By Katey Park, WISIR

Thank-you for your attendance at the first IRP convening! On the third and final day of the October 2022 IRP Convening, we introduced foundational knowledge for the upcoming IRP Principles-Focused Evaluation.

What are Principles?

Principles are statements that provide guidance about how to think, behave, or act toward a desired result. Principles are based on values, beliefs, experiences, and knowledge. Within the IRP, we have the opportunity to create shared principles that collectively guide our actions towards a thriving Canadian social finance and social innovation ecosystem!

During this session, we looked at previous examples of principles in action. For example, Patagonia has the principle “cause no unnecessary harm” and this principle has guided decision-making within their business. If Patagonia needs new infrastructure, such as a warehouse or office space, their guiding principle helped them decide to restore existing buildings before constructing new buildings. Over the next few months, we’ll be having conversations to answer the question “Which principles can help guide IRP partners with decision-making towards a thriving social finance ecosystem?”

Why are Principles Useful?

• Principles provide direction and inform choices at forks in the road
• Principles are grounded in values that are important to its users
• Principles can enhance effectiveness, especially if they are based on experience and knowledge
• Principles can be a helpful grounding tool to aid in navigating complex system- such as the social finance and social innovation ecosystem
• Finally, they can be evaluated to assess if adherence to principles produces a desired result

Values of the IRP

During the first convening, we asked audience members to share their values as they relate to their professional and personal work. These values were revisited on Day 3. Audience members were asked to take three stars and place the stars on the values that most resonated with them. See below for some of the most commonly endorsed values from the Mural board:

Next, we reintroduced the six IRP principles that were developed in 2019. They are:

In breakout rooms, we discussed the current principles. There were wonderful contributions from these breakout rooms and plenary sharing. Some comments from participants included:

• IRP may be missing the principle of “shared risk taking” – How do we work together to fill gaps or change dynamics of a risk-based project?
• What could extending the reach mean? Can we extend this reach to the users and community members of the SPO’s?