When We Know Better, We Do Better

Breakthrough: How Cape Breton Regional Municipality
is moving data into action

This past year, our Quality of Life data and tools became the backbone for a project to examine the lived experiences of residents in Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM), who are struggling to have their basic needs met. 

For generations a prevailing belief in Cape Breton (and across the province) has been that “if only the economy grew faster, and the population stopped declining” life in Cape Breton would become better for everyone. 

This project started because it became clear that economic data doesn’t paint the full picture. With the leadership of Mayor Amanda McDougall and Community Consultations Liaison Mike Targett, Engage was invited to reveal the challenges and opportunities of residents that need more than economic and population growth – residents whose stories are hidden, ignored or even unknowable – stories living “beneath the soil”.

As a result of the successful 2019 Quality of Life Survey, CBRM got access to the largest single data set (2068 responses to 230 questions) on well-being that any municipality of comparable size has in North America.

On May 10th, 2023, Engage and other local leaders presented to CBRM Councillors on the unaffordability of housing, transit, and recreation for some residents. 

Our Wellbeing Analysis Tool allowed us to visually demonstrate what is impacting Persons with Disabilities, residents with incomes below $40,000, single parents and younger adults. The troubles these residents faced, relative to the average resident, were instantly striking and disturbing to councilors. This prompted council to more strongly signal its support for “social inclusion” as a high-level goal to balance economic and population growth – and they struck task forces on housing, transit, and recreation. 

Photo caption: a visual demonstration of how ‘social inclusion’ can be balanced as a strategic goal that intersects with population growth and economic development

Alyssa Leblanc and other community members at the March 28th 2024 workshop in Sydney Mines

On March 28th, 2024, members of those task forces, councillors, the mayor, and community leaders followed up with a workshop in Sydney Mines where we dove into data more deeply - and more importantly brought “first-voice” experiences to the discussion. 

Young mothers who have experienced the challenge of putting a roof over their heads and food on the table - and difficulty traveling to playgrounds where their kids brought life to what the data reveals. One single mom on assistance, Alyssa Leblanc, shared in her reflection that “It costs to help - but it costs more not to”, pointing to the notion that if prioritized right, both time and money can be saved, all while being spent on the right things.  

In recognizing the importance of our work, Mayor McDougall said:

“If you look at our Strategic Vision before Engage started working with CBRM Council, compared to now, you can see what a long way we've come in making social inclusion a major part of our plan going forward. It really shows the impact of having the depth and breadth of data that Engage is able to provide. I am so grateful to Engage for this. It really feels like we are finally heading in a direction where no one will be left behind when making municipal decisions.”

We agree – “When we know better, we do better”. 

Moving Forward

The replicability of this approach is significant. Recommendations from the task forces are pending, but we see this as a fundamental breakthrough in the way that public policy and community advocacy can be advanced in the future.  This project of CBRM has been featured in presentations to leaders in over 32 countries, as well as the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada (Dr Theresa Tam), officials at the United Nations, the World Health Organization (WHO), the OECD, The Wellbeing Economy Forum (Europe), and the Office of the Mayor of New York. Locally, other municipalities are seeing CBRM’s application of the data as a use-case, relevant to their planning, budgeting, measurement, and evaluation to make better decisions for their residents.

This workshop was made possible by the on-the-ground efforts of municipal staff and aligned partners who have the trust of residents - like New Dawn Enterprises (Eric Leviten-Reid) and Community Cares (Dorothy Halliday) in Sydney Mines. Our gratitude for their collaboration and admiration for their work is enormous.

We are especially grateful for the the First-Voice leaders who trusted us and our partners to share their stories in ways that were courageous and collaborative. 

Curious about doing something similar? Request a dataset or analysis here specific to your community.