Active Communities

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Active Communities is a scalable digital application to assist Canadian municipalities in making decisions that encourage communities to be healthier and more active. It mobilizes knowledge and translates it into a solutions-driven on-line interface that can be accesses by the community decision makers and the public.

Active Communities reflects collaboration among municipalities (a special thanks to the City of Mission and the District to West Vancouver Vancouver), UBC researchers, the BC Parks and Recreation Association, the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and the West Vancouver Foundation. It is a co-creation initiative that builds on existing strengths, aspirations, and current data intelligence. Active Communities harnesses community-based data that is often inaccessible. It is layered with open-source and rich qualitative data, for example the recent provincial BC SPEAK data reflecting the overall health and fitness of British Columbians. The value lies in the capacity for a municipality to customize its goals with local data and open-source data for elected officials and community citizens.

The collaboration with UBC (Indigenous Studies in Kinesiology and the Knowledge Mobilization - KNOW Lab) ensures robust data science, the inclusion of youth, and the engagement of Indigenous peoples. Physicians and researchers across British Columbia have said this is novel approach and should be replicated across the province and country. The first version of Active Communities platform will be released as part of the North Shore Vital Signs Report in November, 2024 or shortly thereafter.