“We learned an important organizational lesson in PLAN’s early years. Our innovative programs would not have much impact unless they were recognized by society’s systems and institutions. We needed our governments to recognize and adjust their regulations, policies and statutes to accommodate the solutions that we were developing. Since then we learned that all social innovations require corresponding structural changes in order to be sustainable, long-lasting, and to have widespread impact”.
– Al Etmanski, co-founder of Plan Institute
What does social innovation mean to Plan Institute
Plan Institute engages in social innovation through community-based projects and partnerships with one goal in mind: to help to improve the lives of those living with disabilities.
Some of our successful innovations include:
- The world’s first Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP)
- A citizen-based theory of disability
- The representation agreement, a grassroots alternative to legal guardianship
- Various workshops, retreats and learning initiatives
- Tyze online personal networks for anyone facing a life challenge
- A national Social Innovation Generation partnership
- Personal network development support for more than 40 national and international organizations
- Seven affiliate organizations across Canada
- An online Future Planning Tool designed to help Canadians with disabilities plan for and accomplish their future planning goals
Some of current projects include:
- Access RDSP: Access RDSP is a province-wide partnership between Plan Institute, Disability Alliance BC (DABC), and BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS) to encourage financial security via uptake of the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).