Co-Creating Knowledge
“Big ideas” have been synonymous with the name Atkinson for more than a century. Joseph Atkinson called unemployment insurance “the fight of my life.” Old age pensions, family allowances, labour standards and minimum wages, universal medicare and more, featured in his bold program for social reform.
Today, we’re fighting to protect core public services while pursuing promising ideas to tackle inequality.
We believe in co-creating knowledge with people who stay close to the realities of life on a low income. They are policy advocates and organizers, journalists and other media workers, and academics and practitioners alike. As part of larger strategies, we commission or support research to inform public education, policy advocacy and practice. Here’s a sample of the knowledge created for this purpose over the years.
Care Economy
Care is essential social and economic infrastructure. Care workers make all other work possible. The care economy currently contributes 12.3% of GDP and 21% of jobs, and it is growing. If we focus on providing fair wages, benefits, workplace protections, and, where needed, immediate access to permanent residency, then Canada’s economic future will be more equitable.
Community Wealth Building
For more than a decade, Atkinson has collaborated with leaders in different sectors to make economic development processes more inclusive of low income communities. We’ve partnered to bring global voices into Canadian conversations about the economy, like UK economist Mariana Mazzucato on public investment in innovation.
Decent Work
Decent work is about more than a job or wages. The International Labour Organization defines it as “productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace, social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in decisions that affect their lives, and equality of opportunity and treatment for all.” Since 2014, we’ve collaborated to reflect on what decent work looks like in our Canadian context to spark dialogue and action.
Movement Voices
Occasionally, Atkinson publishes essays exploring issues and amplifying voices from the decent work movement. We also supported PowerShare, a Centre for Future Work multi-year research program led by Dr. Jim Stanford that included a foundational paper on the theory and practice of worker voice.
Public Interest Journalism
The Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy demonstrated the power of journalism to serve the public good from 1988 to 2021. It gave outstanding journalists the chance to investigate a story that had real potential to change public policy.
Responsible Investing
For Atkinson, the alignment of mission and money has always been a transformational process that is never fully realized. We believe that how we think and behave as an investor, owner, and shareholder can help make economic systems and structures more equitable and sustainable. As part of the responsible investing movement, we know that our individual and collective actions can result in an economy that promotes mutual trust and reciprocity, and produces enough for everyone.
The Atkinson Story
Atkinson reflects on the past and the future to inform our actions in the present. From time to time, we publish what we're learning about justice-seeking philanthropy and from taking a long view that spans generations.
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