Trust and Power

Evidence-based strategies that address power imbalances and build people’s trust in others and in organizations.

How to Navigate this Page

Select policy targets and evidence-based strategies that are priorities and achievable within your setting and sector. Align with your mandate, capacity, jurisdictional boundaries, and scope of practice.

Strategies marked with ☔ are important for populations-at-risk.

Entry Point for Action:
Reflects the organization’s or government unit’s sector scope and mandate

Policy Target:
Relates to the initiative’s focus

Evidence-based Strategies:
Concrete actions to guide initiatives’ design, delivery, and evaluation

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Expand Access to Financial Services & Products

Financial inclusion (i.e., access to the formal financial system and institutions)

Initiatives promote fair access to the financial sector and provide new, tailored services and products for unbanked or underbanked people who are often considered to be too risky and less profitable as clients ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of innovative and affordable or no-fee banking services and products
Access to innovative and affordable or no-fee banking services and products
Number/percentage of underbanked, low-income people who agree with the statement that banking services and products meet their unique needs and short- and long-term goals
Number/percentage of low-income people with access to no-fee banking services and products

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Enhance Quality Education

Education and training

Initiatives address the educational and workforce training needs of people with no certification or degree to increase their employability, chances for securing better jobs with higher wages, and power to negotiate work conditions ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Levels of dependence on supports from governments and organizations
Average program receipt duration
Multiple, complex disadvantages experienced within and across generations
Number/percentage of adults earning their first degree or certification
Number/percentage of adults who previously did not have certification or degree transitioning to higher paying jobs
Number/percentage of adults who earned their first degree or certification and who feel they can request a salary increase
Unemployment rate (e.g., stratified by education)
Employment rate in the informal sector (e.g., stratified by race/ethnicity)

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Promote Neighbourhood-Level Advantage

Safety, security, diversity, and quality of local services and amenities

Government units regulate anti-discrimination in policing and work together with community organizations and stakeholders to better assess and address local strengths and needs ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Trends in representation of people of colour (e.g., Indigenous, Latino and Black groups) in the criminal justice system
Availability of mechanisms and channels to denounce racial biases in policing
Perceived level of difficult in access and report racially motivated incidents
Levels of trust in the police in disadvantaged neighbourhoods
Crime rates in low socioeconomic status neighbourhoods
Levels of overall wellbeing (e.g., stratified by neighbourhood-level income)
Public trust
Level of public support for the anti-discrimination regulation

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Include Cultural Values of Financial Practices & Ways of Living

Culturally appropriate and sensitive strategies

Framework graphics with the entry point 'Foster Connection & Belonging' highlighted

Community-led initiatives that are designed and implemented using a partnership model can facilitate a good fit with cultural values, community needs, and sustainability

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of initiatives with mechanisms for (meaningfully) engaging community partners in all phases of the initiatives
Number/percentage of initiatives with strategies in place encouraging disadvantaged groups to share their lived experience with financial struggles and successes
Number/percentage of initiatives that prioritize improving community engagement in order to better serve the community

Self-worth and values of people’s different ways of being and doing

Initiatives that focus on equity and inclusion increase the symbolic and economic value of people’s many roles, including targeting ways of being and doing that are typically unpaid and/or undervalued ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of caregivers feeling that society acknowledges their work by providing paid leave with no contingencies or conditions
Levels of self-reported satisfaction with government assistance and paid caregiving services (e.g., stratified by socioeconomic status)
Financial stress among caregivers (e.g., stratified by age, sex, and gender)
Number/percentage of initiatives that acknowledge, respect, protect, and incorporate ancestral knowledge and traditions from Indigenous communities
Number/percentage of Indigenous communities that feel the initiative symbolically values the cultural and environmental work they perform in the community (e.g., in remote communities)
Distribution of benefits per type of caregivers

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Address Stigma & Discrimination (e.g., systemic racism and ableism)

Stigma and shame of debts

Initiatives recognize and address stigma and shame surrounding unmanageable financial debt (i.e., high debt levels compared to annual household income). Initiatives move away from judgmental language and adopt a strengths-based approach to support people managing their debts ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Individual levels of financial stress due to high debt load
Number/percentage of people seeking appropriate, reliable support to debt repayment
Number/percentage of people who report feeling that their debts are easily manageable
Level of non-mortgage debt before and after program

Financial decision-making power (imbalances)

Initiatives address power imbalances in financial decision-making and promote individual agency, particularly among disadvantaged groups who are the target of financial abuse ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Perceived control over financial resources
Percentage of conditional cash transfers to women (compared to men)
Social benefits payment to the accounts of people experiencing disabilities
Self-reported shared responsibility for managing household finances
Self-reported financial role within household (i.e., dependent, contributor, key financial decision-maker)
Person responsible for budgeting in the household

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Foster Connection & Belonging

Community development and strengths-based strategies

Framework graphic with the entry point 'Include Cultural Values of Financial Practices & Ways of Living' highlighted

Initiatives adopting a community-driven, participatory approach have their goals and plans of action defined by and for the community (based on what they deem relevant and appropriate) and enjoy a broader impact

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of participants reporting increased knowledge of topics relevant to their community and life situations
Participants report on how their gained skills and tools can positively impact their own community
Prevalence of the outcome of interest among non-participants
Number/percentage of participants who report their family and friends (i.e., non-participants) also benefited from the positive effects of the initiative

Trust, hope, and rapport-building

Initiatives adopt a multidimensional and long-term approach to foster trust in people and services, build relationships, and increase hopefulness in the future

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Levels of perceived trust in the community services and structures
Level of agreement with the statement that community provides opportunities to build social relationships with other residents
Individual hopefulness in the future

Financial empowerment

Initiatives design specific strategies for empowering those who feel powerless and like they lack control over their circumstances

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of people who report gaining or renewing their sense of control over their financial and life circumstances (e.g., stratified by sex, gender)
Perception of ability to plan for financial future (e.g., stratified by age, immigration status)

Family and community engagement

Initiatives are equitable, tailored, and take a long-term approach to facilitate family and community engagement and supportive involvement ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Satisfaction levels of participants with the amount and quality of support received among participants
Number/percentage of community members who are motivated to continue participating in targeted programs and in their community more broadly.
Success rates of initiatives over time

Community building

Initiatives use group-based community development activities and long-term engagement with community members to build strong, supportive relationships and foster community capacity. Hosting initiatives in the target community, having facilitators from the target community, and tailoring initiatives to target population(s) can facilitate community-building activities

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of initiatives that ensure social participation by people of different socioeconomic groups and identities in decision-making
Number/percentage of participants from diverse social backgrounds and identities who report seeing themselves represented in the initiatives
Number/percentage of initiatives that adopted shared language for enhanced communication and collaboration
Average attendance (e.g., stratified by race/ethnicity)
Resource usage (e.g., stratified by socioeconomic status)

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Develop around People’s Everyday Realities

Wrap-around and integrated support

Wrap-around initiatives employ a team-based, collaborative approach through which organizations provide comprehensive, holistic support to individuals, while avoiding fragmentation of policies, programs, and services ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of initiatives integrating policies, programs, and services to best respond to a particular need (e.g., unemployment) through co-location, or using a shared, single application process, etc.
Number/percentage of initiatives with memorandums or declarations that set out the main responsibilities of the staff members involved in the collaborative work
Number/percentage of recipients who feel the program has provided support in the areas they most needed

Information about services and programs

Initiatives provide accurate, safe, unbiased, and trusted information that can address people’s fears of repercussions related to applying for and receiving benefits and supports ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Number/percentage of pregnant women reporting not being afraid of unsupportive workplace when considering applying for parental leave
Number/percentage of applications for parental leave (e.g., stratified by occupational categories)
Approval rate of applications for parental leave (e.g., stratified by occupational categories)
Number/percentage of parents/guardians who report feeling less afraid of applying for child support due to the risk of incarceration associated with noncompliance with payment obligation
Participants report on their fears of negative consequences associated with their enrolment in the program (e.g., among people experiencing disabilities or unemployed people)

ENTRY POINT FOR ACTION

Consider Diverse Household Financial Circumstances

Financial self-efficacy

Initiatives (including financial self-efficacy strategies) boost people’s financial confidence while acknowledging the enabling or constraining financial environment and one’s life circumstances ☔

SAMPLE INDICATORS

Confidence levels in financial skills
Confidence levels in financial decision-making
Perceived ability to pursue financial goals