Bow Valley Vital Signs

Bow Valley Vital Signs is the BCF program that raises awareness about the priorities and aspirations, challenges and opportunities that define community vitality in this unique place. Through an iterative cycle of discovery, analysis, and reporting, Bow Valley Vital Signs sheds light on the factors and system-level dynamics that shape quality of life for local people. Our goal is to share knowledge and stories to inform and activate high-impact philanthropy and creative action for community.

BCF’s Erin Woods is the project lead for Bow Valley Vital Signs. She gave us a sneek-peak at the program’s first report which will focus on Housing in the Bow Valley.

Systems are complex – all of us live among them, whether we see it or not. Just as the world is a web of connections, our lives touch one another’s in many ways. A big problem can have many different, interconnected causes. One move that’s seemingly far away can have repercussions very close to home. A policy decision in one sector can have ripple effects across society.

Banff Canmore Foundation takes a ‘systems lens’ approach to community-building. That means we map complex problems by understanding the dynamics of relationships, we aim to focus on the root causes of problems and we value collaboration as essential to this work. It’s holistic, it’s broad, it’s all connected.