About
StartWork is a novel partnership between the Government of Alberta, Northpine Foundation and Mount Royal University. StartWork provides an alternative to Alberta Income Support for refugees and others experiencing barriers to employment.
In November 2024, forty refugees chose to leave Alberta Income Support and begin StartWork. Four employment paths were available through community partners with expertise in employment training and labour market integration. The tailored support StartWork participants received enabled them to gain Canadian work experience and begin developing a sustainable livelihood for themselves and their families.
What makes StartWork unique?
In partnership with the Government of Alberta and Northpine Foundation, the Institute for Community Prosperity is testing a brand new mode of community investment. If successful, this form of investment could upend existing community investment practices across government, foundations, and corporate sponsorship. StartWork has applied an outcomes procurement approach in working with the Government of Alberta to address the high demand for Alberta Income Support.
What is outcomes procurement?
Outcomes procurement follows procurement practices already widely used in government to create social benefit while saving the government money. This is in contrast to the government's existing relationship with non profits as funders which creates a competitive and constrained environment for non profits to deliver their services. Outcomes procurement modernizes the relationship between non profits and overburdened government agencies while leveraging the marketplace to ensure non profits have the resources they need to to create transformative impact in the communities they serve.
In the case of StartWork, Northpine Foundation provided the up front investment. The contract payment from the Government of Alberta at ‘12 months off Income Support’ and ‘24 months off Income Support’ was re-invested into a second contract working with up to 300 people to exit Alberta Income Support, and so on for future contracts.
How does procurement differ from traditional funding?
Who is involved?
StartWork is made possible thanks to a novel partnership between the Government of Alberta, Northpine Foundation, and the Institute for Community Prosperity at Mount Royal University, along with participating community partners.
Refugees participating in StartWork come from all over the world with the majority of individuals aged 30 - 59.
“ You didn’t just help me find work—you helped me rebuild my confidence, and that means everything.
StartWork participant
“ StartWork put me on the right path toward finding a job and becoming independent from Alberta Income Support. This program is helping me take my first real steps into the workforce in Calgary. Being part of StartWork makes me feel valuable and more confident, especially after moving to Canada just 10 months ago.
StartWork participant
How to get involved?
Community partners
StartWork is currently seeking community partners with expertise in employment training and labour-market integration for individuals facing barriers to employment.
Contact Barb Rallison at brallison@mtroyal.ca to learn more.
Community organizations or foundations
Are you a community organization or foundation seeking to apply outcomes procurement in your own work?
UpEnd is a practitioner’s guide to unlocking resources for social good. It will be published soon!
Faculty at MRU
Are you a faculty member at MRU with an interest in community-engaged teaching and scholarship?
Contact Barb Rallison at brallison@mtroyal.ca to explore opportunities.
Join us at MRU on Wednesday, December 3rd from 9:00 - 11:00am as we celebrate the milestones achieved and the many contributors to StartWork. StartWork is a novel partnership between the Government of Alberta, Northpine Foundation and Mount Royal University providing an entry point to employment for individuals facing barriers to employment as an alternative to Alberta Income Support. StartWork is piloting an outcomes procurement approach to resource this initiative. We hope to see you at the gathering as we share our learnings from applying this approach.
Resources
Upend: How Nonprofits, Governments, and Charities Can Work Together Differently To Get What We All Want
Written by Shaun Loney, an Ashoka Fellow and EY Entrepreneur of the Year, with contributions from our Associate Director, Barb Rallison, this book offers practical strategies for making meaningful progress in addressing issues such as homelessness, poverty, crime, and climate change.
Stay tuned for the upcoming book launch!
Financing Social Solutions through Outcomes Procurement Community Portraits
The report shows Outcomes Procurement results in dividends to multiple stakeholders. Workloads are reduced for emergency service providers (such as police) and also for Health and Justice. The revenue model is sustainable because ending problems is less expensive than managing them. The model can address social problems without additional costs or risks to government.
Questions?
Contact Michelle Lee at mlee2@mtroyal.ca.
