The OWI Approach
Since 2001, One World has grown to be one of Canada’s most experienced firms in supporting effective engagement, learning and innovation. We have a long list of satisfied clients in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Based in Ottawa, we are a fully bilingual firm with a team of partners and associates across Canada. We have expertise in facilitation and engagement, as well as content experience in areas such as health and community development, both in Canada and internationally.
Dialogue and effective engagement are at the core of our work. By bringing in the voices, values and advice of those who have an interest in the issues you are working on, you can gain new and valuable insights, build commitment, and develop innovative approaches. Such an investment up front can pay valuable dividends down the road in terms of increased engagement and ownership of the results, and decreased frustration.
Effective engagement can lead to better and more sustainable decisions. Authentic dialogue can bring collective wisdom to the table. With our expertise in design and facilitation, we help our clients to tap into the collective wisdom in their organizations, their sector and in their broader communities. With our skills in change processes and management consulting we help them to translate that wisdom into policies and practices that support learning and innovation.
One World Inc. takes a tailored approach to each project. We respect the culture, values and practices of our clients while proposing new ideas and new ways of working in partnership. We are flexible and responsive to changing circumstances. We work closely with our clients to develop approaches that stay relevant and achieve their goals.
In working with our clients, we strive to be:
- Responsive: Each organization and community is unique. We help our clients to determine the key questions that they want to answer and the processes that will work within their organizational culture.
- Participatory: Meaningful processes are inclusive, and give people a real opportunity to contribute to achieving and measuring progress towards the outcomes. All types of knowledge (such as experiential and scientific) are valued. This is particularly important when the group is diverse and comes with a wide variety of backgrounds.
- Focused and Clear: We help our clients (and their partners, where this is relevant) to develop a clear and common understanding of the project’s objectives and measures of success. These help to clarify expectations and build buy-in. At all stages of the process, we use focused questions to facilitate engagement that works towards the achievement of the objectives.
- Respectful: The processes we design and use are respectful of people’s experience and wisdom. While we strive to set a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere – important for good dialogue – our approaches are professional and appropriate to the working environment.
- Rigorous: We understand that the methodologies we propose, and the results and analyses we deliver, may inform policy and program decisions on sensitive issues and that accordingly, process and methodological integrity is essential. Transparency and openness are key.
- Context Sensitive: We recognize the need to incorporate the client’s and its stakeholders’ working reality into our project design and schedules, and to present results in a way that supports informed decision-making, pragmatic strategies and sustainable results.
- Professional: We have extensive project management experience and skills, and recognize the importance of completing projects on time and on budget. We work closely with our clients and keep them informed of issues as they arise, so we can work together to develop solutions. Our approach to project management emphasizes clear reporting relationships, flexibility and frequent communication. We use strict quality and cost control procedures, and our relationships with our clients are based on transparency and integrity.