Background to Social Planning

Social Planning Councils in Canada have a rich history of addressing local, provincial, and national social issues and have remained true to the roles and defining characteristics that were outlined over 60 years ago. In the 1950s and 1960s there was a drive to have associations of local citizens guide research processes in order to identify social needs and develop an appropriate response. As demands increased for social services, all levels of government felt pressured to fund services and programs to address community needs. Local social planning organizations aided in assessing local needs to guide, develop and coordinate human services. In the 1980s, social planning organizations began to take a critical political and economic stance concerning the larger social, economic, political, and cultural forces in society contributing to issues such as poverty and/or marginalization. As a result, social planning organizations moved towards conducting policy analysis and advocacy alongside planning and coordination. However, the shift has not been widely supported by government and corporate funders, leaving social planning organizations vulnerable to funding limitations (Moffat, K., Gerorge, U., Lee, B., & McGrath, S., 1999).

Social planning can be considered the melding of citizen participation with research and policy analysis. According to the National Association of Planning Councils [NAPC] they study "human service issues; identify needs, work toward prevention, and develop planned responses to crucial problems; advocate for improvement in human service systems and services, and the laws and policies which affect them; develop pilot projects; monitor the effectiveness of community initiatives; and provide information about human services and community needs for individuals, agencies, policy-makers and the general public" (NAPC, 2005). In Ontario, some of the activities that social planning organizations are focusing on include (Moffat, K., et. al., 1999):
-Social witnessing
-Social development to achieve a desired state of community well-being
-Research
-Policy analysis
-Public education
-Advancing local democracy

According to NACP social planning councils respond to community needs and work to build and strengthen community capacity. Through various methods of research and data collection councils gain an informed perspective of community assets and needs and can act by organizing and providing leadership for effective community-wide action (NAPC, 2005).

Social Planning Councils are generally characterized by:
-A citizen-led board of directors with people from several different sectors
-Non-profit
-Non-partisan and non-sectarian
-Addressing community needs, harnessing strengths, and improving the quality of community life by focusing on larger social, economic, political, and cultural forces in society
-Skilled, professional staff with varied knowledge, experience, and abilities

Some of the common values of social planning councils include (NAPC, 2005):
-Commitment to community
-Social inclusiveness
-Comprehensive perspective
-Consensus
-Multiple and diverse viewpoints
-Positive working relationships
-Objective data and information
-Focus on systems change and long-term solutions
-Leadership