In a context of limited financial resources, a need to preserve the housing stock, and a lack of leadership succession in rural areas, consolidation is becoming a key strategy for protecting and developing community housing.
Join us for this one-hour webinar featuring David Barbaza, Executive Director of Fédération des OSBL d’habitation du Bas-Saint-Laurent, de la Gaspésie et des Îles-de-la-Madeleine (FOHBGI) and President and Co-founder of Logéco, who will share practical insights from a community housing organization consolidation initiative in Eastern Quebec. The session will be moderated by Jonathan Fleury, Program manager Québec.
In Eastern Quebec, several small non-profit housing organizations manage a sometimes-aging housing stock with limited resources, making it increasingly difficult to maintain services and keep buildings in good conditions. It is in this context that a structural transformation has been implemented, led by the FOHBGI. This initiative resulted in the creation of Logéco as a central mechanism to pool property management, standardize practices, and strengthen professional support to members. It has also fostered a new culture of collaboration and solidarity across the region.
As a part of the Centre knowledge sharing series, this webinar will explore what made consolidation both relevant and feasible, how it was implemented, and what concrete changes it brings to the stability and growth of the regional community housing stock. The discussion will cover:
- Why and when to consolidate: recognizing signs of vulnerability; addressing the issue of succession; protecting the housing stock; maintaining services in rural and remote communities.
- The unique features of the Logéco model: shared management; professionalization of practices; a flexible and participatory governance framework; support for organizations of all sizes; the role of a regional “safety net”.
- Tools and conditions for success: transformation plan; clarification of roles; the ecosystem of actors involved and the quality of the relationships developed; how to align management and boards of directors toward a common goal; how to ensure the new structure’s long-term sustainability.
- Expected outcomes and transferability: what the initiative aims to stabilize and develop; how to create a model that can be useful for other regions in Canada.
Whether you are a leader, board member, or manager of a community housing organization, this webinar is designed to provide insights and offer guidance on assessing the potential for consolidation to join forces in a strategy for resilience and growth.
Note: This webinar will be offered in English and French thanks to simultaneous interpretation.
