Building community capacity for dementia in Canada: new directions in new places

This chapter describes a project in which researchers, community programs, and people living with dementia are working together to promote social inclusion, raise awareness and reduce stigma around dementia. Guided by principles of social citizenship, the Building Capacity Project (2019–2023) is implementing an asset-based community development approach to build and connect community-based activities that provide opportunities for people with dementia to be involved and to contribute in meaningful ways. The project takes place in two Canadian cities: Vancouver, located in the densely urbanized southwestern region of British Columbia, and Thunder Bay, a regional centre located in the rural and remote region of northwestern Ontario. Taking a ‘ground-up’ approach to implementation in these two distinct geographic contexts provides opportunity to consider and analyze the importance of common principles and local tailoring. The implementation and evaluation design is described, and projects activities and early learnings are explored.