The Alberta Law Foundation is conducting a community-based environmental scan and legal needs assessment in Alberta to assist with knowledge sharing in the justice sector and help inform the Foundation’s grant-making.
So far, we have collected valuable data from the community and partner organizations, such as:
- Legal needs survey completed by justice stakeholders (members of the Bridging the Gaps community.)
- Legal needs survey completed by self-represented litigants in Alberta (distributed by the National Self-Represented Litigants Project.)
- Legal needs survey completed by lawyers (distributed by the Canadian Bar Association – Alberta.)
- Interviews with organizations working with vulnerable youth in Alberta are already underway. Additional interviews will be conducted on other areas of need as they continue to emerge from the research.
- 211 data about legal needs and referrals has been received and is currently undergoing analysis.
- Statistics Canada data about legal problems in Alberta has been received, and comparisons are being made with other data sources.
The Foundation is also partnering with Access to the Justice Centre for Excellence (ACE) at the University of Victoria to collate and analyze Reddit data about legal problems in Alberta.
An invitation will be extended to the Bridging the Gaps group to join us for a “data party” in mid-April. This collaborative process will allow stakeholders to come together to increase their understanding of findings and provide input into data sense-making. A summary of findings will be published and distributed in May 2023.
The Foundation greatly appreciates the community uptake and input into this project!
If you have any questions or feedback, please contact Flora Stevenson.
