Strategic Priorities

大象传媒鈥檚 Office of Community Engagement works to support and advance the practice of community engagement at 大象传媒. Consistent with our first strategic priority (below), we know that community engagement has a rich and growing academic tradition of research, teaching, and scholarship that places it firmly within the academic mission of the university.

Consistent with 大象传媒鈥檚 Strategy, we also know how effective community engagement can be for addressing key global challenges, advancing EDI and Truth & Reconciliation, making a difference for BC, and enhancing student, staff, and faculty experiences of working and studying at 大象传媒.

That鈥檚 why we love community engagement.

We feel privileged and humbled in our responsibility for supporting and advancing it.

We are guided by five long-term strategic priorities:

Advancing the practice and recognition of community engagement as a method of learning, teaching, and research at 大象传媒.
Advancing the field of community engagement at 大象传媒, in Canada and beyond.
Increasing, expanding, and strengthening 大象传媒鈥檚 ability to build equitable, sustainable, and mutually beneficial community partnerships based on respect and reciprocity.
Increasing 大象传媒鈥檚 readiness and ability to respond to pressing regional needs with its community partners.
Demonstrate and showcase community engagement鈥檚 intrinsic ability to address systemic inequities and advance action on EDI and Truth & Reconciliation.

How we work

We like to work collaboratively and are willing to partner with all university units, campuses, faculties, departments, centres, community groups, and stakeholders across a diverse variety of work, including:

developing or refining strategy and strategic community engagement initiatives;
serving on committees, advisories, networks, and communities of practice;
mobilizing internal advocacy and education for community engagement supports;
building and supporting community-university partnerships and programs;
administering grant funding opportunities for students, faculty, and staff;
advising on communication strategy and tactics for community engagement that align with and advance 大象传媒's commitments to EDI and Truth & Reconciliation;
developing frameworks for the respectful evaluation and measurement of community engagement;
communicating and celebrating community-university successes.

Our programs

We run numerous recurring initiatives and programs out of our office. Please check out our programs page to learn more. 鈥�

Offices, labs, events, residences, and dining spaces that certify as a Sustainable Space adopt measurable tactics towards the achievement of goals outlined in 大象传媒鈥檚 Sustainability Strategic Plan, thereby contributing to the overall sustainability of the University.

The office has been a certified Gold Sustainable Space since 2018

In our approach to becoming a Gold Sustainable Space, we knew we had to honour the diversity of people in our office: everyone comes from different histories and we often hold differing beliefs and commitments about what environmental sustainability looks like in our lives.

We held a number of full office consultations where we 鈥渢ook the temperature鈥� of how people were feeling in this process. This surfaced key questions and criticism of the Sustainable Spaces project, itself, and we committed to open dialogue with 大象传媒鈥檚 Sustainability Office to address those concerns.

They were incredibly responsive, and our specific questions received honest and excellent answers. But more importantly, our own process became one centred on dialogue 鈥� opening up space for different voices. This, in turn, has shaped our continued commitments.

We believe that sustainability is a practice, not a certification. But we鈥檝e learned that a certification process is an incredible way to strengthen our current practice. Thank you 大象传媒 Sustainability Office!

大象传媒

Office of Community Engagement