20 Years of 211 in Canada - 211 Spotlight
20 years after collaborating to bring 211 to Canada, Findhelp has grown and flourished, expanding through specialty line services and partnering across North America. We have evolved our collective impact through an amplified commitment to equity, innovation and system building. Our vision, mission and core values have guided our strategic focus on continually improving services and systems, with a focus on removing barriers for the most vulnerable in our communities. By underpinning our partnerships in innovation, we have transformed our service, equity, and system impact.
We have renewed and recommitted to deepen our relationship with United Ways, to help build 211 as community infrastructure while leveraging our core competencies to create meaningful social change at a local, provincial, and national level.
Areas of Collaboration
Governance:
- Co-chair of the 211 Canada Leadership Table
- Leaders in Data and Data Standards committees
Data Quality/Data Standards:
- Lead the ongoing development of the Canadian version of the 211 Taxonomy
- Working with 211s to create standardized data collection policies
Technical Infrastructure:
- Developed the platform that collects, aggregates and shares 211 data from across the country
- Created a 211 Canada API for use by partners
- Support and fill data requests from funders including funders/governments
Service Capacity:
- Provide the phone and data services for 211s in provinces where they do not have the capacity
- Created 211 websites for 5 provinces.
Emergency Response:
- Provide back-up and overflow for 211s in emergencies (e.g. took all PEI calls in the hurricane aftermath)