THE MINDS PROJECT
Whole-of-Society Defence & Resilience, Mobilizing Canada's Social Purpose Organizations
Map Organizations
Strengthen Resilient Communities
Connect and Uplift
PROJECT OVERVIEW
MINDS — Mobilizing Canada's Social Sector for Defence and Resilience
is an 8-month research and design initiative led by ICI Canada in partnership with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF).
Canada is facing a new reality. Climate shocks, global instability, and complex threats are putting pressure on communities. Resilience can no longer rely on the military alone. It depends on the strength of our communities, Indigenous leadership, and the networks that support people every day.
MINDS will map, study, and design the framework Canada needs to coordinate these assets with national defence and resilience planning.
This is whole-of-society defence, made in Canada.
WHY NOW?
Canada is shifting toward a whole-of-society approach to defence.
Resilience is not built by the military alone. It is built through strong communities. Local organizations, Indigenous leaders, and service networks are often the first to respond and the last to leave in times of crisis.
Countries like Finland, Estonia, and Sweden recognized this a decade ago.
They built legal frameworks and coordination mechanisms to make it real.
Canada is starting to move in this direction, and the opportunity now is to do it with intent.
MINDS is designed for this moment. It focuses on identifying where community strength already exists and how it can be connected to national defence efforts.
WORKSHOPS
WORKSHOP 1: Roundtable at Rideau Hub
GET INVOLVED!
Whether you lead a community organization, work in defence policy, conduct academic research, or simply believe that Canada needs to take whole-of-society resilience seriously, we want to hear from you.
Ways to get involved:
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Nominate an organization: Know a community-anchored organization that should be on our map? Tell us about them.
Share your expertise: We're conducting key informant interviews with leaders across sectors. Request a conversation.
Attend a workshop: Join one of our regional or virtual workshops to contribute to the framework design.
Stay informed: Sign up for monthly updates on our progress and findings.
Send Us a Message!
