Vision
Our vision is an Ontario where all people experience full belonging and inclusion and have control over their lives – to make decisions, share their interests and gifts, and receive and direct the resources and supports they need in order to take their rightful place in Canadian society with the same opportunities as other citizens.
Mission
Our mission is to support people with disabilities, their family members and/or loved ones to pursue meaningful, everyday lives. We are committed to learning alongside others about the contribution independent facilitation can make to people strengthening their voices, claiming their power, creating change, and living full lives in their chosen neighbourhoods and communities.
Priorities
Priorities 2022
Over the past couple years, OIFN has been greatly encouraged by the broad participation in our virtual gatherings and events, and we are inspired by the contributions of participants – both familiar with and new to the network.
Moving forward, we are focusing our resources and energies, as we strive to continue to foster a dynamic Community of Practice and bring together people with developmental disabilities, family members and/or loved ones, independent facilitators, and other allies who are interested in supporting people to live meaningful, everyday lives in their chosen neighbourhoods and communities.
Growing and Engaging the Community of Practice
- Continuing to host CoP gatherings, including Reflective Practice Conversations and Book Club meetings.
- Staying connected and communicating with our allies. We are excited to review the feedback and harvest learning from our virtual engagement survey and follow-up conversations (late 2021 to early 2022) to guide further meaningful engagement at local, regional, and provincial levels.
- Endorsing and promoting opportunities for capacity building around the principles, values, and practice of Independent Facilitation. OIFN is shifting from hosting course offerings and engaging in more intentional outreach, in order to promote training and learning events from like-minded friends and allies. In this supporting role, we are committed to launching a clarified endorsement process, maintaining an active Events Calendar on oifn.ca, and using our social presence to raise awareness of valuable capacity building opportunities.
- Telling OIFN’s story and continuing to publish newsletters and share stories, ideas, and resources – highlighting OIFN’s history, documents, and learnings about Independent Facilitation, as well as the work and resources of our allies and others who share our values and principles.
Sustaining the Network
- Thinking strategically and dedicating our resources to opportunities that are energizing and relevant to the needs, interests, and passions of the Community of Practice.
- Recognizing and acknowledging the many gifts of Community and Practice members and welcoming and inviting the contributions of people who are interested in offering their gifts in meaningful ways.
As part of all of these goals, OIFN is committed to ongoing maintenance and development of OIFN Social Media platforms and our website, as interactive spaces for the Community of Practice to connect to, inspire, and learn from one another.
Priorities 2021
Building on our priorities from 2020, OIFN is committing its energy and resources in 2021 and onward to:
Growing and Engaging the Community of Practice
- Continuing to host CoP gatherings, including Reflective Practice Conversations and Book Club meetings, and staying connected and communicating with local and regional Communities of Practice.
- Telling OIFN’s story and continuing to publish newsletters and share stories, ideas, and resources – highlighting both OIFN’s history and documents, as well as the work and resources of our allies and others who share our values and principles.
Building Capacity and Visibility of Independent Facilitation
- Continuing to offer OIFN Shared Learning Events to further build capacity of Independent Facilitation and build appreciation for ongoing learning and development.
- Promoting and maintaining OIFN’s Independent Facilitator Listings, which were re-launched in 2020, and highlighting resources to support people and families to find independent facilitators.
- Preserving the Integrity of Independent Facilitation by continuing to nurture and ground the Community of Practice in the principles and values of our work.
Contributing to Collaborative Ally-ship
- Preserving the Integrity of Independent Facilitation by creating spaces for conversations that matter and growing and learning together with our allies and supporters.
- Investing in What Matters by deepening our relationships with people and families, independent facilitators, autonomous self-advocacy and family groups, grassroots organizations, supportive agencies, and others and supporting initiatives and movements for social change.
Sustaining the Network
- Thinking strategically about our Developments and Investments, so that OIFN can continue to foster a Community of Practice that is committed to facilitating change for people to live everyday, ordinary lives.
- Recognizing and acknowledging the many gifts of Community and Practice members and welcoming and inviting the contributions of people who are interested in offering their gifts in meaningful ways.
As part of all of these goals, OIFN is committed to ongoing maintenance and development of OIFN Social Media platforms and our website, which serve as spaces for the Community of Practice to connect to, inspire, and learn from one another.
Priorities 2020
Engaging and Strengthening the Community of Practice of the OIFN
- Being brave enough to start a conversation that matters:
- Convening Reflective Practice conversations on line, monthly
- Inviting in ‘everyone who wants to work on what’s possible’, connecting and reconnecting to people who have experienced independent facilitation or would like to experience independent facilitation, friends and family members interested in the support and practice of independent facilitation, independent facilitators, allied developmental service organizations interested in independent facilitation
- Fostering connections to local and regional Communities of Practice
- Re-connecting with communities where some community development has happened with respect to independent facilitation
Building/ re-building and supporting Independent Facilitation across the province
- OIFN is often asked: “How do I become an independent facilitator?”
- OIFN is committed to begin building training and mentoring capacity, and is
- mobilizing training and mentoring capacity, and
- building appreciation for ongoing learning/development/reflective practice
- recognizing that the practice of independent facilitation requires training and mentoring
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- OIFN is featuring its Key Messages document which include OIFNs Core Beliefs; and the Framework for an Ordinary Everyday Life
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Increasing visibility and accessibility of independent facilitation for people and families who want it
- OIFN is frequently asked by people and families: “How do I find an independent facilitator?”