Strategic

When revenue is available, The Law Foundation of Ontario may create one-time or short-term granting to a specific strategic priority. The granting themes and grant amounts vary from call to call. Most recently, the Strategic granting program has supported:

Partnerships
Partnerships create opportunities for the Foundation to build trusted relationships and concentrate granting in priority areas. Most recently, the Foundation is partnering with the Black Opportunity Fund and the Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund. These partnerships allow the Foundation to invest in access to justice initiatives that are led by and for communities that are often underserved and underrepresented.

Measuring Impacts and Progress
The Measuring Impacts and Progress initiative held two rounds of call for applications and granting. The first call was launched in October 2018 and grants were made in the fall of 2019. The second call was launched in February 2020 and grants were made in December 2020. Also, as part of work in this area, the Foundation and the Law Society of Ontario jointly held a data and design symposium at the Law Society of Ontario's Access to Justice Week in October 2019. The purpose of the Measuring Impacts and Progress granting is to support empirical research that will help improve how the justice system serves the people of Ontario.

Supported research will help:

• Build relationships and knowledge through interdisciplinary and/or cross-sector perspectives, including with the nonprofit sector
• Provide answers to research questions related to which legal information, services, and/or dispute resolution mechanisms make a difference or work best and how they can be improved
• Seek to improve data collection or access to data in the justice sector
  Explores the experiences of people who have engaged with the justice system and the impact of justice system outcomes on them
• Examines justice system experiences and impacts on diverse individuals and communities

Justice and Technology Research
The Justice and Technology Research Call for Applications was launched in October 2018 and grants were made in the fall of 2019. The purpose of the Justice and Technology Research granting is to gain a better understanding of the practical ways in which technology is, or could, potentially change how legal services are provided, and to support access to justice for people with legal needs.

Supported research will help answer questions such as:

• How is the public using technology to obtain legal help?
• How is technology transforming the way that the legal professions use their practice?
• How is technology transforming legal decision-making (by courts, administrative tribunals, online dispute resolution mechanisms, etc.)?
• What regulatory approach, if any, should be taken, to the use of technology for providing legal help?

Trusted Help
The Trusted Help Call for Applications was launched in July 2018 and grants were made in the summer of 2019. The Trusted Help granting was a direct result of research the Foundation commissioned into how frontline community workers help people with legal problems.

The purpose of the granting is to advance our understanding of one or more of the following areas:

• Building the capacity to collaborate across sectors to advance access to justice
• Supporting trusted intermediaries (e.g. frontline community workers who help people with their legal problems)
• Continuing to learn and better understand the ways trusted intermediaries can advance access to justice

Capacity-building for an Inclusive Sector
The Capacity-building for an Inclusive Sector Call for Applications was launched in April 2019 by-invitation and grants were made in the fall of 2019. The purpose of the Capacity-building for an Inclusive Sector granting is to connect small and growing community-based organizations to capacity-building opportunities to support their long-term growth and help them establish a stronger presence within the access to justice landscape.

Supported projects will help address organizational needs that are connected to one or more of the following:

• Improving the capacity to design and deliver effective and responsive legal programs
• Deepening knowledge of different areas of law or types of legal support
• Fostering collaboration and justice sector engagement
• Strengthening organizational planning, assessment, and strategy development