A Pan-Canadian Partnership Case Study: 4 College Alliance (E)

In 2020, four colleges from across Canada began to work together on a single initiative that saw them partner on the delivery of a common program in each of their respective regions. Based on a delivery model from Mohawk College’s City School, curriculum was developed to meet industry workforce needs in the Material Handling Sector, with a focus on creating accessible pathways to education or employment for equity-deserving communities. The success of this initial partnership led to the 4 College Alliance (4CA): a collaboration between Mohawk College, Vancouver Community College, Red River College Polytechnic and Nova Scotia Community College.The 4CA is an intentional pan-Canadian alliance that has grown beyond its first initiative. Currently, with the Counselling Foundation of Canada as a funding partner, the 4CA has developed guiding principles of partnership, have worked on joint funding applications for new initiatives, and have conducted a colloquium to facilitate knowledge exchange and build collective intelligence. The 4CA partnership leverages the uniqueness and the similarities of our respective communities, and has committed to find ways to partner on education for underserved communities in a sustained manner.This case study presentation will outline the impetus for the 4CA, what we did to formalize our partnership, our successes to date, and some of our challenges. We will also cover what we hope for the future and invite Conference participants to share information and best practices in working collaboratively across postsecondary institutions in serving workforce training needs of equity deserving communities.