The Alberta Solutions & Active Living Grant Funding - Now Accepting Applications

Applications are now being accepted for both the Alberta SCI Solutions Fund and the Alberta SCI Active Living Fund. Application deadline is Friday, May 14th, 2010 at 4:00pm MST. Eligible applicants include Albertans with spinal cord injuries (including polio and spina bifida) and not-for-profits registered as a charity with the Canada Revenue Agency or a society with the Alberta Societies Act that provide services for Albertans with SCI or looking to expand services for Albertans with SCI. The application forms and guidelines for both funds can be located by going to www.paraplegicfoundation.org. Any questions can be directed to Ross Norton, Solutions Coordinator at the Alberta Paraplegic Foundation, 305 11010 101 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5H 4B9, phone (780) 424-6312 or email solutionsfund@paraplegicfoundation.org.

Welcome Alberta SCI Action Strategy Task Team Members!

Thank you to all of our dedicated Task Team members who will be working together over the next three months to develop strategies to address issues in housing, home care/attendant care, and adaptive equipment facing Albertans with Spinal Cord Injury.  Below, you will find essential information and resources such as the Terms of Reference for your group and Toolboxes which contain web-based resources on your area of interest.

Please subscribe to this blog (at right).  This is a very quick (15 second) process and you will receive an e-mail when new information is posted.

We are looking forward to working with you ... we are indeed On a Roll ....

On a Roll Task Team Membership List

(to follow)

On a Roll and on the Right Track:  the Alberta SCI Action Strategy

On a Roll: The Alberta SCI Action Strategy, v.2 March 19, 2010

Task Team Terms of Reference

TOR Attendant
TOR Adaptive Equipment
TOR Housing

Toolboxes

Click on the link that pertains to your priority area.  The document contains descriptions and links to websites that contain information on initiatives from around the world.  You may need to click "download" in order for the links to work.  (note:  send us an e-mail if you would like to see any resources added to these Toolboxes).
Adaptive Equipment and Supplies Toolbox
Home Care Attendant Care Toolbox
Housing Toolbox

Alberta SCI Action Strategy Task Teams

Things are moving along with the Alberta SCI Action Strategy, and we are now in the process of forming Task Teams that will investigate and recommend actions to be taken in their area of interest:  Housing, Adaptive Equipment, and Home Care/Attendant Care.  The task teams will be made up of Alberta-based stakeholders from the field of SCI research, policy, and service delivery.  Consumers (ie. people with SCI or another related physical disability) will make up 1/3 of each of the Task Teams.  We're looking to have teams oriented to their jobs in early April.  Each team will have an assigned facilitator to support their work.  See opposite for a profile of our facilitators ...
By June, the Task Teams will have researched, selected, and outlined three or four ideas that, if implemented, would result in a marked improvement in the quality of life of Albertans with SCI.  Their recommendations will go to the Alberta SCI Solutions Alliance for consideration and advice on implementation.  We're on a roll, so subscribe to our blog now to keep up with the action!

Post Forum update and next steps

The Alberta SCI Action Strategy and stakeholders' Forum is now over and the next phase of the project has begun.  We would like to thank the 36 individuals (numbers fluctuated over the day) who participated.  Our evaluation results show that the vast majority were pleased with the process and facilitation and the quality of discussion that took place around the priority areas which are:  housing, home care/attendant care, and adaptive equipment.

The next step is to process all of the comments from these groups and produce a next draft which will be circulated to a wide audience.  We've also begun the process of preparing the Terms of Reference and supporting materials the three task teams in the priority areas will need to continue developing a set of actionable strategies in their respective areas.

A lot is happening, so keep up to date by checking this blog or subscribing (at the right) to receive notice of new postings.

Alberta SCI Action Strategy Stakeholders' Forum, March 6, 2010

On March 6, 2010 a group of about 50 individuals involved in the field of SCI, and people with SCI will gather at the Northlands Edmonton Expo Centre to take the development of the Alberta SCI Action Strategy to the next level.  A draft strategy titled On a Roll and on the Right Track was developed and circulated to participants.  This report will be reviewed, cover to cover, to ensure that the direction we take to address issues in SCI is truly the right one.  Watch for updates as our work progresses.

Overview of Policies, Plans and Strategies

There have been many attempts to generate strong and sustainable policies, plans and strategies, both from a cross-disability perspective and with and SCI focus.  The Alberta SCI Strategy will build on the best of these, giving particular reference to current government policy and to recent, consensus based documents endorsed by the disability community.  This document summarizes high level policy and strategy from 30 of the most relevant sources.  Click here to view.

Delphi Results Are In

The results are in!  Our Delphi Survey to determine the priority areas for action in SCI is complete and consensus has been reached between the 44 consumers and SCI experts who participated.  Their recommendation was to begin the action planning stage around three areas:  1.  Available, accessible and affordable housing;  2.  Home Care/Attendant Care;  and 3.  Adaptive Equipment.  Respondents felt strongly that although there are many valid and important issues facing people with SCI in Alberta, we needed to focus our efforts on only a few.  Within each of the priority areas above, respondents identified several sub-issues.  It will be the job of Task Teams to decide how to deal with these sub-issues.  To stay up-do-date on the work of Task Teams, click on one of the links in the sidebar to subscribe to our blog.

The results of the third and final Round of the Delphi are available here.


Delphi Final Results