Collective Action Ecosystem
How might we foster a sense of community between organizations in the pursuit of systemic action in climate advocacy?
The Collective Action Ecosystem trio is passionate about exploring new ways towards a regenerative and resilient city. Their project was grounded in conversation and idea sharing, and working towards communicating knowledge and information in different ways. Their trio embraced the beauty of work across organizations and created something meaningful with community.
Portfolio of Learning
Hello, my name is Anjali Ford. I am an undergraduate student at Mount Royal University, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with a Minor in Geography. Through my journey, I have had the privilege of participating in the Catamount Fellowship with the Institute for Community Prosperity as a 2026 Fellow. I am deeply grateful for the support of Barb Rallison, Cordelia Snowdon-Lawley, and my fellow Fellows. I would also like to recognize and thank my trio partners, Jennifer Makar and Carlos Fiorentino. Finally, I would like to thank everyone else who helped to support and contribute to my experience through the 2025 Changemaker Certificate and 2025/2026 Catamount Fellowship.
With Jen as my community partner and Carlos as my faculty advisor, we explored the question, “How might we foster a sense of community between organizations in the pursuit of systemic action in climate action?” Through the inquiry process, key gaps in the City of Calgary’s partnerships with community organizations were identified. These gaps in the system included: collaboration lacking structural support, limited resources, high-level shared goals but a lack of shared goals at the operational level, data sharing and coordination were both limited, as are opportunities for shared learning, and a lack of tools to support working together. Subsequent research led me to the Collective Impact Framework (CIF), a powerful model for collaboration to create systems-level change!
As my deliverable for the Fellowship, I have designed a guided walk, which can be completed individually. Whether your engagement with this walk is your first introduction to the CIF, or if you come to this experience already knowledgeable about CIF, I hope you come to better understand the five key elements that make up the CIF. I also hope you move on from this experience feeling more connected to our natural world and inspired to work with our city community and pursue climate action!
