The Social Planning Council of Ottawa was created in 1928 by local churches and community groups in order to respond to the then acute socio-economic problems created by the 1930s depression. Since then, the Social Planning Council has been a place where many ideas took form, including
- United Way (Community Chest)
- ParaTranspo
- Ottawa Volunteer Centre
- Community Information Centre
- Council on Aging
Today, the SPC uses modern research and communication methods and works with Ottawa's social agencies, concerned residents and decision-makers to understand and advocate the social needs of our new city. The SPC is a non-partisan, not-for-profit, charitable organization run by an elected Board of Directors.
Mission
Our mission is to provide the residents of Ottawa with the means to exercise informed leadership on issues affecting their social and economic wellbeing.
We value
- The pursuit of social justice and the reduction of inequality
- Volunteerism
- Active involvement of those most directly affected by issues
- The coming together of individuals and diverse groups in the community
- Leadership, professionalism and the quality of our work
- Collaboration and partnerships
Our Vision is to achieve our mandate through:
- Identifying and analyzing the social needs in the community
- Providing leadership in planning and establish priorities for meeting the identified needs
- Monitoring and evaluating changes in the policy and resource environment
- Encouraging informed involvement by our members and the wider public in critical social issues
- Encouraging and enabling social service organizations to respond to change
- Taking an active advocacy role on social and economic policy
- Influencing decision-makers by making them aware of the need for and consequences of social and economic policies.
Board of Directors
2020-2021
Sophia Jacob
President
Nick Ramdass
Vice President
Lise Hebabi
Treasurer and Secretary
Nicholas Harrison
Executive Member-at-Large
Rob Campbell
Howard Cohen
Trevor Hache
Gillian Keefe
Deanna Maric
Khaled Nizami
Julia Sneyd
Anil Sukhija
Our Staff
Sybil Braganza
Coordinator, Ethnocultural Seniors Project
Gabriel DePaul
Culture Researcher
Sadia Jama
Community Based Researcher and Data Analyst
Gulled Saleban
Research Assistant
Ben Bergeron
Manager, Hot Shoe Productions
Tahia Khan
Placement Student
John Chol
Project Manager and Youth Advocate
Stefan Domaradzki
Youth Engagement Developer
Abdelaziz Mahdjoubi
Manager, CIMS
Dianne Urquhart
Executive Director
Parastu Mirabzadeh
Manager, Effective Measures
Abdihakim Mao
Data Analyst
Xiaoming Deng
Brain Health Day Program Coordinator, Kanata Chinese Seniors Support Centre site
Heather Hunter
Program Manager
Stefka Patchova
Geographic Information System Researcher
Zeba Taj
Brain Health Day Program Coordinator, Indo-Canadian Community Centre site
Anna Lenk
Evaluation Consultant
Mailyne Briggs
Digital Communications Officer