The Pulse: Feb. 10, 2022

Edmonton's Islamic Family and Social Services Association (IFSSA) is moving beyond how non-profits typically work by using technology to better deliver its services. And it has hired Raj Rajakumar, the co-founder of Spontivly, to help it do so.

"I was looking for my next opportunity — something that was more personal to me ... spiritual as well as Islamic. I basically wanted to leverage technology and leverage my own passion for providing social services for the sake of humanity," Rajakumar told Taproot. "So I saw this opportunity come up and ... something propelled me to apply for it."

Rajakumar will lead the development and maintenance of two apps, Transform and Amplify. Transform is an intake, assessment, and case management system for the social services sector that is focused on helping clients achieve their goals, while Amplify is an existing product that will be localized to Edmonton to strengthen local businesses and "increase dignity, choice, and connection" for IFSSA clients.

The goal is to use technology in a way that will "disrupt the system," said Omar Yaqub, Servant of Servants (the equivalent of an executive director) at IFSSA.

"Oftentimes we get into the work and we get caught up in the things we need to do. And sometimes it's those things we need to do that take us away from the impact we initially want to have," he explained.

Yaqub wanted to move away from IFSSA's success being tied to how many people it serves, noting that an increase in clients in need is not necessarily a good sign but rather "a sign of severe, catastrophic deprivation in our community."

Instead, he'd like to be able to measure achievement by looking at how many people IFSSA has helped achieve their goals, by figuring out what appropriate goals are and how progress is made. And while technology will provide the tools to make that happen, it won't be the focus.

"We often see technology leading and I think it's important to see that here technology is just enabling and supporting a more human-centered approach to how we do work in the social services sector," Yaqub said.

• City council unanimously approved a motion from Coun. Aaron Paquette to investigate the creation of a vaccine passport for Edmonton. Administration is expected to report back on Friday with options. Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he was "really disappointed" with the provincial decision to end the Restrictions Exemption Program and plan to lift other public health measures. "I wish they were done in a more thoughtful way, a more gradual way," he said. "This is not our choice; we don't want to have our own municipal exemption program in place."
• Edmonton Public School Board chair Trisha Estabrooks said the decision to remove masking in schools starting next week "is too much, too fast." She said school divisions were not consulted.
• A motion from Coun. Erin Rutherford requesting a bylaw amendment to add another council-appointed seat on the Edmonton Police Commission passed unanimously. The amendment will return to a future meeting for approval.
• Though the population of the Edmonton metropolitan region has grown to more than 1.4 million people, new data from Statistics Canada shows that Edmonton's downtown population declined from 2016 to 2021.
• Alberta's population has risen by 200,000 people since 2016, the StatsCan data shows. This is slower than the national average, 4.8% compared to 5.2% — but an analyst suggests that shifts in the province's economy may see more people head west.
• The city's Boyle Street and McCauley renewal plan needs more work, community members say. Generally, they were in favour of some of the proposed infrastructure and beautification efforts, but the plan would also turn some streets into one-ways.
• Edmonton's real estate market remains hot, having seen around 25,000 transactions this year. Tom Shearer, the past chair of the Realtor's Association of Edmonton, said he's projecting a 3-5% increase in average sale price by the end of 2022.
• Premier Jason Kenney apologized for comments he made comparing the difficulties the unvaccinated face to those of people with HIV/AIDS. "I was wrong to do so and apologize without reservation," he tweeted.
• The province is seeking $1.3 billion in compensation from the U.S. government for the Keystone XL pipeline. President Joe Biden cancelled the pipeline's permit, so Alberta is planning on using legacy rules tied to the old North American Free Trade Agreement to try to recoup some of its losses.

In Episode 3 of Bloom, Wyvern co-founders Callie Lissinna and Kurtis Broda join co-host Emily Rendell-Watson to talk about the startup's origin, tackling climate change using satellites, and how equity plays an important role in the company.

"One thing that I've learned ... is that you can't really get very far without allyship at all. You can't rely on the minority themselves to be pulling the weight," Lissinna told Taproot's innovation podcast.

"So if you have ... a small team of really awesome allies who take initiative to do the research themselves and learn how they can support the underrepresented group, that's really key because the minority themselves will always be obviously aware of the situation and looking to make it better. But that's not going to get you very far."

Rendell-Watson and co-host Faaiza Ramji also talk about how the Islamic Family and Social Services Association plans to use technology to better deliver social services; a partnership that will allow mixed martial arts fighters to be paid in bitcoin; and AI4Good Lab, which is a machine-learning boot camp for women.

Bloom is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere else you get your podcasts.