Staff Report 2004
by Tim Pringle, Pauline Gomez
& Celina Owen
In April of 2004 the Foundation
announced changes to the way it would address its purposes under
the Real Estate Act (Real Estate Services Act, January 2005).
The new strategy—including a revised mission statement—followed
a year of review by governors and staff. We are grateful for the
input of grant recipients and other organizations, whose insights,
coupled with our own reflection on sixteen years of grant making,
enabled us to complete the most profound review we have ever undertaken.
As a result of this process, the governors decided to make key
changes.
They resolved that the Foundation would be a more active grant
maker, which would seek opportunities to support initiatives that
meet internally-defined priorities. Our new strategy relies on
knowledge of how the Foundation has been most effective in the
past, and on our interpretation of current needs and trends.
The governors also decided that the Foundation’s grant making
would emphasize the sustainable use and conservation of land.
Our broad “real estate mandate” gives us freedom to
address a variety of issues. However, since the mid-1990s the
Foundation has played a role in numerous projects concerned specifically
with planning for sustainable use and conservation of land. Environmental
inventory and mapping; charrettes, workshops and public processes;
tools to support progressive reform of policy and practice…all
provide input to local governments and other practitioners who
need current, accurate data to inform responsible decision-making.
Such projects have yielded positive results “on the ground”
in the Central Okanagan, the Comox Valley, Thompson Nicola, Lower
Mainland, and other regions of the province.
Our proactive stance includes playing the role of partner in more
situations. Many of the agencies that have received Foundation
grants over the years suggested that we have acquired unique experience
from years of interacting with diverse agencies, and this has
given us something valuable (other than money) to contribute to
the attainment of sustainable real estate and land use goals.
The Foundation can commission its own research for identified
knowledge gaps. We can connect agencies with different mandates
but similar “big picture” goals. In fact, our assessment
of past funding illustrated that greater impact occurred in projects
that included our most active, personal involvement.
The Communities in Transition program (CIT) is the signature piece
of our new strategy. The Foundation has made a multi-year commitment
to the CIT, which is based on a partnership of agencies that will
collaborate on projects and share resulting expertise in order
to plan for the long term self-reliance of BC’s non-metropolitan
communities. The initiative is engaging partners whose projects
promise to produce research, public and professional education,
policy work in the form of demonstration projects, case studies,
and analyses. These products will be shared through a web-based
information resource, thus building expertise pertinent to the
needs of the partners.
Real estate and land use related professional organizations have
informed us of initiatives that they wish to pursue, both for
benefit of the public and to improve the knowledge and skills
of their members. The non-profit housing sector faces unrelenting
challenges as markets evolve both in urban and rural regions.
Environmental conservation and stewardship agencies expect to
advance their reputation as experts in mapping and protection
of environmentally sensitive areas, watershed planning, etc. The
local government sector and the communities they serve also have
pressing needs to access and build expertise.
As the only organization of its kind in BC, the Real Estate Foundation
plays a unique role in helping communities achieve well-being.
With the energy and wisdom of our partners sharing this goal,
we believe the Foundation can make a positive difference.