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Appendix C: Initiative Inventory

This appendix lists every initiative that interviewees proposed across the full listening exercise (58 interviews conducted over 7 months). It is the evidence base behind the action areas presented in The Strategy. Many entries overlap or reinforce each other. That repetition is itself evidence of support: the more frequently an initiative appears, the stronger the signal that it matters to the field.

The 3 Circles of Work

Initiatives are organized into 3 concentric circles, each representing a different type of work with a different theory of change. For the full analytical framework, see the framework section in The Evidence.

Circle 1: Strengthen the Core

Infrastructure that allows the 30 to 50 organizations currently doing democracy work to function as a sector rather than as isolated actors. Coordination, funding reform, shared narrative.

Circle 2: Broaden the Coalition

Work that extends the sector's reach beyond its own boundaries. Issue-specific coalitions, bridges to conservative democrats, Indigenous governance, underrepresented communities.

Circle 3: Shift the Culture

Long-term work in democratic resilience. Civic education, democracy between elections, belonging as democratic infrastructure, democratic innovation.

174 Initiatives at a Glance

Browse all proposals organized by the 3 circles of work. Click to drill down.

Click a circle above to explore its clusters and initiatives.

Full Initiative Table

Showing 174 of 174 initiatives
21+
Regular sector-wide convenings
Circle 1
▾
10+
Sector-wide narrative and collective story
Circle 1
▾
10
Sector mapping and directory
Circle 1
▾
8
Multi-year core funding for organizations
Circle 1
▾
6
Funder coordination table
Circle 1
▾
6
National civic education coordination and lifelong pathway
Circle 3
▾
5
Shared measurement and evaluation framework
Circle 1
▾
4
Collaborative norms and division of labor
Circle 1
▾
4
Multi-sector coalition engagement
Circle 2
▾
4
International collaboration and learning from abroad
Circle 2
▾
3
Multi-level engagement tiers
Circle 1
▾
3
Skills-based collaboration model
Circle 1
▾
3
Shared framework about what democracy work means
Circle 1
▾
3
Share data and assets across organizations
Circle 1
▾
3
Youth democratic values and civic education on institutions
Circle 3
▾
3
Uncouple democracy work from elections and move beyond voting-only focus
Circle 3
▾
3
Recruit in unexpected and non-traditional spaces
Circle 3
▾
3
Accessible democracy promotion for alienated Canadians
Circle 3
▾
3
Amplify messaging to underserved regions and highlight innovations across Canada
Circle 3
▾
3
Civic youth corps at national scale
Circle 3
▾
2
Small tight coalition with broad buy-in
Circle 1
▾
2
Coordination body with dedicated staff
Circle 1
▾
2
Democracy endowment
Circle 1
▾
2
Funder transparency and coordination portal
Circle 1
▾
2
Government-level advocacy for democracy funding
Circle 1
▾
2
Strengths-based storytelling about democracy
Circle 1
▾
2
Reframe democracy away from political associations
Circle 1
▾
2
Protection for sector leaders
Circle 1
▾
2
Applied research capacity for the sector
Circle 1
▾
2
Cross-pollinate solutions across organizations
Circle 1
▾
2
Invest in emerging sector leaders
Circle 1
▾
2
Connect through existing nonprofit networks
Circle 1
▾
2
Mobilize the nonprofit sector on democracy
Circle 2
▾
2
Canadian coalition to protect civic space
Circle 2
▾
2
Strengthen independent media
Circle 2
▾
2
Reform charitable status restrictions on advocacy
Circle 2
▾
2
Build capacity for democratic engagement in First Nations communities
Circle 2
▾
2
Bring political parties into the tent
Circle 2
▾
2
Comprehensive plan to address misinformation and disinformation
Circle 2
▾
2
Social media regulation
Circle 2
▾
2
Resource underrepresented communities
Circle 2
▾
2
Democratic reform of existing institutions
Circle 3
▾
2
Invest in informal education as democratic infrastructure
Circle 3
▾
2
Raise the profile of protecting democracy
Circle 3
▾
2
Trust-building across the sector
Circle 3
▾
2
Annual festival or public gathering of democracy
Circle 3
▾
2
Promote healthy political discourse
Circle 3
▾
2
Bridge geographic and linguistic divides
Circle 3
▾
2
Go where diverse congregations already exist
Circle 3
▾
2
Apply participatory processes to decision-making
Circle 3
▾
2
Indigenous youth engagement in democracy
Circle 3
▾
2
Capitalize on the current moment of public attention
Circle 3
▾
2
Shift from educating and mobilizing to organizing
Circle 3
▾
2
Municipal innovation partnerships
Circle 3
▾
2
Inclusive sector convening
Circle 3
▾
1
Hub-and-spoke network model
Circle 1
▾
1
Federation model for sustained cross-issue dialogue
Circle 1
▾
1
Informal working group or democracy association
Circle 1
▾
1
Flexible plug-in/plug-out subgroups
Circle 1
▾
1
Outsider or insider-outsider convener
Circle 1
▾
1
German model: multiple competing public intermediaries
Circle 1
▾
1
Circle on Philanthropy model for joint funding
Circle 1
▾
1
Fund outcomes not projects, with required joint applications
Circle 1
▾
1
Capitalize at scale (not micro-grants)
Circle 1
▾
1
Arm's-length distribution of government funds
Circle 1
▾
1
International sources of funding
Circle 1
▾
1
Government responsibility to support civil society
Circle 1
▾
1
European Democracy Shield / defense spending model
Circle 1
▾
1
Thread democracy into existing government funding
Circle 1
▾
1
Funder interlinkage mapping
Circle 1
▾
1
Redirect funding from theory to organizing
Circle 1
▾
1
Fund unions as democratic infrastructure
Circle 1
▾
1
Stop funding academics for democracy work
Circle 1
▾
1
Sustainable non-competitive funding model
Circle 1
▾
1
Narrative shift at scale (major investment)
Circle 1
▾
1
Centralized communications clearinghouse
Circle 1
▾
1
Year-round social media presence
Circle 1
▾
1
Collaborative multi-organization public statements
Circle 1
▾
1
Multi-partisan framing (replace nonpartisan)
Circle 1
▾
1
Reduce jargon
Circle 1
▾
1
Emergency bridge funding
Circle 1
▾
1
Large-scale grassroots mobilization capacity
Circle 1
▾
1
Permanent state of readiness with digital infrastructure
Circle 1
▾
1
Match authoritarian urgency
Circle 1
▾
1
Research into causes of low trust
Circle 1
▾
1
Democracy observatory and signals tracking
Circle 1
▾
1
Permanent democracy health infrastructure
Circle 1
▾
1
Demographic research on democratic attitudes
Circle 1
▾
1
Virtual platform showing who is doing what
Circle 1
▾
1
Shared services and co-location model
Circle 1
▾
1
Residency and secondment model between organizations
Circle 1
▾
1
Innovation fund for new modes of impact
Circle 1
▾
1
Collaborative budget analysis across organizations
Circle 1
▾
1
Long-game generational strategy
Circle 1
▾
1
Organizations know their lanes
Circle 1
▾
1
Multi-issue organizing coalitions
Circle 2
▾
1
Multi-stakeholder tables by sector
Circle 2
▾
1
Coalition on immigration justice
Circle 2
▾
1
Pre-election identity-barrier initiative
Circle 2
▾
1
Build a new media ecosystem
Circle 2
▾
1
Press freedom infrastructure
Circle 2
▾
1
Open investigative databases to the sector
Circle 2
▾
1
Recognize civil society and press as critical infrastructure
Circle 2
▾
1
Cross-movement hate speech coalition
Circle 2
▾
1
Legal defense funds
Circle 2
▾
1
Pro-democracy law firm and legal capacity
Circle 2
▾
1
Feminist lens on democracy work
Circle 2
▾
1
Completing Confederation and third order of government
Circle 2
▾
1
Support Indigenous civil society on its own terms
Circle 2
▾
1
Indigenous organizations in own defined category
Circle 2
▾
1
Inclusive due process for democratic conversation
Circle 2
▾
1
Engage center-right organizations in the coalition
Circle 2
▾
1
Multi-partisan teams on specific issues
Circle 2
▾
1
De-escalation processes for political disagreements
Circle 2
▾
1
Liberty-oriented charity mentoring networks
Circle 2
▾
1
Intelligence-gathering capacity on far-right activity
Circle 2
▾
1
War room with oppositional research
Circle 2
▾
1
Integration programming on immigration
Circle 2
▾
1
Misinformation identification body (Viginum model)
Circle 2
▾
1
Civil society digital media research network
Circle 2
▾
1
Centralized misinformation alert system
Circle 2
▾
1
Research capacity on technological change
Circle 2
▾
1
Tech governance connected to global institutions
Circle 2
▾
1
Regulate online spaces (EU/Australian model)
Circle 2
▾
1
Data cooperative model
Circle 2
▾
1
Open doors to ethnic and racialized communities
Circle 2
▾
1
Train religious leaders in civic engagement
Circle 2
▾
1
Rights support for under-resourced communities
Circle 2
▾
1
Civic Refuge concept
Circle 2
▾
1
Anti-rights movement learning model
Circle 2
▾
1
Protect judicial appointment process
Circle 3
▾
1
PM candidates pledge on democratic renewal
Circle 3
▾
1
Support the Leaders' Debates Commission
Circle 3
▾
1
Coordinated government lobbying
Circle 3
▾
1
Reform Elections Act (ballot length)
Circle 3
▾
1
Reform of executive government and public service
Circle 3
▾
1
Clarify advocacy boundaries
Circle 3
▾
1
Expanded civic education in schools
Circle 3
▾
1
Civic education targeting new Canadians
Circle 3
▾
1
Disinformation and polarization public education
Circle 3
▾
1
Massive voter and civic education push
Circle 3
▾
1
Connecting people with institutions and institutional accountability
Circle 3
▾
1
State of Canadian Democracy Summit
Circle 3
▾
1
"Free listening" initiative
Circle 3
▾
1
Meaningful public feedback mechanisms
Circle 3
▾
1
Train fundamental skills of social cohesion and connection
Circle 3
▾
1
Big-tent, joyful movement building
Circle 3
▾
1
Kitchen table conversations and local supports
Circle 3
▾
1
Peer network and mentorship for sector leaders
Circle 3
▾
1
Cover Canada's territory with participation opportunities
Circle 3
▾
1
Deep canvassing across 20 communities
Circle 3
▾
1
Libraries as trusted nonpartisan democracy delivery points
Circle 3
▾
1
Invest in local communities with paid staff
Circle 3
▾
1
Citizens' assemblies
Circle 3
▾
1
Civic assembly function for legislatures
Circle 3
▾
1
Adopt IAP2 public engagement methodology
Circle 3
▾
1
Electoral reform
Circle 3
▾
1
Vote 16
Circle 3
▾
1
100% youth turnout
Circle 3
▾
1
Civic empowerment training for youth (policy-focused)
Circle 3
▾
1
Social enterprise model for youth engagement
Circle 3
▾
1
Voting on campus model expansion
Circle 3
▾
1
Paid national and provincial staff for democracy campaigns
Circle 3
▾
1
Move Canada from complacent to engaged democracy
Circle 3
▾
1
Public engagement on threats for public fundraising
Circle 3
▾
1
Address economic inequality as democratic foundation
Circle 3
▾
1
Power literacy as movement-wide practice
Circle 3
▾
1
Encourage organizations to direct audiences to elected officials
Circle 3
▾
1
Municipalities as conveners of democratic culture
Circle 3
▾
1
Civic communitarianism and third places revival
Circle 3
▾
1
Invest in local communities with paid staff
Circle 3
▾
1
Rethink convening formats
Circle 3
▾
1
Sector-specific internal reform before coalition
Circle 3
▾
1
Cross-organizational board governance
Circle 3
▾

Mention counts indicate how many of 58 interviewees unprompted proposed each initiative. Higher counts signal stronger convergence. Initiatives are grouped into 26 thematic clusters across the 3 concentric circles of the coalition framework.