Change is in the air! What to expect at this year’s Regional Meetings

Change is in the air! What to expect at this year’s Regional Meetings

It’s that time of year again! ONPHA is hitting the road to host our 2017 Regional Meetings in 14 Ontario communities, happening between March 29 and April 27, 2017.

This year, it’s not just ‘business as usual.’ Our sector is in a period of rapid change, and ONPHA’s approach is evolving as well.

What’s new and different about this year’s meetings?

As always, these one-day meetings will be free to attend for ONPHA housing members. They’ll be happening in 14 communities across Ontario, so there’s sure to be a meeting happening in an area near you. And, as always, the meetings will be a valuable opportunity to learn, network and share your local priorities and contexts with your association.

So what’s changing?

After hearing from our members that they want to see more opportunities to engage, discuss and collaborate with the housing sector colleagues, ONPHA decided to ‘shake things up’ in terms of how we structure the day.

• A fluid, integrated agenda: Regional Meetings have always included a valuable learning component, on top of opportunities for discussion and to hear the latest updates from ONPHA and key sector partners. This year, instead of moving through these items in separate ‘blocks’, the educational, collaborative and informational components will be weaved in throughout the day, making it more engaging for everyone who joins us.

• More opportunities to collaborate: Building on some of the important dialogue we started at our ‘think tanks’ at ONPHA’s 2016 conference, the meetings will include more opportunities to discuss and learn from the experience of our housing sector colleagues.

• A two-way dialogue: On top of giving you the chance to hear the latest updates from your Association, we’re building in opportunities to hear directly from our members about their local priorities and concerns.

With a more integrated, collaborative format, this year’s meetings will be an even better opportunity to learn from, build on and leverage the strengths, lessons learned and experience that exists all across our sector.

Preparing for a changing sector

With the theme of ‘Building a Sustainable Future,’ a big focus of the meetings will be to help us all evolve to meet the changing demands of our sector.

With the Province’s Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy and the federal government’s National Housing Strategy consultations, we know that big changes are on the horizon as the sector moves towards ‘modernization.’ But what does modernization mean, in real terms, for our members?

A key part of the meetings will be working together to answer this and other questions, such as:

• What changes can we expect from the provincial and federal governments?
• How can we start applying more ‘business-like’ thinking to the non-profit housing model?
• What changes can we make in our own organizations to ensure we’re more flexible and resilient through change?

As a sector, these are the questions we need to ask and the discussions we need to be having. Make sure you’re a part of that dialogue by registering to join us in a community near you.

We hope to see you there!