How Social Impact Projects Can Shape Communities

Following 20 years at a large Canadian telecommunications firm, Bruce established the project management consulting firm Solutions Management Inc (SMI). Since 1999, he has provided contract project/program management services, been a source for project management support personnel and created/delivered courses to over 7,000 participants in Canada, the United States and England.

  Social Impact   Sustainability  

When people talk about social impact, the conversation often drifts into abstraction. It becomes a set of ideals, metrics, or policy statements.

In my experience as an elected official and project sponsor, social impact is far less theoretical. It shows up in building permits, funding agreements, construction schedules, and financing approvals that determine whether something tangible actually gets built.

In municipal government, we do not use the language of social impact every day. We talk about capital budgets, procurement processes, and timelines. Yet many of the projects we sponsor are not simply infrastructure, but rather are investments in community wellbeing.

Three projects currently in progress here in our community illustrate this reality

A Swimming Pool That Is More Than a Pool
We are building a new aquatic facility at a cost of roughly $16 million. It is only going forward as a result of $7.5 million funding by the provincial government. On paper, it replaces an aging six-lane pool with an eight-lane, 25-meter pool capable of hosting competition. It also includes a smaller warm therapy pool designed for seniors and very young children, along with a multi-sport court.

It would be easy to describe this as a recreation project, but it is much more than that.

The larger pool enables regional competitions, which brings economic activity to our town. …

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