Community Economic Development
Capacity – Self-Assessment Tool
Enabling Fund for
Official Language Minority Communities
Version 3.0
September 2011
Table of contents
Page
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................................................. 3
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 5
CONTEXT ...................................................................................................................................................................5
PURPOSE ...................................................................................................................................................................5
OVERVIEW OF THE TOOL .................................................................................................................................................6
Linguistic vitality...................................................................................................................................................8
Measuring change over time ...............................................................................................................................8
TOOL TERMINOLOGY ......................................................................................................................................................9
A. Community Economic Development and its dimensions .................................................................................9
Dimensions ...........................................................................................................................................................9
B. Community assets and asset-related themes ................................................................................................10
C. Community capacity stages ...........................................................................................................................11
HOW WAS THE TOOL DEVELOPED? ..................................................................................................................................12
Phase 1 – Building on what was already available ............................................................................................12
Phase 2 – Developing and piloting the first version ...........................................................................................12
Phase 3 – Developing the second version ..........................................................................................................12
SECTION 2: CONDUCTING THE SELF-ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................... 15
WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THIS COMMUNITY SELF-ASSESSMENT PROCESS? ........................................................................15
Recipient organizations ......................................................................................................................................15
Community partners ..........................................................................................................................................15
Facilitator ...........................................................................................................................................................16
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE SELF-ASSESSMENT ......................................................................................................16
Completing Section 3 – Community profile ........................................................................................................16
Completing Section 4 – Capacity self-assessment ..............................................................................................17
Completing Section 5 – Summary score and visual presentation of results .......................................................17
Completing Section 6 – Identifying key attributes and actions for improvement ..............................................17
USE OF THE SELF-ASSESSMENT RESULTS ............................................................................................................................18
Q&A.........................................................................................................................................................................18
What or who is being assessed? Is this an evaluation of individual organizations? ..........................................18
How is community defined? ...............................................................................................................................18
How long will the assessment take? ..................................................................................................................19
What is the anticipated frequency of assessments? ..........................................................................................19
How do we choose the final capacity stage for a CED dimension? ....................................................................19
SECTION 3: COMMUNITY PROFILE ....................................................................................................................... 21
SECTION 4: CAPACITY SELF-ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................. 25
SECTION 5: SUMMARY OF SELF-ASSESSMENT RESULTS ....................................................................................... 39
SUMMARY SELF-ASSESSMENT CAPACITY STAGE FOR 2011 ..................................................................................................39
PRIORITY AREAS FOR ACTION ............................................................................................. ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.
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Section 1: Introduction
CONTEXT
Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) are an important part of maintaining
Canada’s linguistic duality and national identity. As such, the Government of Canada’s Roadmap
for Canada’s Linguistic Duality (2008-2013): Acting for the Future sets out five key action areas
to support and assist in the promotion of Canada’s two official languages and the development,
maintenance and growth of vitality of OLMCs. One of these areas is capitalizing on the
economic benefits of linguistic duality and supporting the economic development of OLMCs.
The Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities (the “Enabling Fund”) is
one initiative designed to strengthen the capacity of OLMCs for community economic
development (CED) and human resources development (HRD), and represents an investment of
nearly $70 million by the Government of Canada.
Delivered by HRSDC and Service Canada, the Enabling Fund provides financial support to
not-for-profit organizations representing the interests of OLMCs to engage community leaders
and leverage partnerships in support of community development projects and accessing
additional sources of funding for those projects.
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) is introducing the new
Community Economic Development Capacity Self-Assessment Tool to measure the
capacity of Canada’s Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) to plan,
implement, and sustain community economic development and human resource
development.
PURPOSE
The Community Economic Development Capacity Self-Assessment Tool (the “Tool”) will
engage Enabling Fund recipient organizations and OLMCs in a collaborative process - consistent
with community economic development principles – to self-identify and assess community
strengths, assets, and areas of need related to the capacity for community economic and human
resource development.
This Community Capacity Tool is a useful, easy-to-use instrument designed to:

measure an immediate outcome of the Enabling Fund, namely the progress and/or
changes over time in OLMCs’ community capacity for community economic and
human resource development;

engage Enabling Fund recipient organizations and OLMCs in a collaborative process
to identify and assess community strengths, assets, and areas of need related to
community economic and human resource development;
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
in the longer term, contribute to the body of knowledge and research linking
community capacity for community economic and human resource development to
the linguistic vitality of OLMCs in Canada.
The following guide outlines:

the Tool and how it was developed;

who should be involved in the assessment process, their roles and responsibilities;

instructions on how to use the Tool;

suggestions for how results of the self-assessment may be used by recipient
organizations, communities, and HRSDC;

questions and answers (Q&As); and

a template of the Tool.
OVERVIEW OF THE TOOL
The Tool measures an OLMC’s stage of capacity or readiness to undertake activities along
four dimensions of community economic development: 1) promotion of entrepreneurship;
2) diversification of economic sectors; 3) strengthening the local labour market and labour
force, and 4) human resource development within community economic development.
The capacity to undertake activities in each of these dimensions of community economic
development is based on a detailed self-assessment of four community assets which together
form the basis for resilient communities. These community assets can be viewed as the
“ingredients” that promote or hinder community capacity development: people, organizations,
community processes, and community resources. More detailed information on what each of
these assets includes is provided in the Tool Terminology section.
In the Tool, community capacity is measured for each of the four dimensions of community
economic development and varies according to the community stakeholders’ perceived levels of
access, availability, and use of the four community assets. Your community will have the
opportunity to self-assess whether capacity for community economic development activity is
best represented by one of the four following capacity stages: Plan, Act, Sustain, or Innovate.
Again, more information on each of these stages is provided in the Tool Terminology section.
Your community’s capacity for community economic development has much in common
with your community’s economic vitality. Economic vitality can be thought of as a community’s
ability to take charge of its development using resources to be transformed for the benefit of the
community (Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, 2006). A full self-assessment of
community economic vitality is beyond the scope of this Tool, however, it is important to
identify the Tool as measuring a significant component of your community’s economic vitality.
In summary, the Community Economic Development Capacity Self-Assessment Tool is
comprised of three main components:

four CED dimensions;

four community assets and 12 asset-related themes; and
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
four capacity stages.
A visual representation of the framework underlying the Tool is provided below (Figure 1,
below).
Figure 1: A graphical representation of the tool
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At the end of the community self-assessment, your community will have a capacity profile
comprised of up to four1 community capacity scores, each representing the current stage of
capacity for a given dimension of community economic development activity. You will not be
asked to provide an overall community capacity stage that integrates the results from all the
dimensions, nor will one be calculated at a later time by HRSDC. An overall capacity stage
would fail to provide meaningful or nuanced information beyond that provided by capacity
stages for each dimension.
An important note around the use of the term “capacity” should be made at this point. The
scope of this tool reflects an intended separation between the capacity of a community to
undertake CED activities and the actual undertaking of those activities. This tool is designed to
measure only capacity, as other data collection tools have been implemented by HRSDC to
measure if and to what extent OLMCs are undertaking activities related to community economic
and human resource development.
Linguistic vitality
You will also find a question at the end of each dimension worksheet asking about linguistic
vitality: “To what extent does the level of community capacity support or hinder the vitality of
the minority language in your community?”
While the relationship between community economic development and linguistic vitality is
undoubtedly too complex to be addressed in any one tool, HRSDC feels it is important to ask
OLMCs to reflect on this issue. This is due in part to the overarching goal of the Roadmap of
supporting linguistic duality and vitality, and the role of the Enabling Fund in supporting
community economic development in the context of enhancing the resilience and capacity of
OLMCs. The question around linguistic vitality has been purposely kept broad and open-ended
to generate new ideas and to gain more insight into communities’ perceptions of the relationship
between community economic development and linguistic vitality.
Measuring change over time
The Community Capacity Tool has been constructed in such a way as to be sufficiently
nuanced across dimensions, assets, and stages of maturity to allow communities to chart
numerous aspects of their progress over time. As such, it will assist communities to identify
areas of strength and challenge and articulate goals for short- and long-term planning. In this
way, the Tool will provide useful feedback to OLMCs, to Enabling Fund recipient organizations,
as well as to HRSDC.
It is expected that OLMCs will conduct a self-assessment using the Community Capacity
Tool approximately every two years. However, the actual frequency may vary depending on
the capacity of Enabling Fund recipient organizations to coordinate these self-assessments and
the number of OLMCs with which recipient organizations are partnered. For example, it is
1
An option has been provided in the worksheets to bypass any of the CED dimensions that are not deemed relevant or an area of
priority for your community. For this reason, some communities may have fewer than four dimensional scores at the end of the
self-assessment.
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highly conceivable that recipient organizations that work with a number of OLMCs may stagger
this self-assessment exercise over a longer period of time.
TOOL TERMINOLOGY
A. Community Economic Development and its dimensions
Community economic development (CED)2 is:
Action by people locally to create economic opportunities and better social
conditions, particularly for those who are most disadvantaged. CED is an
approach that recognizes that economic, environmental and social
challenges are interdependent, complex and ever-changing. To be effective,
solutions must be rooted in local knowledge and led by community
members. CED promotes holistic approaches, addressing individual,
community and regional levels, recognizing that these levels are
interconnected. (Canadian CED Network, n.d.)
Community economic development efforts focus on improving conditions within a
community while strengthening external linkages.
Dimensions
1. Promotion of entrepreneurship: The capacity of the OLMC to establish and
promote resources, networks, policies and programs in support of entrepreneurship.
This includes fostering a community-wide entrepreneurial culture that promotes
ongoing skills development as well as enterprise development and growth.
2. Diversification of economic sectors: Community capacity to support community
economic diversification by supporting employment in smaller companies and
promoting local ownership, developing entirely new businesses or industries and/or
adding value to existing sectors.
3. Strengthening the local labour market and labour force: Community capacity to
build a flexible, dynamic and attractive local labour market by focusing on skills
investments in the local workforce; prioritizing locally and culturally relevant
approaches to labour market and labour force; fostering quality employment; and
supporting the integration of newcomers, disadvantaged groups, and the unemployed.
Also includes the capacity to enhance the image, attractiveness, value and identity of
the OLMC’s labour markets.
4. Strengthening CED human resources development: Community capacity to
attract, develop and support a trained, skilled, and diverse CED workforce and
volunteers, in which interests, skills and talents are aligned with the long-term goals
and economic opportunities in the community.
2
Application of a human resource development strategy is one element of community economic development.
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B. Community assets and asset-related themes
The four community assets used in the Tool were selected because of their relationship to
community resilience. Much like a community with high vitality, a resilient community is one
“that takes intentional action to enhance the personal and collective capacity of its citizens and
institutions to respond to and influence the course of social and economic change” (Centre for
Community Enterprise, 2000, p. 5). The core components of community resiliency in essence
describe the resources, approaches and structures available to a community for development.
Community asset themes were developed through the analysis of content of numerous other
capacity assessment tools that related to each of the four community assets. Due to practical
considerations such as length, only the most salient asset themes were included. No tool is
perfect, and it is recognized that certain asset themes may be more relevant to some communities
compared to others.
The four community assets and associated asset themes are defined below:3
1. People
This asset refers not only to the awareness, knowledge, skills and experience (both technical
and administrative) of people within a given community, but also the links and networks that
exist between them, and the sense of engagement community members share. Also contained
within this asset category is the mass or demographic capital associated with people in
communities: having the requisite number of people in the community to undertake and sustain
collective action and having broad representation across diverse groups of people in the
community.
Themes:
Leadership: agency, vision, credibility;
Community engagement: awareness, support, participation, community-wide culture;
Social capital:4 social networks and ties, bridging and linking.
2. Organizations
This asset refers to the capacity of organizations within the community to plan, act, sustain or
innovate in each of the CED dimensions. These organizations include both public and private
organizations, institutions, agencies, organizations in the social economy, neighbouring
communities, regional development agencies, non-profits, etc.
The definitions for each of the assets underwent some modified from the original descriptions provided in CCE’s The
Community Resilience Manual to align them more closely with the purposes of this Tool.
4
Social capital refers to the density of social networks in communities, the strength of ties between community members, and the
extent and quality of access to bridging and linking social capital. Bonding social capital refers to relatively homogeneous
networks connected primarily by close or strong ties, while bridging social capital refers to more diverse networks that include
important connections with those unlike ourselves.
3
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Themes:
Governance: organizational structure, board composition, representation, relationship to the
community;
Financial capacity: financial partnerships, mobilizing new sources of funding;
Partnerships: collaboration with community associations, clubs, institutions, etc.
Human resources: staff and volunteers, training and skills development, recruitment,
retention and succession planning.
3. Community processes
This asset refers to the processes present in communities that support strategic thinking,
participation and action. It includes research and analysis, identifying opportunities to capitalize
on unique community strengths and weaknesses, and merging solutions across multiple sectors
(e.g., social, economic, etc.).
Themes:
Strategic planning: skills and resources in strategic planning, and access to/knowledge of
best-practices;
Consultation: knowledge of the community and its needs, priorities, strengths, weaknesses,
etc., and the mechanisms to support broad community and stakeholder consultations;
Monitoring and evaluation: awareness of its importance, and access to resources to undertake
and make use of results.
4. Community resources
This asset refers to the ways in which infrastructure and natural/environmental resources are
viewed and utilized in the community. The focus is on balancing the need for community selfreliance through awareness, access, and use of internal resources, while remaining receptive to
looking for external resources in identified areas of weakness.
Themes:
Infrastructure: physical buildings and facilities; policies, programs, services; land use plans
and zoning; transportation;
Natural/Environmental: water, air quality, soils and lands, green space and natural area
preservation, solid waste, hazardous materials, energy, pesticides, environmental awareness.
C. Community capacity stages
The four community capacity stages were developed in close alignment with other capacity
assessment frameworks and tools and therefore reflect a progression of capacity recognized in
community development practice. Each stage represents a distinct level of capacity:
1. Plan: This stage represents the earliest stage of development, as well as the one that occurs
after major change in the community such as that introduced by Innovation. In this way, the
capacity stages are iterative; even an established community with capacity for innovative
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community economic development will find the Planning stage is a necessary prerequisite to
effective Action.
2. Act: Communities in this capacity stage can be characterized as having the capacity to
identify, mobilize and manage the resources required for community economic development. In
addition, they will be developing ideas for implementation of the plans developed in the first
stage, and for evaluation of the success of their efforts.
3. Sustain: This stage represents capacity to consolidate and sustain the relationships and
resources required for community economic development, and to maintain momentum. In this
sense, it emphasizes the capacity to provide support to the people, organizations, processes and
resources in the community to continue the development process. The Sustain stage also focuses
on the capacity to fine-tune and adjust implementation, do more sophisticated monitoring and
evaluation, and to look outward for additional and more diverse resources as required.
4. Innovate: The last stage of community capacity can be characterized as one of renewal.
The focus is on finding ways to revitalize existing resources, evaluating outcomes and processes,
and incorporating results to improve existing plans, activities and projects. This stage is also one
in which new ideas are actively sought and discussed, new resources are identified, and new
relationships and partnerships are formed with diverse individuals/groups/ organizations,
including those at broader levels, such as regionally, nationally, and internationally. Moreover, at
the Innovate stage, these new and existing connections are able to be leveraged to locate or
generate new contacts, ideas and resources in a cycle of renewed development, leading back to
the first stage of the cycle - additional planning.
HOW WAS THE TOOL DEVELOPED?
Phase 1 – Building on what was already available
The Community Capacity Tool was developed following a synthesis of Canadian and
international assessment tools and frameworks in the area community economic and human
resource development, organizational capacity, and community vitality. This synthesis resulted
in the identification of over forty capacity or vitality assessment models, frameworks and tools,
of which five were selected to inform the development of the first version of the Tool.5
Phase 2 – Developing and piloting the first version
In 2010, the first version of the Tool was piloted by Enabling Fund recipient organizations in
a selection of the OLMCs. A total of ten OLMCs in five provinces (YK, MB, QC, NS, and NL)
participated in the piloting, after which recipient organizations provided written comments and
suggestions for changes to the initial Tool.
Phase 3 – Developing the second version
The written comments provided in Phase 2 formed the basis for revisions to the structure and
content of the initial Tool to ensure its relevance, usefulness and ease-of-use for assessing
community economic and human resource development in OLMCs.
5
An earlier version of the Tool was called the Community Economic Development Maturity Model.
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In addition to the comments received from piloting the tool, a more in-depth review of select
assessment tools identified in the original literature synthesis was conducted to further simplify
and refine the revised version of the Tool, resulting in the identification of the CED dimensions
and community assets.
Given the intended use of the Tool in OLMCs, it was deemed critical to ensure that the
content and structure spoke to the actions and priorities of the community stakeholders engaged
in CED activities. Recent research into the state of vitality research in OLMCs identified
important economic dimensions that are central to vitality, especially in communities situated in
economically disadvantages areas. In order to capture a nuanced and more meaningful portrait of
OLMC capacity for CED, the most relevant of these dimensions were added to the Tool. For this
reason, the four dimensions of CED that reflected the realities and priorities of OLMCs,
particularly as these relate to supporting and maintaining the linguistic vitality of the minority
official language.
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Section 2: Conducting the self-assessment
WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THIS COMMUNITY SELFASSESSMENT PROCESS?
Note: The following general guidelines for roles and responsibilities may shift depending on
the nature of the CED governance structure or model recognized in the community, or on
variations in the form and function of the relationship between the recipient organization and the
OLMC.
Recipient organizations
Enabling Fund recipient organizations will act as coordinator in the process of
communicating with community partners, and identifying and inviting participants to partake in
the self-assessment. Recipient organizations are strongly encouraged to adopt a consultative
approach when identifying the most suitable and appropriate participants by working closely
with community partners, and to ensure a broad representation of key community stakeholders.
As a general guideline for any effective group-based discussion, it is likely wise to plan for
between 8-10 participants for the self-assessment. This guideline, of course, may vary depending
on the size of the community in question and/or availability of individuals.
Also, depending on the relationship shared with the OLMC, a representative of the Enabling
Fund recipient organization may be ideally placed to contribute to the self-assessment as a
participant. The decision around whether to assume both roles is left to the discretion of the
recipient organization.
Examples of responsibilities include:

Identifying and inviting self-assessment partners (see Community Partners, below);

Identifying and securing a group facilitator;

Choosing the most appropriate date on which to administer the self-assessment;

Selecting an appropriate venue, or working with community partners to identify a
suitable location for the self-assessment;

At the end of the self-assessment, providing HRSDC with a copy of the completed
self-assessment worksheets.
Community partners
The quality and representativeness of the results from this community self-assessment
process rely on a careful consideration, selection, and participation of key stakeholders and
community representatives.
Community partners can be representatives from community CED organizations, from
government or the private sector; the public or private sector; they can be either from within the
community or external to it, depending on their level of knowledge and experience in the
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community. Individuals from community organizations should be well-versed with their
organization and can include managers and senior volunteers. There is of course always the
option of using the self-assessment process to invite potential new stakeholders/partners to join
the self-assessment.
The use of the term “community partner” is left purposefully vague so that the identification
and recruitment of self-assessment participants remains as flexible and open as possible to
community context, resources and needs.
Since the self-assessment materials (i.e., this guide) are not likely to be circulated prior to the
self-assessment day, the extent of the responsibilities for participating community partners,
beyond providing their input and perspectives on community capacity for CED, could include
identifying other potential stakeholders who should be consulted during the self-assessment
process. If so desired by the self-assessment group, community partners may also share the
results of the self-assessment with their own network of contacts.
Facilitator
This tool has been developed under the assumption that it will be implemented as a groupbased, facilitated discussion. As such, an experienced facilitator needs to be identified well ahead
of the self-assessment period. This could be a member of the community or, if preferred, a
representative from the Enabling Fund recipient organization.
Examples of responsibilities include:

Familiarizing themselves with the content of the maturity model, including the
concepts and rating system;

Preparing the necessary materials ahead of time;

Liaising with the recipient organization to confirm the number of participants
expected;

Answering any questions asked by the participants before the start of or during the
self-assessment;

Facilitating the discussion and self-assessment process;

Ensuring that all necessary and relevant sections of the Tool are properly completed
and providing this documentation promptly to the Enabling Fund recipient
organization.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE SELF-ASSESSMENT
This section provides a brief outline of the most important instructions to keep in mind when
completing the self-assessment.
Completing Section 3 – Community profile
If possible, the recipient organization or the facilitator should attempt to fill in as much of the
information as possible ahead of the planned self-assessment day.
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A few of the questions in the community profile may best be answered by the group the day
of the self-assessment (e.g., were there any key stakeholder groups not represented/missing from
the self-assessment?).
Completing as much of this section as possible is important in order to provide additional
context to the results from the self-assessment process and to establish some basis for comparing
results within a community across data collection cycles (e.g., were the participants
representative of similar stakeholder groups from year to year and, if not, how might this impact
the interpretation of results?).
Completing Section 4 – Capacity self-assessment
The discussion group should decide, at the outset, if all four CED dimensions will be
included in the self-assessment.
Proceeding one dimension at a time and for each Asset listed, discuss and circle the Capacity
Stage that most closely describes the current capacity of your community.
Reach a consensus on an overall Capacity Stage for this Dimension and indicate that stage in
the shaded box to the right.
Provide comments on unique aspects of this dimension in your community (such as
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats), and observations on the process of assessing this
dimension (e.g., were there any elements the Tool failed to capture; were there any elements of
the process that were overly cumbersome or, alternatively, gave way to new ideas or new topics
of conversation?). These may be useful for identifying priority areas for action in Section 5 and
for future community self-assessments.
Briefly comment on how the level of community capacity in this dimension either supports
or hinders the vitality of the minority language in your community.
Completing Section 5 – Summary score and visual presentation of results
Once the self-assessment is complete for all the relevant dimensions, the facilitator will input
the final capacity stages into the appropriate table provided in section 5. This table constitutes the
“capacity profile” for CED in your community.
Following this, the facilitator will fill in the capacity diagram that visually depicts the results
of the self-assessment.
Completing Section 6 – Identifying key attributes and actions for improvement
No organization or community is perfect – all have areas of strengths and weaknesses. As
such, the results of the assessment are to assist Enabling Fund recipient organizations and
community partners to identify the areas of strength and weakness, opportunities and threats (i.e.,
a traditional SWOT analysis) that may promote or hinder capacity to plan, implement and sustain
CED activities in the community.
Throughout the self-assessment process, the comments provided on each dimension as they
relate to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities or threats will have been noted by the facilitator.
The final step of the self-assessment is to re-examine the results for each dimension and, with the
list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in hand, arrive at a consensus on the
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expected capacity stage for the next planned self-assessment period (e.g., 2012-2013; 2013-2014,
etc.). If the next self-assessment period has not been identified, consider the expected capacity
stage in two years.
Time permitting, the discussion can then turn to identifying priority areas for action. It may
be helpful to structure the discussion either around one CED dimension identified by most as a
priority dimension, or by returning to areas of weakness regardless of dimension and devising a
list of actions that will mitigate weakness while drawing on other areas of community strength.
The section around areas for action provides a wrap-up exercise to pull-out the overarching
themes from the self-assessment.
USE OF THE SELF-ASSESSMENT RESULTS
Once the self-assessment is complete, the results can be used to incite more discussion or
action by different members or groups in the community. Recipient organizations and
community partners can get a better sense of how different communities are approaching CED –
namely, the resources they have, the tools available to them, and the resources they use or may
need.
Participating groups can choose to share the results with the wider community, as they see
fit.
Results from the self-assessment may be used by HRSDC in conjunction with other data
being collected by recipient organizations by way of their activity reports, partnership reports
and annual performance measurement reports submitted to HRSDC. As indicated previously,
results of the self-assessment will not be used to compare capacity across OLMCs but rather to
help ascertain whether inputs from the Enabling Fund are contributing to community CED
capacity-building over time6 across OLMCs as a whole and to identify potential best practices
among OLMCs.
Q&A
What or who is being assessed? Is this an evaluation of individual organizations?
Although individual organizations are core components (or assets) of any given community,
this self-assessment focuses on measuring a community’s self-perceived capacity stage in any of
the four dimensions of CED.
How is community defined?
In extensive discussions with representatives from all regional development agencies
supporting the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality, it became clear that a single definition
of community has remained elusive. Some regions include in the definition of OLMCs those that
6
Specifically, the results of the self-assessments will provide the necessary data to support the first direct outcome identified in
the Enabling Fund’s performance measurement framework: the number of percentage of OLMCs that maintain or increase their
capacity maturity level related to planning, implementing and sustaining CED and HRD.
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are virtual. Other regions take a more prosaic view, characterizing communities within spatial
boundaries and a minimum density of minority language speakers.
Within the context of the Enabling Fund, OLMCs are defined by virtue of two basic shared
characteristics: language and province or territory of residence. This does not imply, however,
that official language minority communities cannot also be defined by geographic boundaries or
shared interests, but only that such communities must first be defined language and province or
territory of residence.
Beyond these considerations, the decision about how to define the term “community” will be
left to the discretion and interpretation of the Enabling Fund recipient organizations (e.g., when
identifying which communities to approach for self-assessment). It is for this reason that the
Community Profile section includes a question asking for a brief description on how community
was defined for the purposes of the self-assessment.
How long will the assessment take?
The self-assessment tool was designed so that administration could be achieved in one day.
However, the following two-day timeframe to include preparation for the self-assessment and
wrap-up are recommended: one half day to plan, one day to implement through group discussion,
and one half day to synthesize and disseminate the results to participants and HRSDC.
What is the anticipated frequency of assessments?
Given the complexity of the topic and the level of intervention and analysis (i.e., communitylevel change), more frequent administrations are not likely to show detectable change and would
be burdensome to the stakeholders involved. Since the self-assessment process is intended to
assist OLMCs in determining progress toward their goals and objectives, less frequent
administrations of the CMM tool would be less useful in this regard.
Given the consultation period recommended above and the fact that some recipient
organizations will be responsible for administering the tool with several OLMCs, this timeframe
will not allow all OLMCs to achieve both a baseline and subsequent assessment within the
current life of the Enabling Fund program (2008-2013). In some instances, therefore, it may be
more realistic to plan for a staggered initial implementation of the Tool across communities, with
the expectation that all OLMCs will have at least a baseline assessment completed by June 2013.
Assuming renewal of the Enabling Fund program, subsequent assessments could begin
shortly thereafter, enabling communities to view their progress over two to three years.
How do we choose the final capacity stage for a CED dimension?
In some instances, it may be a challenge for a group to decide which capacity stage best
represents the current state of community capacity in a given CED dimension. For example, we
could easily think of a situation in which a community has visionary leadership and a high
degree of community engagement for a particular CED dimension (i.e., the capacity stage could
be at Sustain or Innovate), co-exist with significant constraints in organizational or community
resources capacity (i.e., the capacity stage could be at Plan or Act).
Several potential strategies exist, one being to ask the self-assessment group to look at the
capacity stage columns as a whole (i.e., the Plan, Act, Sustain, Innovate columns) to see if one of
- 19 -
them is a better fit; if so, that one should be selected. In other instances, the group may decide
that an identified resource constraint is sufficiently critical that it in effect is the determining
factor for an overall dimensional capacity stage. The role of the facilitator is critical in guiding
the group discussions as they seek to reach consensus on these issues.
Again, no tool is perfect and so we invite you to make note in the Observation boxes of any
feedback your community would like to share regarding challenges or particularly insightful
parts of the self-assessment process. These comments will be very helpful in future revisions to
the tool.
- 20 -
Section 3: Community profile
- 21 -
Profile of the Official Language Minority Community
Before starting the self-assessment exercise, please provide basic profile information on the Official Language Minority
Community.
Name of your community: ___________________________________
Location: ________________________________________ OR  Other (community of interest or sector)
Please identify: ___________________________________________________________
If applicable, briefly describe how you have chosen to define your community for the purposes of this selfassessment (i.e., which “community” is the subject of this self-assessment) or provide any additional information that
will assist HRSDC in better understanding any particularities about this community:
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Community stakeholder groups represented:

____________________________________________

__________________________________________

____________________________________________

__________________________________________

____________________________________________

__________________________________________

____________________________________________

Other: ____________________________________
Were there any key stakeholder groups not represented/missing from the self-assessment?
No
 Yes If yes, please identify: ___________________________________________________________________
Number of participants present: _____________
Date of self-assessment: ______________________
Self-assessment facilitated by: ___________________________
Planned year of next self-assessment: ___________________
Name of the Enabling Fund Recipient Organization: _____________________________________________________
- 23 -
Section 4: Community capacity self-assessment
- 25 -
Dimension 1 – Capacity to Promote Entrepreneurship
Description:
The capacity of the community to establish and promote resources, networks, policies, and programs in support of entrepreneurship. This
includes fostering a community-wide entrepreneurial culture that promotes ongoing skills development as well as enterprise development
and growth.
Instructions: Step 1. For each Asset listed below, discuss and circle the Capacity Stage that most closely describes the current capacity of your
community to promote entrepreneurship. Step 2. Reach a consensus on an overall Capacity Stage for this Dimension and indicate that stage in
the shaded box to the right. Step 3. Provide comments on unique aspects of this dimension in your community (such as strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, or threats), and observations on the process of assessing this dimension. These may be useful for identifying priority areas for
action in Section 5 and for future community self-assessments. Step 4. Briefly comment on how the level of community capacity in this
dimension either supports or hinders the vitality of the minority language in your community.
Asset
Think of…
PEOPLE
Leadership
Community
engagement
ORGANIZATIONS
Social capital
Governance
Financial
capacity
Partnerships
Overall
Community Capacity Stage
for Dimension 1:

OR: This dimension of CED activity is not
relevant to/ not a priority area for our
community.
(Please proceed to the next dimension.)
Community Capacity Stage
Plan
Act
Our community has:
 A few leaders who recognize the
need to work together to promote
entrepreneurship
 An uncertain level of community
awareness of and support for
entrepreneurship
 People involved in
entrepreneurship promotion who
have social connections that are
relatively few in number, primarily
local, and/or sector-specific
Our community has:
 A number of leaders who work
together effectively to promote
entrepreneurship
 A growing awareness of the
importance of promoting
entrepreneurship
 People involved in entrepreneurship
promotion who have a number of
increasingly diverse social connections
from multiple sectors within the local
community;
 Ideas for how local efforts to
promote entrepreneurship could be
governed or coordinated
 Unknown or very limited financial
capacity to support entrepreneurship
promotion
 Identified community associations,
clubs, institutions, etc. that could
collaborate to promote
entrepreneurship
 A formal or informal structure/process
for coordinating collective action to
promote entrepreneurship
 Sought financial partnerships and
sources of funding
 Established partnerships among a few
key organizations in the community
 An established core of staff/volunteers,
despite continued human resource
constraints (e.g., high turnover)
- 27 -
Sustain
Innovate
Our community has:
Our community has:
 A broad-based, established, and
 Established, effective, representative
effective leadership in
leadership in entrepreneurship
entrepreneurship promotion
promotion that is regularly renewed
(with new members)
 Broad community awareness and
participation in initiatives to promote
 A community-wide culture of
entrepreneurship
engagement in entrepreneurship
promotion
 People involved in entrepreneurship
promotion who have access to many
 People involved in entrepreneurship
diverse social connections and
promotion who have access to many
networks at a regional or provincial
diverse social connections and
level AND who use these connections
networks at a national or international
to explore ideas, resources, and
level AND who leverage these
opportunities to promote
connections to promote
entrepreneurship in the community
entrepreneurship in the community,
 A mature, inclusive local governance
 A stable governance structure that
structure viable for the long-term
regularly renews itself with new
promotion of entrepreneurship
organizational members/affiliations
(e.g., elections)
 Financial partnerships and external
sources of funding to sustain
 Sufficient dedicated financial resources
promotion efforts/activities
to ensure long-term organizational
viability
 Collaborative partnerships across
multiple sectors
 Diverse, collaborative partnerships that
can leverage resources and strengthen
 A sufficient number of staff/volunteers
collective action on community-wide
and some resources for training and
Dimension 1 – Capacity to Promote Entrepreneurship
COMMUNITY
RESOURCES
COMMUNITY PROCESSES
Human
resources
Strategic
planning
Consultation
Monitoring &
evaluation
Infrastructure
Natural/
Environmental
 Very significant human resource
constraints (e.g., few
staff/volunteers) for the promotion
of entrepreneurship
skills development
Our community has:
Our community has:
 Some ideas about strategic planning  Access to the necessary skills and
for entrepreneurship promotion, but resources (either internally or
limited ability to undertake it
externally) to undertake basic strategic
planning for entrepreneurship
 An imperfect understanding of
promotion
community needs, priorities,
strengths, weaknesses,
 Begun to build mechanisms to consult
opportunities, and threats re:
with the public/stakeholders, and an
entrepreneurship promotion and
emerging picture of community needs,
few mechanisms to solicit
etc. re: entrepreneurship promotion
public/stakeholder input into these
 Understood the importance of
 Limited awareness of the need to
evaluating entrepreneurship
evaluate the success of activities to
promotion activities, and begun to
promote entrepreneurship, and
identify resources (internal or
limited means (skills, expertise,
external) that could be directed to
resources) to do this
these activities
 Begun to identify the community
 Identified barriers and ways to
resources & infrastructure that could facilitate access to community
help promote entrepreneurship
resources & infrastructure that could
promote entrepreneurship
 Begun to identify the natural
resources that could be used in
 Identified barriers and ways to
activities to promote
facilitate access to natural resources
entrepreneurship
that could be used in activities to
promote entrepreneurship
projects
 A plan to recruit, train, and support
sufficient numbers of staff/volunteers
to take leadership roles
Our community has:
Our community has:
 Developed the necessary internal skills  The internal capacity to develop shortand resources to undertake short- and
and long-term strategic plans that
long-term strategic planning
incorporate best practices in
entrepreneurship promotion, and can
 A clear understanding of current
adapt to changing community needs
community needs, etc. re:
entrepreneurship promotion and
 The resources and mechanisms to
established mechanisms and resources
regularly solicit input/feedback from a
for broad community consultation
broad range of community
stakeholders and incorporate this into
 Begun to identify basic indicators of
planning
success for entrepreneurship
promotion activities, and access to
 A plan to evaluate both the process and
resources to evaluate these in a limited outcomes of entrepreneurship
way
promotion activities, the means to
undertake this, and mechanisms to use
the results
 Developed concrete plans to access
 Plans to renew, revitalize, and expand
community resources & infrastructure
upon community resources &
that could help promote
infrastructure for long-term
entrepreneurship
sustainability of entrepreneurship
promotion
 Developed concrete, specific plans to
make full and best use of natural
 Concrete plans and partnerships that
resources for promotion of
can be leveraged to use natural
entrepreneurship
resources to promote
entrepreneurship, and ensure longterm resource sustainability
OBSERVATIONS on PROCESS:
To what extent does the level of community capacity to promote entrepreneurship support or hinder the vitality of the minority language in your community?
- 28 -
Dimension 1 – Capacity to Promote Entrepreneurship
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
OTHER COMMENTS:
7
For the next self-assessment.
- 29 -
Threats
Priority Actions for
Improvement
Expected
Capacity Stage7
Dimension 2 – Capacity to Diversify Economic Sectors
Description:
Community capacity to support community economic diversification by supporting employment in smaller companies and promoting local
ownership, developing entirely new businesses or industries and/or adding value to existing sectors.
Instructions: Step 1. For each Asset listed below, discuss and circle the Capacity Stage that most closely describes the current capacity of your
community to diversify economic sectors. Step 2. Reach a consensus on an overall Capacity Stage for this Dimension and indicate that stage in
the shaded box to the right. Step 3. Provide comments on unique aspects of this dimension in your community (such as strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, or threats), and observations on the process of assessing this dimension. These may be useful for identifying priority areas for
action in Section 5 and for future community self-assessments. Step 4. Briefly comment on how the level of community capacity in this
dimension either supports or hinders the vitality of the minority language in your community.
Asset
Think of…
PEOPLE
Leadership
Community
engagement
ORGANIZATIONS
Social capital
Governance
Financial
capacity
Partnerships
Overall
Community Capacity Stage
for Dimension 2:

OR: This dimension of CED activity is not
relevant to/ not a priority area for our
community.
(Please proceed to the next dimension.)
Community Capacity Stage
Plan
Act
Our community has:
 A few leaders who recognize the
need to work together to diversify
economic sectors
 An uncertain level of community
awareness of and support for
economic sector diversification
 People involved in economic
diversification efforts who have
social connections that are
relatively few in number, primarily
local, and/or sector-specific
Our community has:
 A number of leaders who work
together effectively to diversify
economic sectors
 A growing awareness of the
importance of economic diversification
 People involved in economic
diversification efforts who have a
number of increasingly diverse social
connections from multiple sectors
within the local community;
 Ideas for how local efforts to
diversify economic sectors could be
governed or coordinated
 Unknown or very limited financial
capacity to support economic
diversification
 Identified community associations,
clubs, institutions, etc. that could
collaborate to the diversification of
economic sectors
 A formal or informal structure/process
for coordinating collective action to
diversify economic sectors
 Sought financial partnerships and
sources of funding
 Established partnerships among a few
key organizations in the community
 An established core of staff/volunteers,
despite continued human resource
constraints (e.g., high turnover)
- 30 -
Sustain
Innovate
Our community has:
Our community has:
 A broad-based, established, and
 Established, effective, representative
effective leadership in economic
leadership in economic diversification
diversification
that is regularly renewed (with new
members)
 Broad community awareness and
participation in initiatives to diversify
 A community-wide culture of
economic sectors
engagement in economic
diversification
 People involved in economic
diversification efforts who have access  People involved in economic
to many diverse social connections and
diversification efforts who have access
networks at a regional or provincial
to many diverse social connections and
level AND who use these connections
networks at a national or international
to explore ideas, resources, and
level AND who effectively leverage
opportunities to diversify the local
these connections to diversify the local
economy
economy
 A mature, inclusive local governance
 A stable governance structure that
structure viable for the long-term
regularly renews itself with new
economic diversification
organizational members/affiliations
(e.g., elections)
 Financial partnerships and external
sources of funding to sustain
 Sufficient dedicated financial resources
diversification efforts/activities
to ensure long-term organizational
viability
 Collaborative partnerships across
multiple sectors
 Diverse, collaborative partnerships that
can leverage resources and strengthen
 A sufficient number of staff/volunteers
collective action on community-wide
and some resources for training and
Dimension 2 – Capacity to Diversify Economic Sectors
COMMUNITY
RESOURCES
COMMUNITY PROCESSES
Human
resources
Strategic
planning
Consultation
Monitoring &
evaluation
Infrastructure
Natural/
Environmental
 Very significant human resource
constraints (e.g., few
staff/volunteers) for the
diversification of economic sectors
skills development
Our community has:
Our community has:
 Some ideas about strategic planning  Access to the necessary skills and
for economic sector diversification,
resources (either internally or
but limited ability to undertake it
externally) to undertake basic strategic
planning for economic sector
 An imperfect understanding of
diversification
community needs, priorities,
strengths, weaknesses,
 Begun to build mechanisms to consult
opportunities, and threats re:
with the public/stakeholders and an
economic sector diversification, and
emerging picture of community needs,
few mechanisms to solicit
etc. re: economic sector diversification
public/stakeholder input into these
 Understood the importance of
 Limited awareness of the need to
evaluating diversification activities,
evaluate the success of activities to
and begun to identify resources
diversify economic sectors, and
(internal or external) that could be
limited means (skills, expertise,
directed to these activities
resources) to do this
 Begun to identify the community
 Identified barriers and ways to
resources & infrastructure that could facilitate access to community
assist with economic sector
resources & infrastructure that could
diversification
assist with economic sector
diversification
 Begun to identify the natural
resources that could be used in
 Identified barriers and ways to
activities to diversity economic
facilitate access to natural resources
sectors
that could be used in activities to
diversity economic sectors
projects
 A plan to recruit, train, and support
sufficient numbers of staff/volunteers
to take leadership roles
Our community has:
 Developed the necessary internal skills
and resources to undertake short- and
long-term strategic planning
 A clear understanding of current
community needs, etc. re: economic
sector diversification and established
mechanisms and resources for broad
community consultation
 Begun to identify basic indicators of
success for diversification activities,
and access to resources to evaluate
these in a limited way
Our community has:
 The internal capacity to develop shortand long-term strategic plans that
incorporate best practices in economic
sector diversification, and can adapt to
changing community needs
 The resources and mechanisms to
regularly solicit input/feedback from a
broad range of community
stakeholders and incorporate this into
planning
 A plan to evaluate both the process and
outcomes of diversification activities,
the means to undertake this, and
mechanisms to use the results
 Developed concrete plans to access
community resources & infrastructure
that could assist with economic sector
diversification
 Developed concrete, specific plans to
make full and best use of natural
resources for economic sector
diversification
 Plans to renew, revitalize, and expand
upon community resources &
infrastructure for long-term
sustainability of economic sector
diversification
 Concrete plans and partnerships that
can be leveraged to use natural
resources to diversify economic
sectors, and ensure long-term resource
sustainability
OBSERVATIONS on PROCESS:
To what extent does the level of community capacity to diversify economic sectors support or hinder the vitality of the minority language in your community?
- 31 -
Dimension 2 – Capacity to Diversify Economic Sectors
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
OTHER COMMENTS:
8
For the next self-assessment.
- 32 -
Threats
Priority Actions for
Improvement
Expected
Capacity Stage8
Dimension 3 – Capacity to Strengthen the Local Labour Market (LM) and Labour Force (LF)
Description: Community capacity to build a flexible, connected and attractive local labour market by focusing on skills investments in the local
workforce; prioritizing locally and culturally relevant approaches to labour market and labour force; improving skills utilization, fostering
quality employment; and supporting the integration of newcomers, disadvantaged groups, and the unemployed. Also includes the capacity to
enhance the image, attractiveness, value and identity of the OLMCs labour market.
Instructions: Step 1. For each Asset listed below, discuss and circle the Capacity Stage that most closely describes the current capacity of your
community to strengthen the local labour market and labour force. Step 2. Reach a consensus on an overall Capacity Stage for this Dimension
and indicate that stage in the shaded box to the right. Step 3. Provide comments on unique aspects of this dimension in your community (such
as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats), and observations on the process of assessing this dimension. These may be useful for
identifying priority areas for action in Section 5 and for future community self-assessments. Step 4. Briefly comment on how the level of
community capacity in this dimension either supports or hinders the vitality of the minority language in your community.
Asset
Think of…
PEOPLE
Leadership
Community
engagement
ORGANIZATIONS
Social capital
Governance
Financial
capacity
Partnerships
Overall
Community Capacity Stage
for Dimension 3:

OR: This dimension of CED activity is not
relevant to/ not a priority area for our
community.
(Please proceed to the next dimension.)
Community Capacity Stage
Plan
Act
Our community has:
Our community has:
 A few leaders who recognize the
 A number of leaders who work
need to work together to
together effectively to strengthen local
strengthen local LM/LF
LM/LF
 An uncertain level of community
 A growing awareness of the
awareness of and support for LM/LF importance of strengthening LM/LF
strengthening
 People involved in strengthening the
 People involved in strengthening
local labour market who have a
the local labour market who have
number of increasingly diverse social
social connections that are
connections from multiple sectors
relatively few in number, primarily
within the local community;
local, and/or sector-specific
 Ideas for how local efforts to
strengthen local LM/LF could be
governed or coordinated
 Unknown or very limited financial
capacity to strengthen local LM/LF
 Identified community associations,
clubs, institutions, etc. that could
collaborate to strengthen local
LM/LF
 Very significant human resource
 A formal or informal structure/process
for coordinating collective action to
strengthen local LM/LF
 Sought financial partnerships and
sources of funding
 Established partnerships among a few
key organizations in the community
 An established core of staff/volunteers,
despite continued human resource
constraints (e.g., high turnover)
- 33 -
Sustain
Innovate
Our community has:
 A broad-based, established, and
effective leadership in LM/LF
strengthening
 Broad community awareness and
participation in initiatives to strengthen
local LM/LF
 People involved in strengthening the
local labour market who have access to
many diverse social connections and
networks at a regional or provincial
level AND who use these connections
to explore ideas, resources, and
opportunities to strengthen the local
labour market
 A mature, inclusive local governance
structure viable for the long-term
LM/LF strengthening
 Financial partnerships and external
sources of funding to sustain
strengthening efforts/activities
 Collaborative partnerships across
multiple sectors
 A sufficient number of staff/volunteers
and some resources for training and
Our community has:
 Established, effective, representative
leadership in LM/LF strengthening that
is regularly renewed (with new
members)
 A community-wide culture of
engagement in LM/LF strengthening
 People involved in strengthening the
local labour market who have access to
many diverse social connections and
networks at a national or international
level AND who effectively leverage
these connections to strengthen the
local labour market
 A stable governance structure that
regularly renews itself with new
organizational members/affiliations
(e.g., elections)
 Sufficient dedicated financial resources
to ensure long-term organizational
viability
 Diverse, collaborative partnerships that
can leverage resources and strengthen
collective action on community-wide
Dimension 3 – Capacity to Strengthen the Local Labour Market (LM) and Labour Force (LF)
Human
resources
COMMUNITY
RESOURCES
COMMUNITY PROCESSES
Strategic
planning
Consultation
Monitoring &
evaluation
Infrastructure
Natural/
Environmental
constraints (e.g., few
staff/volunteers) for t LM/LF
strengthening
Our community has:
 Some ideas about strategic planning
for LM/LF strengthening and the
need for local and culturally sensitive
approaches (e.g., alternative
organizations and work), but limited
ability to undertake these
 An imperfect understanding of
community needs, priorities,
strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats re: LM/LF
strengthening; few mechanisms to
solicit public/stakeholder input into
these
 Limited awareness of the need to
evaluate the success of activities to
strengthen local LM/LF, and limited
means (skills, expertise, resources)
to do this
 Begun to identify the community
resources & infrastructure that could
help strengthen local LM/LF
 Begun to identify the natural
resources that could be used in
activities to strengthen local LM/LF
skills development
Our community has:
 Access to the necessary skills and
resources (either internally or
externally) to undertake basic strategic
planning for LM/LF strengthening;
planning includes early ideas for
local/culturally sensitive approaches to
LM/LF strengthening
 Begun to build mechanisms to consult
with the public/stakeholders, and an
emerging picture of community needs,
etc. re: LM/LF strengthening
 Understood the importance of
evaluating LM/LF strengthening
activities, and begun to identify
resources (internal or external) that
could be directed to these activities
Our community has:
 Developed the necessary internal skills
and resources to undertake short- and
long-term strategic planning with a
distinct, established focus on
local/culturally sensitive approaches to
LM/LF strengthening to empower and
benefit the community
 A clear understanding of current
community needs, etc. re: LM/LF
strengthening and established
mechanisms and resources for broad
community consultation
 Begun to identify basic indicators of
success for LM/LF strengthening
activities, and access to resources to
evaluate these in a limited way
 Identified barriers and ways to
facilitate access to community
resources & infrastructure that could
strengthen local LM/LF
 Identified barriers and ways to
facilitate access to natural resources
that could be used in activities to
strengthen local LM/LF
 Developed concrete plans to access
community resources & infrastructure
that could help strengthen local LM/LF
 Developed concrete, specific plans to
make full and best use of natural
resources for LM/LF strengthening
projects
 A plan to recruit, train, and support
sufficient numbers of staff/volunteers
to take leadership roles
Our community has:
 The internal capacity to develop shortand long-term strategic plans that
incorporate best practices in LM/LF
strengthening, and can adapt to
changing community needs and is
firmly rooted in local/culturally
sensitive approaches to LM/LF
strengthening to empower and benefit
the community
 The resources and mechanisms to
regularly solicit input/feedback from a
broad range of community
stakeholders and incorporate this into
planning
 A plan to evaluate both the process and
outcomes of LM/LF strengthening
activities, the means to undertake this,
and mechanisms to use the results
 Plans to renew, revitalize, and expand
upon community resources &
infrastructure for long-term
sustainability of LM/LF strengthening
 Concrete plans and partnerships that
can be leveraged to use natural
resources to strengthen local LM/LF,
and ensure long-term resource
sustainability
OBSERVATIONS on PROCESS:
To what extent does the level of community capacity to strengthen local LM/LF support or hinder the vitality of the minority language in your community?
- 34 -
Dimension 3 – Capacity to Strengthen the Local Labour Market (LM) and Labour Force (LF)
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
OTHER COMMENTS:
9
For the next self-assessment.
- 35 -
Threats
Priority Actions for
Improvement
Expected
Capacity Stage9
Dimension 4 – Capacity to Strengthen CED Human Resources Development
Description: Community capacity to attract, develop, and support a trained, skilled, and diverse CED workforce and volunteer core in which
interests, skills, and talents are aligned with the long-term goals and economic opportunities in the community.
Instructions: Step 1. For each Asset listed below, discuss and circle the Capacity Stage that most closely describes the current capacity of your
community to strengthen CED human resources development. Step 2. Reach a consensus on an overall Capacity Stage for this Dimension and
indicate that stage in the shaded box to the right. Step 3. Provide comments on unique aspects of this dimension in your community (such as
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats), and observations on the process of assessing this dimension. These may be useful for
identifying priority areas for action in Section 5 and for future community self-assessments. Step 4. Briefly comment on how the level of
community capacity in this dimension either supports or hinders the vitality of the minority language in your community.
Asset
Think of…
PEOPLE
Leadership
Community
engagement
ORGANIZATIONS
Social capital
Governance
Financial
capacity
Partnerships
Overall
Community Capacity Stage
for Dimension 4:

OR: This dimension of CED activity is not
relevant to/ not a priority area for our
community.
(Please proceed to the next dimension.)
Community Capacity Stage
Plan
Our community has:
 A few leaders who recognize the
need to work together to develop
CED human resources
 An uncertain level of community
awareness of and support for CED
human resources development
 People involved in HR development
who have social connections that
are relatively few in number,
primarily local, and/or sectorspecific
 Ideas for how local efforts to develop
CED human resources could be
governed or coordinated
Unknown or very limited financial
capacity to develop CED human
resources
 Identified community associations,
clubs, institutions, etc. that could
collaborate to develop CED human
resources
Act
Our community has:
 A number of leaders who work
together effectively to develop CED
human resources
 A growing awareness of the
importance of CED human resources
development
 People involved in HR development
who have a number of increasingly
diverse social connections from
multiple sectors within the local
community
 A formal or informal structure/process
for coordinating collective action to
develop CED human resources
 Sought financial partnerships and
sources of funding
 Established partnerships among a few
key organizations in the community
 An established core of staff/volunteers,
despite continued human resource
constraints (e.g., high turnover)
- 36 -
Sustain
Innovate
Our community has:
Our community has:
 A broad-based, established, and
 Established, effective, representative
effective leadership in CED human
leadership in CED human resources
resources development
development that is regularly renewed
(with new members)
 Broad community awareness and
participation in initiatives to develop
 A community-wide culture of
CED human resources
engagement in CED human resources
development
 People involved in HR development
who have access to many diverse social  People involved in HR development
connections and networks at a regional
who have access to many diverse social
or provincial level AND who use these
connections and networks at a
connections to explore ideas,
national or international level AND
resources, and opportunities to
who effectively leverage these
promote HR development in the
connections to promote HR
community
development in the community
 A mature, inclusive local governance
 A stable governance structure that
structure viable for the long-term CED
regularly renews itself with new
human resources development
organizational members/affiliations
(e.g., elections)
 Financial partnerships and external
sources of funding to sustain CED
 Sufficient dedicated financial resources
human resources development
to ensure long-term organizational
efforts/activities
viability
 Collaborative partnerships across
 Diverse, collaborative partnerships that
multiple sectors
can leverage resources and strengthen
collective action on community-wide
 A sufficient number of staff/volunteers
Dimension 4 – Capacity to Strengthen CED Human Resources Development
Human
resources
COMMUNITY
RESOURCES
COMMUNITY PROCESSES
Strategic
planning
Consultation
Monitoring &
evaluation
Infrastructure
Natural/
Environmental
 Very significant human resource
constraints (e.g., few
staff/volunteers) for CED human
resources development
and some resources for training and
skills development
Our community has:
Our community has:
 Some ideas about strategic planning  Access to the necessary skills and
for CED human resources
resources (either internally or
development, but limited ability to
externally) to undertake basic strategic
undertake it
planning for CED human resources
development
 An imperfect understanding of
community needs, priorities,
 Begun to build mechanisms to consult
strengths, weaknesses,
with the public/stakeholders, and an
opportunities, and threats re: CED
emerging picture of community needs,
human resources development and
etc. re: CED human resources
few mechanisms to solicit
development
public/stakeholder input into these
 Understood the importance of
 Limited awareness of the need to
evaluating CED human resources
evaluate the success of activities to
development activities, and begun to
develop CED human resources, and
identify resources (internal or
limited means (skills, expertise,
external) that could be directed to
resources) to do this
these activities
 Begun to identify the community
 Identified barriers and ways to
resources & infrastructure that could facilitate access to community
help CED human resources
resources & infrastructure that could
development
strengthen CED human resources
development
 Begun to identify the natural
resources that could be used in
 Identified barriers and ways to
activities to develop CED human
facilitate access to natural resources
resources
that could be used in activities to
develop CED human resources
projects
 A plan to recruit, train, and support
sufficient numbers of staff/volunteers
to take leadership roles
Our community has:
Our community has:
 Developed the necessary internal skills  The internal capacity to develop shortand resources to undertake short- and
and long-term strategic plans that
long-term strategic planning
incorporate best practices in CED
human resources development, and
 A clear understanding of current
can adapt to changing community
community needs, etc. re: CED human
needs
resources development and
established mechanisms and resources  The resources and mechanisms to
for broad community consultation
regularly solicit input/feedback from a
broad range of community
 Begun to identify basic indicators of
stakeholders and incorporate this into
success for CED human resources
planning
development activities, and access to
resources to evaluate these in a limited  A plan to evaluate both the process and
way
outcomes of CED human resources
development activities, the means to
undertake this, and mechanisms to use
the results
 Developed concrete plans to access
 Plans to renew, revitalize, and expand
community resources & infrastructure
upon community resources &
that could help strengthen CED human
infrastructure for long-term
resources development
sustainability of CED human resources
development
 Developed concrete, specific plans to
make full and best use of natural
 Concrete plans and partnerships that
resources for CED human resources
can be leveraged to use natural
development
resources to develop CED human
resources, and ensure long-term
resource sustainability
OBSERVATIONS on PROCESS:
To what extent does the level of community capacity to strengthen CED Human Resources Development support or hinder the vitality of the minority language in your
community?
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Dimension 4 – Capacity to Strengthen CED Human Resources Development
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
OTHER COMMENTS:
10
For the next self-assessment.
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Threats
Priority Actions for
Improvement
Expected
Capacity Stage10
Section 5: Summary of self-assessment results
SUMMARY SELF-ASSESSMENT CAPACITY STAGE FOR 2011
Dimension
Current Capacity Stage
1. Capacity to Promote Entrepreneurship
2. Capacity to Diversify Economic Sectors
3 . C a p a c i t y t o S t r e n g t h e n t h e La b o u r M a r k e t a n d
Labour Force
4. Capacity for CED Huma n Resources Development
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Figure 1: Charting current community capacity
Section 6 | Moving Forwa
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