Building Stronger, More Inclusive Communities
Recent SPNO and Member Organization Projects
SPNO initiates and supports projects on a wide variety of topics related to social planning. Our
current focus areas are Housing and Homelessness, Poverty elimination, Newcomers, Youth, and
Nonprofit leadership.
Community Development Halton
Community Data Watch is a monthly social research brief on issues, trends, and emerging data for Halton. Series begins in 2023.
SPCK&D Kingston
On May 14, 2025, the Social Planning Council of Kingston & District hosted a Kingston Community Housing Forum with a focus on Affordable Rental Housing
SPRC Hamilton
This is the first ever report dedicated to Personal Needs Allowance (PNA), a hidden part of Ontario’s social assistance system. At only $149/month and frozen since 2019, the PNA is the only personal income for tenants in residential care facilities (RCFs). The report shows how the PNA has lost half of its value since 1992, and there seems to be no specific policy or financial reason for this neglect of the PNA.
Social Planning Toronto
is a proposal to develop a community-based funding model that centres the voices of newcomers and racialized leaders within small and ethno-specific service provider organizations. The primary purpose of this research project was to develop a funding model that is reflective of the Toronto South newcomer-serving sector. We conducted a participatory research project using co-design principles and methodologies to centre the voices of newcomers and racialized leaders within the newcomer-serving sector.
SPNO, SPC York Region, SPC Oxford, SDCCA, SPCK&D
The SPNO partnered with the University of Waterloo and four regional social planning councils (Kingston and District, Oxford County, York Region, and Cornwall and Area) to understand more about tenant eviction and displacement in communities across Ontario. Through detailed studies of each region and its tenants’ experiences, we found that despite different built forms, demographics, local economies, population densities, and vacancy rates, tenants across Ontario had a shared experience of displacement. Tenants explained how tactics were used to push them out, and discussed the lasting impact of displacement and the necessity of change.
Social Planning Council of Kingston and District
This is a companion document to the SPNO Tenant Displacement project focussed on Kingston, Ontario. It aims to better understand displacement in our community through firsthand accounts from affected tenants. Tenants’ lived experiences can reveal how the city of Kingston is changing and play a key role in planning for a more equitable community.
