Are you looking to recruit new talent? Will these new employees need to drive to get to work or will they depend on public transit? What if they need to find housing or want to know more about the city first? Having answers can make a difference to your recruitment efforts.
Evidence-based decision making is a key component to success but collecting data on issues like community engagement or housing can be time consuming. The Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF) is giving businesses and nonprofit organizations a better understanding of the city in which they operate with its relaunched Ottawa Insights website.
“The data we share through Ottawa Insights is meant to support and empower us all to make evidence-based decisions as we work to improve the quality of life in our city,” says Anita James, the director of strategic initiatives at OCF and lead on Ottawa Insights. “Our goal is to help create positive change through shared understanding and collaboration among service providers, policy makers, funders, elected officials, community leaders and others.”
The key benefit of Ottawa Insights is access to local information in a detailed, easy-to-understand format. Mengistab Tsegaye, executive director of World Skills Employment Centre says there are several barriers, such as affordable transportation, for immigrants to access programs and services. “Having local statistics from a credible third-party source helps advocate for employment supports,” says Tsegaye.
Ottawa Insights can be used to build alliances across the public, private and philanthropic sectors around a particular issue. It can also be used to determine what programs and services are best suited for the community and other related activities. To access the data, visit www.ottawainsights.ca.
Ottawa Insights contains data on the economy, the city’s standard of living and wider community. Here’s a sample
Although unemployment rates are high for new immigrants in Ottawa, they fall off with length of residency. For more information on employment in Ottawa, see the Economy and Employment theme at www.ottawainsights.ca.
OC Transpo transit fares are high and continue to rise. Single transit fares are the highest among Canada’s largest cities. For more information on mobility in our city, see the Basic Needs and Standard of Living theme at www.ottawainsights.ca.
