Some of you may know that I'm passionate about community development, which is why I love my job at ASPECT. I like collaboratively solving problems, sharing new ideas and innovations, and figuring out how to use my limited resources and influence to improve things for others. That is why I want to tell you about a call I had on Thursday with a couple of ASPECT members.

Londa Morris and Beth Hurst of Kootenay Employment Services in Creston set up a meeting to discuss some of their ideas for presentations at the ASPECT conference. All three ideas were exciting, and we will likely pursue all three. Although still in the developing phase, I wanted to tell you a little about them to inspire you to step forward and submit a proposal. 

1. What Tech Tools Are You Using?

This session will be one part community research, one part presentation, and one part information sharing. First, ASPECT will send out a survey to our networks to find out what tools others are using, and then Beth and Londa will present the findings at the conference, followed by a facilitated live demo and discussion. 

2. Emerging Staff Benefits & Benefit Measurement

Staff recruitment and retention continue to be a challenge for many in our sector. This session, still in development, will be a short presentation of what other organizations are doing and ways to measure and communicate benefits to current and potential staff. It will be followed by a menti-meter-style discussion about what others are doing in employment services. The data collected will help create sector solutions for our advocacy work.

3. Deep Dive into Funding Sources

This session is just a germ of an idea right now, but we will examine new and effective ways for organizations to find funding. Our guest presenter will provide some basics, followed by a funder panel that will answer questions and share ideas.

I love the community development perspective of the call with Londa and Beth. They noticed an education need, considered what kind of conference sessions they would like to attend, and reached out to brainstorm ideas. I was able to contribute by surveying the members, taking some of their ideas, and providing resources to them, all so that ASPECT members and conference delegates could benefit from an excellent learning opportunity. It's a fabulous feeling when ideas develop into something fun and exciting.

If you have an idea for presenting at the ASPECT conference, please let us know by filling out a proposal form at https://aspect.bc.ca/call-for-presenters-24/. The ASPECT call for presenters closes on May 15 at midnight, while Cannexus25 currently has its call for presenters out until May 31. Why not create one proposal for both conferences? 

Janet Morris-Reade, CEO
ASPECT BC