Over the past three years, Luis Patricio has been educating the London community on how to use and participate in advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their work. He has also supported them in using the SDGs as a framework for showcasing the impact their organizations have on the communities they serve.
As the SDG Cities program comes to an end, Luis has transitioned into a new role at Pillar Nonprofit Network as the Learning & Development Lead. In this new capacity, Luis will work to embed the SDGs into all of Pillar’s programming and reimagine our Learning & Development program.
This transition is generously supported by the Miggsie Fund - Lawson Foundation and the London Community Foundation.
Please join us in celebrating Luis’ new role.
1. Over the past few years, you have helped our member organizations tell many impact stories about the work that they are doing in the community, using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework. Is there a particular project that you are most proud of?
There were so many great initiatives that we were able to support, provide guidance and tell stories about. I feel honoured that so many of our members and partners trusted us (Pillar) and personally gave me the opportunity to work together with them. It’s hard to choose one I am most proud of, but I can think of a project that is a great example of incorporating the three main SDG principles.
The Vision Zero Hamilton Road research was a partnership involving multiple organizations from public, private, nonprofit and academic sectors (whole-of-society approach). It looked at an issue - urban mobility - with a systemic lens considering economic, social and environmental implications (interconnectedness). With a clear focus to create a positive impact for the most vulnerable in our city (leave no one behind). During the project we had several opportunities to talk directly with the community through surveys, a public town hall event and several meetings with our partners. We organized workshops for co-learning and sharing knowledge. As a result, the City Strategic Plan was amended in three different places to consider mobility poverty and vision zero principles. The final deliverable was a booklet that we published including some of the stories and key learnings from the project.
2. How do you see the Sustainable Development Goals being integrated into our programs and services at Pillar?
Pillar already adopts the SDG principles in a lot of the work that we do. In the last three years we’ve been more intentional about using the SDG framework. For example, mapping our events to the SDGs and checking the alignment with our vision and mission. Some of our programs have been using the SDGs for a while now. City Studio London categorized all projects by SDG and later started an SDG award. VERGE capital reports show which SDGs each investee is focused on. When we submit letters to the Federal Government, we frame it using the SDGs.
With all the many resources we developed during the SDG Cities program, we can integrate the SDGs even more. Our Learning & Development as well as our Impact Consulting can take advantage of the SDG-related training and workshops.
3. In what ways could our members get involved in SDG programming at Pillar?
We produced an incredible amount of resources in the last three years:
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A guide to engage in SDG work at the municipal level.
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A report about impacts of climate change that help social purpose organizations understand what, how and why get involved with climate action.
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An SDG Card Game that can be played in many different ways for many different purposes.
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A self-paced online SDG introductory course.
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A wealth of experience in terms of impact management, storytelling and strategic planning that we are integrating into our Impact Consulting services.
The reports, game and course are still highly relevant to be used as is and we are able to tailor our expertise to specific audiences and needs. We are restructuring our website to have all that information easily available soon. And if anyone has a specific request, don’t hesitate to contact us.
4. Tell us about your new dual role as Learning & Development Lead. What are you most looking forward to?
My background is community development and I’ve been an educator for most of my life working with different age groups in all kinds of settings. I’m passionate about community and learning. In my new role I can combine my two passions.
For me, the most exciting part is to build an L&D program that goes beyond a collection of training and workshops. I’m looking forward to co-creating a supportive community where people can come together in-person and online to learn from and teach each other, to share their challenges and their dreams, to find answers and questions, and to discover what they didn’t even know they wanted or needed. For the kind of change that we need in order to create the best future we can imagine, we need community.