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RESET Communities Collaboration
RESET Communities Collaboration
... scaling the learnings of Campus for Communities & Associates
Approach
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​RESET Approach  

Traditional top-down approaches to social, economic, cultural, and environmental change have demonstrated significant limitations. 

To truly improve wellbeing and address today's most pressing local and global challenges, we need to work together in fundamentally new ways. 

RESET is built on a core learning: when a community or neighbourhood is viewed as an integrated ecosystem rather than isolated sectors or silos, and when diverse stakeholders are equipped to collaborate authentically, transformative innovation and change become possible. 

Our approach emerges from extensive practice-based research and proven methodologies developed across Canada.  It recognizes that locally-driven solutions—informed by global priorities such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the ESGs—create sustainable, scalable impact that benefits people, planet, and prosperity.

Community Readiness for Change

In every community, more and more people are seeing that the traditional ways—working in silos, doing short-term projects, often undervaluing local wisdom—are no longer enough. R.E.S.E.T. exists for those people. Whether you sit in a municipality, a community organization, a funder's office, an anchor institution, or a purpose-led business, you can, or maybe already are, the catalyst who brings people around a shared table to motivate and mobilize shared values, visions, and actions. This helps turn scattered efforts into coherent strategies that treat communities as ecosystems, rather than a series of silos. ​RESET Communities provides the missing pieces of a highly complex puzzle and a clear picture on the top of the puzzle box.

​How is it Done? 




We Support Individuals,  Organizations, and Communities To Demystify Complexity with these 5 Distinct Pillars:

​​Is There a Fit? ​ 
​Are You One of the TARGET MARKETS Best Suited for RESET Communities and the Systems-Catalyst Leadership Essential that is essential for Innovation and Systems Change?
​

ELECTED OFFICIALS AND ADMINISTRATORS

Municipal leaders are at the front line of today's most complex issues—economic development, housing, infrastructure, climate, and community safety. R.E.S.E.T. Communities supports municipalities and regions to build resilient local ecosystems that align community well-being with Council priorities, strategic and official plans, and emerging mandates such as climate and equity commitments.​

Using our Determinants of Community Wellbeing, the UN SDGS (Sustainable Development Goals, and our Values and Principlesas practical frameworks, we help municipal teams and their ommunity partners, and local businesses and residents to break down silos, strengthen trusted relationships, and co-create initiatives that deliver multiple benefits—social, environmental, cultural, and economic (framed by the UN SDGs)—while remaining realistic about timelines, capacity, and political cycles.​

FUNDERS OR INVESTORS

Funders and investors are looking for initiatives that deliver measurable innovation and impact, reduce fragmentation, and build long-term community resilience. R.E.S.E.T. Communities Collective works with communities to design coordinated, asset-based ecosystems that make better use of existing investments, unlock new forms of value, and connect local innovation to broader impact frameworks such as the UN SDGs.​

Our Values and Principles provide an impact and learning lens that helps funders de-risk their investments, back genuinely community-driven solutions, and generate rich stories and evidence that can inform future strategy across portfolios and places.​


COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND GRASSROOTS LEADERS

Community organizations and grassroots leaders are closest to the lived realities, strengths, and challenges in their neighbourhoods. R.E.S.E.T. Communities Collective partners with you to turn that lived experience into system-level influence and lasting change.​

Grounded in values like inclusion, self-determination, and an asset-based mindset, R.E.S.E.T. helps local groups convene diverse partners, be recognized as equal collaborators with municipalities and funders, and co-create solutions that reflect community priorities and cultures. Our coaching and tools support you to navigate “the messy middle” of complex change while staying rooted in your community’s voice and leadership.​

ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS

Anchor institutions such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and large social purpose organizations have unique influence, resources, and staying power in their communities—but often lack a shared framework for working effectively with residents, community organizations, businesses, and government.​

R.E.S.E.T. Communities offers a values-based, systems-oriented approach that helps anchor institutions connect their mandates to community-led priorities and global frameworks such as the UN SDGs and other determinants of community well-being. By focusing on trusted relationships, diversity, and balanced, impact-driven outcomes, we support anchors to play a constructive “backbone” role—sharing power, data, spaces, and skills in ways that strengthen local ecosystems rather than overshadow them.​

SOCIAL PURPOSE AND IMPACT-ORIENTED BUSINESSES

Purpose-led businesses, co-operatives, and social enterprises are increasingly looking to create value that is economic, social, environmental, and cultural. R.E.S.E.T. Communities helps you engage in community ecosystems where your business can contribute to shared solutions on issues such as local prosperity, equity, and climate resilience.​

Drawing on principles like balanced, impact-driven outcomes, equitable shared ownership, and global–local alignment, we support businesses to collaborate with communities, municipalities, and nonprofits in ways that build trust, unlock innovation, and align with impact frameworks such as the SDGs. This strengthens both community resilience and your organization’s long-term relevance, relationships, and reputation

Strategies and Services
We empower communities by supporting local leadership, organizational and community capacity for a whole-community, sector-connected approach to social, economic, cultural and environmental well-being.

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Individual and organizational future-readiness is supported increasing capacity for (1) community and stakeholder-led development, (2) systems-practices,  (3) strategic foresight, and (4) digital optimization. We've learned these four components are necessary for the project and systems collaboration and informed decision-making we have experienced as being essential for transformative change and innovation.



Innovative approaches require being bold, perseverance, tenacity and a sprinkle of panic. 

-- Michelle Baldwin

Many situations in life are similar to going on a hike: the view changes once you start walking. You don't need all the answers right now. New paths will reveal themselves if you have the courage to get started.   

--James Clear

Leadership today is about courage. Courage to realize our challenges are complex and no one individual, organization, or sector can resolve them on their own. That means  we have to let go of the idea that we alone have the answers. Instead, we need to strengthen our individual and organizational competencies in order to become sector connectors who call meetings before we have the answers, aren't intimidated by messy, and can ensure a culture where all voices are heard. Only then, can our collective gifts, experience, and wisdom be focused on building a better future for all.

--Brenda Herchmer 

 In times of change it is the learners who inherit the future.  Those who have finished learning find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.

-- Eric Hoffer