing to social innovation.

What we’d been after, what the survey crystallized and what we detail in the chapters that follow, are the ways in which membership in CSI catalyzes social innovation.

introduction

We wanted to understand just how space and community creates the conditions for social innovation to emerge.

SOCIAL INNOVATION

We found that membership at CSI produces six key impacts.

These six impacts are key to catalyzing social innovation in a shared space.

MISSION NETWORKS

COMMUNITY

IDEAS COLLABORATION MONEY

SPACE

HAPPINESS

C H APTER

impact

Each of these six impacts plays a role in catalyzing social innovation

“CSI has enabled our organization to concentrate its juices.”

Impact Mission At first glance, you might think that organizations opt for a shared workspace in order to save on expenses. That is certainly the case sometimes, but not actually the general rule at CSI. Most of our members came out of home offices and they spend more on rent here than they did previously. These are organizations running, for the most part, on shoestring budgets, and as congenial as they may find the atmosphere at CSI they also need to see real practical benefits. The first and most basic of these is that moving to CSI frees up an organization to focus on its mission, rather than having to regularly tend to administrative, maintenance, and other routine office tasks.

Simply: the space we provide, the very foundation of our theory of change pyramid, aids innovation because we take all kinds of mundane operations off our members’ plates. Organizations are better able to attract and retain topnotch staff because of the amenities and working environment we provide compared to other, lower-cost options, and organizations are better able to benefit from their staff’s expertise because they are focused on program delivery rather than clearing photocopy jams. We provide space, but also take care of all the work that goes along with it: we deal with everything from office cleaning to phone line maintenance, which means our members don’t have to.

76%

76% of organizational leaders say that membership has enabled their organization to access better facilities than they had previously.

71%

71% of organizational leaders at CSI say the shared space has enabled their organization to work more efficiently.

70%

70% of individual tenants say that working in the shared space has enabled them to do their job more effectively.

An additional benefit of having access to better facilities is increased professionalism. CSI provides facilities that are more conducive to professional activity than many organizations’ previous locations. This boosts staff energy, and allows members to put a polished face on their operations. According to the survey, 71% of organizational leaders feel that membership at CSI has improved the professionalism of their organization and 70% of individual members feel that working in the shared space has enabled them to do their job more effectively. Moreover, 73% of organizational leaders at CSI say that membership in the shared space has enabled their organization to improve its professional reputation, and 76% believe that membership has improved their organization’s image in the community. Essentially all of CSI’s members (97%) say they are proud to bring funders, partners and clients to their workplace.

“CSI has provided efficiencies and services that took a huge administrative burden from our small overworked staff.”

“It has allowed our organization to focus its limited human and financial resources on mission.”

97%

Essentially all of CSI’s members (97%) say they are proud to bring funders, partners and clients to their workplace.

73%

73% of organizational leaders at CSI say that membership in the shared space has enabled their organization to improve its professional reputation.

76%

76% believe that membership has improved their organization’s image in the community.

“It is wonderful to work… where so much is done for you in terms of amenities so that you can get down to business.”

impact Mission

How a Focus on Mission Catalyzes Social Innovation

“The [CSI] space does physically what youth workers do personally...” The Frontline Partners with Youth Network (FPYN) brings together more than 1,000 youth workers from all sectors across the Greater Toronto Area. The facilities offered to members at CSI also lend a sense of permanence and professionalism to FPYN that is crucial for attracting and retaining their network of workers. Having regular access to meeting rooms for get-togethers helps to bind the network together, and creates a space of trust and openness. As one worker notes, “The [CSI] space does Now in its third year at CSI, FPYN attriphysically what youth workers do personbutes much of its success to the services ally,” alluding to the sense of connectivand infrastructure available to its staff. ity and intimacy that CSI embodies. HavThe core CSI staff team eliminates baing the necessary facilities, equipment, sic office management duties, such as and technology provided by CSI means coping with photocopiers, phone lines, FPYN staff can dedicate their time to and printers. Without those burdenmeet the needs of these workers. This some tasks, FPYN staff can concentrate stability and sense of community encouron developing the organization’s proage the workers to take chances, discuss grams and advocating for policy change. challenges, and collaboratively come up Equally, FPYN staff benefit from ongoing with solutions to any challenges they are support and mentoring from a diverse facing in their work. group of business experts and innovators within CSI environment. They come together regularly to support each other in dealing with the effects of gun violence, oppression, and hatred. Through workshops and training, discussion groups, and information sharing, FPYN connects and empowers individuals that are working in an otherwise isolating and often traumatic field.

Supporting Youth Workers Across Toronto 42

The core CSI staff team eliminates basic office management duties.

And as for its successes? FPYN’s networks have flourished from 200 to 1,100 members who represent hundreds of organizations. The network facilitates the exchange of over 2,000 youth-related information items every year and has held over 40 trainings and facilitations to youth workers. Last year, FPYN completed a research study on Grief and Trauma impacts on Frontline Workers - the first and only study of its kind. Jenny Katz sums up the story neatly: “It’s like these reverberating circles of impact. The infrastructure support we receive at CSI allows us to focus on our mission and to be creative about our work. We’re doing things we imagined years ago but never had the means to achieve – and it’s making a real different in the lives of youth workers in Toronto.”

“...the knowledge sharing, contacts, and general profession interaction have been invaluable.”

Impact Networks

79%

82% Moving to CSI doesn’t just give an organization access to new facilities—it provides access to a whole new community of fellow members. As we all become increasingly aware of the power of social networks, the advantages this confers are ever clearer. The most reliable way to find a new service provider, collaborator, or colleague is often to ask for recommendations from people you already know, and the best way to expand and deepen your work is by engaging with others who have similar interests and have experiences and insights to share. This is one way that community creates innovation: it brings people together to learn from

each other, mutually aid and reinforce one another, and introduces members to other organizations who may have skills or experiences that can enhance their own work. Small organizations such as the ones that take up residency in CSI often start out in someone’s basement: they generally exist in isolation until they come here. This can not only be dispiriting, it poses practical limits on the ease of learning about, pursuing, or implementing anything out of an organization’s base skill-set: that is, isolation creates barriers to innovation. Because CSI members have been intentionally chosen from a mix of sectors—arts, environment, social services,

technology, and others—members have, immediately on joining, ready access to a vastly expanded network, with a wide variety of skills, experience, and knowledge bases, on which they can easily draw. This network expansion happens both organically, as a natural outcome of sharing common space, and as a result of community animation.

82% of members indicate that membership at CSI has expanded their personal networks.

92%

92% of members indicate that membership at CSI has expanded their professional networks.

“The most important thing that tenancy at CSI has done for me is to expand my networks and horizons.”

“Being a part of CSI has expanded my knowledge of the social sector and vastly built up my network as well.”

“Tenancy in this shared space has plugged me into a whole new network of friendly, interesting people.”

“It seems like every time I need a contact for a job, somebody [in the shared space] knows exactly who to contact.”

79% of members indicate that services, programs, events, and other CSI initiatives have helped them exchange contacts with other members.

impact Networks

How Expanded Networks Catalyze Social Innovation

a movement begins with a brisk walk

In the spring of 2006, Jane Jacobs – an urban planning icon – passed away. Her death affected many members of the CSI community; she had been an incredibly influential voice and thinker, especially in Toronto.

3 years

Shortly after Jane Jacob’s death, a CSI member named Chris Winter, of the Conservation Council of Ontario, attended a meeting at CSI hosted by the Ontario Smart Growth Network. The purpose of the meeting was to explore how to promote more walking in neighbourhoods. Chris proposed the idea of having neighbourhood walks to celebrate Jane Jacobs. Each walk would be locally led and would encourage an exploration of the urban environment and the relationship citizens have with the spaces they inhabit.

Jane’s Walk is a social innovation for its unique approach of getting citizens engaged with their local urban environments. In a brilliant yet simple way, Jane’s Walk starts a conversation and rekindles the powerful relationship between city design and citizens. Jane’s Walk is predicated on an open, decentralized and self-organizing model whereby anyone can offer to lead a walk by proposing a tour idea. Using a light-touch, a single staff person supports the leaders and creates buzz that raises awareness of all the walks across the city.

Chris shared his idea with CSI co-founders Mary Rowe and Margie Zeidler. Using their collective social networks and the support of the Jane Jacobs’ Award at the Maytree Foundation, the idea went viral. On Jane Jacob’s birthday, six weeks after the idea was first hatched, 27 neighbourhood walks were held in Toronto to explore and celebrate peoples’ relationship with urban spaces and with each other.

“It’s a story born and bred on networks,” confirms Jane Farrow, the Executive Director of Jane’s Walk world-wide. “Our genesis was based on a web of connections formed and fostered through the Centre for Social Innovation’s extended family. And our success is based on our ability to leverage these and additional networks, reaching into all corners of the city.”

68 cities

400 walks

12,000 walkers

Three years later, Jane’s Walk is operating neighbourhood walks in 68 cities around the world, boasting more than 400 walks with over 12,000 walkers. It’s the story of the city by the city, led through civic action…and fuelled by networks.

86%

Impact Ideas Ideas are at the heart of social innovation: the ability to reimagine a situation, problem, or challenge, and to bring fresh approaches is what innovation is all about. Ideas require initial inspiration, and then they require refinement based on knowledge and experience if they are to be implemented effectively. The single biggest catalyst for a new idea is being exposed to other people, their work, their knowledge, and their experiences. An innovation is never created new out of whole cloth: it always owes debts, and always has catalyzing influences. And this is another crucial way in which community aids innovation: it provides catalyzing inspiration.

of CSI members say the shared space has enabled them to exchange ideas with other social innovators.

“By being surrounded by so many wonderful and socially responsible people, I have certainly raised my own awareness... I attribute this success to CSI and the social net we have, as interaction is a constantly inspiring and illuminating experience.”

Becoming a member of a community, because it expands the network of people with whom you engage, also multiplies the number of ideas to which you are exposed, and thereby expands your capacity to generate, expand on, or find new applications for ideas yourself. New ideas don’t emerge in a vacuum—they need oxygen, and that is what CSI provides. By constantly meeting and engaging with other members and learning about their work, an organization can always find fresh sources of inspiration, learn about the latest developments in other sectors, accelerate learning curves, and become more intellectually, strategically, and practically robust.

“I have learned a lot more about trends in the sustainability world that I would not otherwise know about.”

67%

of members say that membership has enabled them to learn about new ideas, trends, information, techniques and/or audiences that have helped them become better positioned in their work.

“Connection to the ‘meme stream’ of ideas around social innovation, social entrepreneurial initiatives, and the whole ‘getting to maybe’ concept, have all impacted my work over the last few years.”

CSI is an environment rich in communication and sharing: this is both due to its space and to its community. In this atmosphere, information and ideas flow among members, and between members and their expanded networks of contacts outside the space, and when increasing numbers of creative, passionate people connect and communicate, what emerges are new ideas for social change. Members view this open exchange of ideas as one of the most valuable aspects of participation in CSI’s shared space community.

impact Ideas

Chris Winter – inspirer of Jane’s Walk – isn’t just churning out bright ideas for others; he’s been able to advance his own organization as a result of membership in CSI.

How New Ideas Catalyze Social Innovation

bringing green ideas to life

Established in 1951, the Conservation Council of Ontario is a leader in environmental awareness across the province. After its nearly sixty years, the CCO still continues to improve its practices in virtue of the intellectual stimulation it finds at CSI. Chris admits that when he first came to CSI he felt a hint of scepticism about how the member mix, including many organizations working outside of the CCO’s environmental sector, might benefit the organization. However, it didn’t take long for him to discover the wealth of knowledge that was available to him, and the creative ways he could apply this knowledge to his work. “You may or may not know what you want from someone,” he says “but as you encounter bumps along the way, someone is always there with a solution.”

ance to CCO over the years. With their experience in managing large sums of money, Chris says they have been instrumental in helping with grant proposals and organizing budgets. CCO has also bounced around ideas with the Chinese Canadian National Council of Toronto (CCNCTO) to enhance its understanding of social marketing. Since having some conversations with CCNCTO, CCO has more consciously tapped into its networks for outreach and communitybased engagement projects. One result Creative Trust and Community Cultural of this has been a contract with the muImpresarios are two other CSI mem- nicipal government to create a city-wide bers—both arts rather than environ- network of LEED certified organizations. mental organizations—that have offered Within the environmental sector, CCO tremendous informal fundraising guid-

has swapped stories with the Sustainability Network about building and connecting various groups. These conversations have strengthened its community capacity-building practices. Similarly, conversations between CCO and Green Enterprise Toronto have resulted in a job-sharing arrangement. What he has seen, says Chris, is that everyday exchanges spark new ideas for programs and projects that help CCO to fulfil its mission. The organization’s membership at CSI is helping it make our world a greener place, one conversation at a time.

85%

= 85% of CSI members have collaborated with at least one other member.

Impact Collaboration

Member Capacity

70%

41%

expanded Capacity

Because our members tend to be fairly small, one of the greatest barriers they encounter is running up against their own organizational limits: sometimes they have goals or envision projects which they don’t have the capacity or the resources to pursue, or pursue as effectively as possible, on their own. Membership at CSI is tremendously useful in these cases, because the community at the Centre provides a ready-made pool of potential collaborators. Moreover, being embedded in a community can inspire organizations to collaborate on entirely new projects none of them would have envisioned were they not in close contact already.

56%

50%

70% of members have engaged in at least one joint initiative.

56% of tenants say that CSI’s services, programs, events, or other initiatives have helped them to engage in joint activities with other tenants. 50% of members have collaborated or done business with outside individuals or organizations referred to them by their fellow members.

In this sense, collaboration acts as a capacity-building mechanism, allowing a pair or group of organizations to accomplish more than they each could on their own. This is one of the greatest boosts to innovation CSI provides: by virtue of the extended networks that come along with membership, more ambitious pursuits become possible.

41% have engaged in collaborative activities with at least five other members.

Most social mission organizations already know that the problems we face can rarely be addressed by any one organization, sector, or point of view. Joining forces allows several social innovators to leverage each of their strengths in the service of larger goals, and to become stronger as individual organizations because of the learning and growth these collaborations facilitate.

“I certainly believe that interaction and collaboration with other tenants is important—in fact, that is one of the most important reasons for choosing CSI versus just an office space. Other people hold perspectives and information that is exceptionally stimulating for my business, and I greatly enjoy both volunteering for others’ projects and being employed by them…”

In addition to the collaboration occurring within CSI, 50% of members have collaborated or done business with outside individuals or organizations referred to them by their fellow members. Members value opportunities for collaboration, both within and outside of CSI, as among the most important benefits of participation membership in the Centre.

impact Collaboration

“The advantage, is that all our candid chats often lead to those ‘aha!’ moments.”

How Collaboration Catalyzes Social Innovation

protecting our furry friends

“Save the ‘Bou” was born out of CSI in 2009, as an innovative solution to conserving the Ontario Woodland Caribou and its habitat.

How many people does it take to save a caribou? According to Shiloh Bouvette of Canopy, “Tackling an issue using all players in the field is instrumental in effecting change.” Canopy is one of four organizations collaborating on the “Save the ‘Bou” campaign. The project was born out of CSI in 2009, as an innovative solution to conserving the Ontario Woodland Caribou and its habitat. Together, Canopy Planet, Forest Ethics, the David Suzuki Foundation, and Greenpeace have pooled their resources to raise awareness about the at-risk species.

equally valued roles each plays. Each group contributes something different, drawing on their individual networks, areas of expertise, and tried-and-true approaches for reaching different sectors. As a result, the campaign came together in short order. In the fall of 2009, the partners launched a social media strategy to help raise awareness about the issue. Within six months of launch, the Save the ‘Bou campaign drew about 1000 fans to the Facebook site, and have generated over 10,000 emails to Ontario Premier McGuinty about the importance “The advantage,” says Shiloh “is that of protecting Woodland Caribou. all our candid chats often lead to those ‘aha!’ moments.” She can quickly run While the campaign hasn’t yet reached ideas by Catharine over a coffee at noon. its goals, the partners have garnered Similarly, Catharine observes that while attention and mobilized action with collaborative projects are often stunted greater ease than any one partner could by logistical frustrations or miscommu- achieve on its own. As the groups have nication, having partners nearby allows realized, the problem is a complex one, them to address any issues immediately. and it needs to be approached in a creMoreover, this sense of ease keeps the ative, multi-dimensional way. This takes groups energized and fresh ideas flowing. innovative thinking: collaboration is often this first step on this path. The partners mainly attribute the success of “Save the ‘Bous” to the distinct but Conversations at CSI initially sparked the campaign, and it has been sustained by the close working relationship the organizations have been able to develop because of their location at CSI. Shiloh shares an office with Catharine Grant of Forest Ethics, and the David Suzuki Foundation is just two floors down. (Greenpeace isn’t based at CSI, but its offices are only blocks away). The organizations agree that being in such close proximity enhances their ability to achieve project goals.

36%

Impact Money

30%

30% of members agree that membership has helped them to generate more interest from funders.

All of the community-driven impacts we’ve just looked at—administrative efficiency, expanding networks, sparking new ideas, and fostering collaboration— combine to create another crucial benefit: improving members’ financial positions.

60%

60% of members indicated that being at CSI had improved their organization’s ability to generate revenue through the sale of goods and / or services.

Even for nonprofits, the bottom line always matters: financial sustainability is essential for any organization, no matter its funding or income-generation model. If ideas are to be implemented— if projects are to be not just conceived but actually realized in the world—then they must be backed by viable financial plans that offer stability and adequate resources for the full duration the project requires. This is doubly true for innovative organizations, whose projects break new ground and may take some time to find their footing, and which may not fit traditional funding schemes or business models to begin with.

“The most important thing that tenancy at CSI has done for my organization’s ability to achieve its mission is to provide a network of organizations interested in our work – all of our business is word of mouth.”

hopes was that it would help organizations’ finances, and our survey found that it has, in fact, done just that. How?

In part, CSI provides members with greater access to markets and to funders. Many new business relationships have sprung up among members at CSI—an extension of the collaboration we’ve already seen. Additionally, because working out of CSI rather than home or other makeshift offices increases an organization’s professionalism, profile, and public For many social mission organizations, a exposure. Joining CSI ensures members lack of stable funding is the biggest lim- are better placed when they approach iting factor on their ability to innovate. outside funders and potential clients. When we founded CSI one of our main

“The thing that has most pleasantly surprised me about CSI is business from people I like and met here.”

And in part, as organizations grow and change over time, CSI helps keep costs down by providing lower-cost workspace than an independent office would, once those organizations have made the leap from the home office to a rented space. In a recent expansion, almost all the newly created offices were taken by existing CSI members who were “graduating” to larger workspaces than the ones they’d previously occupied, and on other occasions organizations have downgraded their member packages if they found they needed a smaller space or fewer hours. Because CSI offers a variety of workspaces at a variety of price points, it gives members the flexibility (as waiting lists clear) of shifting up or down as best suits their resources and work.

30%

36% of respondents who generate revenue through the sales of goods or services reported that they had generated revenue through business relationships with other CSI members. Additionally, 30% reported that they had done so by conducting business with “outside” contacts to which they were referred by other CSI members.

“[A main benefit of CSI is] by just being here, clients have walked up and asked if I would be interested in working with them…the networking alone is worth the rent.”

had generated revenue through sales to other CSI members, and 30% reported that they had done so by conducting business with outside contacts to whom they were referred by fellow CSI members.

CSI drives revenue among its members by fostering referrals and collaborative opportunities: by facilitating a vastly expanded range and number of interactions, CSI ensures that its members We conducted a short follow-up survey are meeting potential clients every day. in November 2009, to further explore the Moreover, CSI members increase their impact of CSI members’ ability to gen- professional credibility by being loerate revenue. In this survey, of the 53 cated in the shared space, resulting in respondents whose organizations gener- increased access to and a heightened ate revenue through the sale of goods reputation among funders and clients. and/or services, 36% reported that they

“Our board is very satisfied with the ROI for CSI.”

impact Money

How Increased Revenue Catalyzes Social Innovation Two years into the project and TechSoup Canada has provided donated software to over five thousand NPOs and saved Canada’s nonprofit sector over $23 million.

Making social change sustainable 58

Of the many infrastructure challenges facing Canada’s nonprofit organizations, a lack of up-to-date software can be among the most painful. Too many organizations suffer through substandard technology; a situation that CSI member Partnership Platform decided could no longer be tolerated. So they partnered with TechSoup Global to create TechSoup Canada - a dedicated software provider to support Canadian charities and nonprofits.

“Being at CSI has been essential to our success. The networks and support we’ve gained through membership have allowed us to scale our operations at an extraordinary pace. We’ve built a self-sustaining enterprise that empowers the work of thousands of organizations in Canada.”

TechSoup Canada works with major software producers like Microsoft and Adobe to help manage their charitable giving programs. Acting as intermediary, TechSoup Canada connects nonprofit organizations to these programs as a way to foster savings and improve access to new technology. The program got its start in Canada in 2008 with a grant from the Ontario Trillium Founda“Canada’s nonprofit and charitable section. The hitch: When the money ran out, tor wasn’t being served as effectively as TechSoup Canada would be left on its it could,” says Jane Zhang, TechSoup own to sink or swim. Canada’s Program Director. “A made-inCanada program would focus its efforts on the 160,000 organizations that support our local communities.”

Two years into the project and TechSoup Canada had made thousands of sales that have saved Canada’s nonprofit sector over $23 million. With the grant money now expired, TechSoup Canada generates enough revenue through its administration fee to cover its operational costs – and to support its growth. Jane concludes, “Being at CSI has been essential to our success. The networks and support we’ve gained through membership have allowed us to scale our operations at an extraordinary pace. We’ve built a self-sustaining enterprise that empowers the work of thousands of organizations in Canada.”

72%

Impact Happiness

87%

87% of members feel that working at CSI has improved the quality of their professional life.

63%

63% of CSI members say that working in the shared space has influenced their decision to stay employed in their current organization.

Increased happiness and well-being: it is the most ephemeral, but also perhaps the most important benefit of working in a shared space like CSI. It can’t easily be measured, and its worth doesn’t translate into dollars and cents, but it was the most gratifying of all the impacts our survey uncovered. Process matters, health matters, functionality matters— happiness matters. For us at CSI, there is no greater reward than knowing that the space we’ve created and the community of people we’ve brought together have made our members happier—most especially because our members are people who are dedicating their lives to creatively tackling the problems our society faces.

Increasingly, employers are also recognizing the more pragmatic benefits of happiness and well-being. They are learning that this kind of satisfaction translates into staff retention and productivity, and we know that our members are doing better at their work because they are enjoying it more. In fact, those working in the social mission sector often do poorly in terms of the quality of their own work conditions and stress levels, and often report feeling precarious and anxious. Health and happiness are critical for staff retention and for ensuring that social innovators can maintain their commitment to their work—we cannot innovate unless we are coming from a position of security and personal sustainability. By providing a beautiful, healthy workspace, and a community of supportive, like-minded compatriots in the social mission sector, CSI contributes vitally to that sense of well-being. In doing so, it provides essential support for social mission workers with big dreams, and often bigger challenges.

“Life is too short to work in sterile places. CSI is alive and has built a community of good people. I love being a part of that.”

96%

At CSI, 96% of tenants feel that the space has a “great vibe”

92%

92% of members feel that CSI is a healthy physical environment in which to work.

62%

62% indicate that working at CSI has made it easier for them to live a healthy lifestyle.

72% of members feel that CSI has helped them to live their values.

“CSI has provided me with an energizing, intellectually stimulating, warm and welcoming work environment.” “[Moving into CSI] helped me settle in [Toronto] and provided a healthy and inspiring and fun environment.”

“I feel lucky to be here. It is a vibrant, beautiful and inspiring place that makes me happy to live and work in this city.”

76% “The most important thing that tenancy at CSI has done for me, personally, is to provide me with a healthy place to work – physically and emotionally in so many ways.”

76% of members agree that membership at CSI has made them a happier person.

impact Happiness

How Happiness Catalyzes Social Innovation

You’ll always have a home at CSI 62

“CSI is out to serve you,” she comments, “It is such a democratic environment that offers members freedom for optional ways of working.” Flexibility and trust are two ingredients that are crucial to Allanah’s ongoing participation in CSI life and commitment to her professional work. CSI can accommodate just about anyone with its variety of work packages and all the available shared resources. Allanah feels a tremendous Moreover, Allanah feels a tremendous sense of value and honour in sense of value and honour in being part being part of such a talented of such a talented community of people. Contrary to many organizational struccommunity of people. tures that differentiate individuals by age, experience, or professional background, Allanah finds the diversity of CSI community truly stimulating. Being “You’ll always have a home at CSI,” rewell-established in her own career, it is flects Allanah Scott, project manager at energizing for Allanah to work alongside independent film company Coptor Productions. “The spirit here is fantastic,” she says enthusiastically, “and there is such a sense of belonging.” Allanah, “The spirit here is now in her early 60s, has a background fantastic, and there as an artist, educator, and activist. She is such a sense of and her husband moved to Toronto just belonging.” a short while ago, in 2007—however, far from being intimidated by the transition, Allanah celebrated the relocation of her those just starting out—their enthusiasm work to a space so well-aligned with her is buoyant, and their spirit transfers into her work. personal values.

Allanah also benefits from the learning process that goes on between members and across sectors. By hearing what solutions and innovations others around her are implementing, she reflects on her own ideas and practices with Coptor Productions. Working for a company that brings awareness to political, social, environmental, and cultural issues through film, Allanah finds that CSI and its members offer her continual sources of inspiration. Since moving into the Centre, Coptor has produced and released a number of films on the Canadian arts scene and an eye-opening documentary on the weaponization of space, which has shown in fourteen European and African Documentary Film Festivals and which is slated to be the opening film at the Oxford UK Film Festival. It may be hard to measure, but personal happiness – our own confidence, comfort and sense of purpose – is what powers our efforts to pursue our passions and make a difference.

conclusion

ne of the great joys of operating the Centre for Social Innovation has been watching our members blossom and grow. On one level, CSI’s goal is to ease the practical load small social mission organizations have to carry: to take some of the mundane but timeconsuming burdens off their plate and free them up to do their work better, do more of it, and do it more efficiently. But on another, deeper level, our goal is to serve as something like a science lab: a safe, stable environment in which organizations can experiment, work across silos, learn from each other, and create entirely new goals and projects—ones that are more exciting and ambitious than anything one of them individually would be able to cook up with a home chemistry set.

had a pretty good sense all along that we were helping our members achieve and grow, this is the first time we’ve been able to thoroughly measure the impact of the shared space CSI provides, and by extension, that other similar centres might be able to provide. We’ve been able to use the findings of our comprehensive survey to analyse the specific ways in which shared spaces support organizations, and support the social innovations that those social organizations pursue—and we very much hope that this will help city-builders elsewhere reproduce these benefits in their own communities and in their local social mission sectors. This Impact Report isn’t just our internal report card: it’s our way of trying to buoy the field of shared spaces for social innovation more generally, to support the emergence of other shared spaces by pointing out just how valuable they can be.

In addition to all the facts and figures, the percentages and the quantitative feedback, we wanted to make sure to include expanded, detailed anecdotes and experiences that some of our members shared. They help put a human, personal face on CSI’s impact, and illustrate how the benefits yielded by shared spaces can drive social innovation far more compelling than the numbers alone could do. And these members provide but a handful of examples: we see the impact of shared spaces on our members’ ability to push themselves, to grow, to innovate, every single day at the Centre for Social Innovation.

Shared spaces are more than just a place to work. They can be – with the right motivation and attention – hotbeds of social innovation. Through this report we have attempted to uncover the ways in which CSI supports social innovation in hopes of inspiring other shared spaces, and in At CSI organizations focus on their mis- a heartfelt desire to foster social innovasions, expand their networks, gener- tion in communities around the world. ate and adopt new ideas, collaborate, strengthen their bottom lines, and have happier staff. Taken together, these impacts make the case—practical and And now, in presenting this report, we philosophical—for the importance of are striving to achieve something else as and opportunity contained in the shared well: helping others build more shared spaces movement. spaces for social innovation. While we

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