Community Coordinator — Inspiring Communities & NS GovLab
NS GovLab and Inspiring Communities are coming together to create the Nova Scotia Network for Social Change. The project will connect social innovators in the aging population sector of Nova Scotia. Tyler Colbourne has been hired as the Community Coordinator to work in partnership Inspiring Communities and NS GovLab. Tyler is a creative and dynamic leader with a passion for social justice, community development, and creating fabulous content. Tyler will be working in collaboration with NS GovLab co-leads Jocelyn Yerxa and Aubrie McGibbon at our new location, 1273 Hollis St, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Over the last 15 years Tyler has done a lot. Through his career he has been a community worker, photographer, improviser, communications manager, youth worker, and even a pirate. He is a natural community connector and his work with NS GovLab and Inspiring communities will bring together individuals, communities, and organizations for innovative solutions to complex social problems impacting ageing populations.
Since 2015 Nova Scotia demographics have transitioned a population comprised of more older people than younger people. This shift holds significant implications for the current status quo. In Nova Scotia today, one in five people are over the age of 65. By 2030, that number will be one in four. These issues are not exclusively government’s to own; they impact everyone.
Tyler’s work with the NS Social Change Project will focus on the challenges and opportunities of aging populations and bring partners together in the spirit of social innovation. The work will deepen our understanding of how might we sustain social innovation skills, knowledge, and values in a collaborative way. The project has three main goals:
- Use experimentation to develop a deeper understanding of population aging in NS and identify gaps in current services and approaches
- Build a diverse network of engaged and connected social innovators by working with partners in new ways to improve services, programs and policies directed at Nova Scotia’s aging population
- Create new multi-sectoral partnerships to build and test potential solution
NS GovLab’s first three cohorts of social innovation fellows will act as the foundation for this new project. They have been collaboratively researching, prototyping, and testing solutions for aging populations which provides an important depth of knowledge. Inspiring Communities and WeavEast provide another group of social innovators to connect to this project.
The NS Network for Social Change Project will create more opportunities by connecting individuals involved in NS GovLab and Inspiring Communities to each other and beyond. To get involved and become a part of the project, contact Tyler at tcolbourne@inspiringcommunities.ca.
