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Social Purpose · Cooperative · Community Finance Consulting
We help organizations that help people
to solve problems that matter
Demos Partners is a group of experienced, purpose-driven consultants with decades of frontline experience working with cooperatives, credit unions, social enterprises, non-profits, governments, and public-sector organizations. We work across Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe to solve problems and create lasting impact on real people. We work in areas such as affordable housing, cooperative development, community finance, and international development. We specialize in asking and answering the hard strategic questions that don't fit a standard consulting playbook.
We provide our clients with unique value: decades of hands-on, frontline experience in identifying and solving problems that create tangible and durable social, economic, and environmental benefits.
REAL PROGRESS
Towards a better world
8
Partners and advisors
240
Collective years of experience
50+
Countries
Our work
We collaborate with our clients on specific problems and challenges – every project is unique and gets a unique solution. Learn more below about some of our recent projects in Canada and around the world.
Affordable Housing Strategy & Student Housing Needs Assessment — City of Edmonton
Engaged by the City of Edmonton to address the critical issue of affordable housing and the loss of capacity built over decades. Demos navigated a complex, multi-stakeholder environment — adapting to evolving municipal priorities — to deliver implementable recommendations for scaling affordable housing capacity, including new financial instruments bridging the cash flow gap for smaller non-profit developers.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Board Planning Summit Facilitation — Coastal Community Credit Union
Engaged to facilitate the Board Planning Summit following Coastal's merger with Integris Credit Union. A three-phase engagement: structured pre-summit work, surveys and interviews; 2.5 days of facilitation focused on Vision, Purpose, Values, and Strategic Direction; and a post-summit synthesis establishing the permission space granted to management.
British Columbia, Canada
Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League — 5-Year Strategic Plan
Led a comprehensive strategic planning process for JCCUL — the national federation representing Jamaica's credit union movement. Three-phase engagement: pre-retreat process, stakeholder surveys, and one-on-one leadership interviews; a five-day facilitated retreat; and a post-retreat deliverables phase including a full strategic framework and Balanced Scorecard.
Kingston, Jamaica
Land Trust Simulation Project — Northern Alberta Co-operative and Community Housing
Trust (NACHA-led)
Engaged by the Northern Alberta Co-operative Housing Association (NACHA) on a City of Edmonton-funded project, Demos is leading the Land Trust Simulation Project to support the creation of the Northern Alberta Cooperative and Community Housing Trust. The work focuses on scaling the Prairie cooperative housing sector, preserving affordable housing stock, and leveraging scale for new development. Demos is analyzing participating cooperative portfolios — including financial sustainability, asset condition, and operational capacity — while developing 10-year financial projections comparing status quo and land trust participation scenarios. The project draws on the Quebec Plancher and BC Community Land Trust Foundation models, with partners including Right at Home Housing Society, YEG Chinatown, and the BC Community Land Trust Foundation.
Alberta, Canada
HONOR Program — Cooperative Sector Development in Ukraine
Supporting SOCODEVI's cooperative sector development program in Ukraine — building on 16 years of organizational presence and more than 70 cooperatives supported. Demos partners provide mentorship to cooperative leaders, support training programs with a focus on women's cooperative leaders, and contribute to the strategic development of second and third-tier associations under Global Affairs Canada funding.
Ukraine / Global Affairs Canada
Business Strategy & Organizational Sustainability Plan — Community Energy Cooperatives Canada
Developing a comprehensive Business Strategy and Organizational Sustainability Plan for CECC, the newly formed national federation for Canada's renewable energy cooperative sector. The engagement spans evidence review, member engagement, a strategy workshop at the October Energy Forum in Montreal, and development of a full Business Strategy with Key Progress Indicators.
National / Montréal, Canada
Rural Wealth Creation — Drayton Valley & Brazeau County.
In collaboration with the University of Alberta Community-University Partnership (CUP) and UpSocial Canada, Demos is advancing a funded Rural Wealth Creation initiative exploring community land trusts, cooperative enterprise incubation, and local capital mobilization for post-resource community economic transition. Feasibility analysis and business modelling are underway, applying Community Wealth Building principles to support a region navigating the shift away from a resource-dependent economic base.
Drayton Valley, Canada
Diaspora Investment Platform — Jamaica, Colombia & Canada
Actively developing a Diaspora Investment Platform that mobilizes diaspora capital for cooperative and community investment in countries of origin. Working with SVX as financial structuring partner, JCCUL and Coomeva as in-country cooperative anchors, and exploring Barbados as an additional pilot geography through the We Gatherin' diaspora engagement initiative.
Jamaica · Colombia · Barbados · Canada
What we do:
Services that drive impact
Supporting cooperative sector development across the Caribbean, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. We design training programs, develop second-tier associations, provide regulatory and policy reform advice, and build the organizational infrastructure for cooperative movements to survive and grow.
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Caribbean & Latin America
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Ukraine & Eastern Europe
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National cooperative policy
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Cooperative law reform
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We have worked inside municipal affordable housing systems, supported community land trust development, and designed financing instruments that bridge the cash flow gap for smaller non-profit developers. We understand the difference between community investment activity and community investment strategy — and we bring Canada's leading housing practitioners into the room when the problem calls for it.
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CLTs & cooperative housing
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Municipal housing strategy
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Social and blended finance
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Needs assessment & feasibility
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Supporting cooperative and community-owned approaches to the energy transition. We work at the intersection of cooperative enterprise, community finance, and economic development policy, helping organizations and governments position community ownership as a direct response to energy transition.
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Renewable energy cooperatives
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Community wealth building
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Federation development
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Cross-provincial policy brokering
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We are rigorous strategic partners for leaders navigating complex, multi-stakeholder problems. Our approach is data-driven but oriented toward discovery rather than documentation. We design engagements as active cycles of inquiry, with feedback loops that allow strategy to evolve as it meets reality.
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Strategic planning & facilitation
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Policy development & advocacy
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Governance & board development
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Regulatory reform
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Strategic planning, board facilitation, governance reform, and organizational development for credit unions, cooperative federations, and national cooperative associations. We understand the particular tension between financial performance and social purpose — and we know resolving it requires clarity, not compromise.
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Board facilitation & retreats
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5-year strategic plans
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Balanced scorecard development
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Federation & association strategy
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Designing impact investment vehicles, community investment cooperatives, diaspora bond structures, community bond offerings, and blended finance instruments that connect capital to cooperative and community development. We specialize in structures neither pure charity nor traditional equity can provide.
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Diaspora investment platforms
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Community bonds & blended finance
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Impact fund design
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CMHC & affordable housing finance
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What we do:
Services that drive impact
What we do:
Services that drive impact
We have worked inside municipal affordable housing systems, supported community land trust development, and designed financing instruments that bridge the cash flow gap for smaller non-profit developers. We bring Canada's leading housing practitioners into the room when the problem calls for it.
-
CLTs & cooperative housing
-
Municipal housing strategy
-
Social and blended finance
-
Needs assessment & feasibility
Energy Transition & Community Economic Development
Supporting cooperative and community-owned approaches to the energy transition. We work at the intersection of cooperative enterprise, community finance, and economic development policy, helping organizations and governments position community ownership as a direct response to energy transition.
-
Renewable energy cooperatives
-
Community wealth building
-
Federation development
-
Cross-provincial policy brokering
International Cooperative & Development Programs
Supporting cooperative sector development across the Caribbean, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. We design training programs, develop second-tier associations, provide regulatory and policy reform advice, and build the organizational infrastructure for cooperative movements to survive and grow.
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Caribbean & Latin America
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Ukraine & Eastern Europe
-
National cooperative policy
-
Cooperative law reform
Credit Union & Cooperative Strategy
Strategic planning, board facilitation, governance reform, and organizational development for credit unions, cooperative federations, and national cooperative associations. We understand the particular tension between financial performance and social purpose — and we know resolving it requires clarity, not compromise.
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Board facilitation & retreats
-
5-year strategic plans
-
Balanced scorecard development
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Federation & association strategy
Social Finance & Impact Investment
Designing impact investment vehicles, community investment cooperatives, diaspora bond structures, community bond offerings, and blended finance instruments that connect capital to cooperative and community development. We specialize in structures neither pure charity nor traditional equity can provide.
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Diaspora investment platforms
-
Community bonds & blended finance
-
Impact fund design
-
CMHC & affordable housing finance
Strategy, Policy & Organizational Development
We are rigorous strategic partners for leaders navigating complex, multi-stakeholder problems. Our approach is data-driven but oriented toward discovery rather than documentation. We design engagements as active cycles of inquiry, with feedback loops that allow strategy to evolve as it meets reality.
-
Strategic planning & facilitation
-
Policy development & advocacy
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Governance & board development
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Regulatory reform
"What sets Demos apart is the rare combination of practitioner depth and intellectual seriousness. In our Drayton Valley work, they have moved fluidly between community engagement, financial modelling, and the strategic questions that determine whether community wealth building actually takes root. They are partners we trust to do the hard thinking alongside us, not just deliver against a scope."
Dr. Maria Mayan, Director, Community-University Partnership, University of Alberta
"Rural economic transition is full of organizations that talk in frameworks and few that can build what those frameworks call for. Demos brings both. In our Drayton Valley collaboration, they have grounded ambitious ideas about cooperative enterprise and community ownership in the practical work of feasibility, governance, and finance. That blend is rare and it is exactly what communities navigating economic change need."
Geraldine Cahill, UpSocial Canada
"What stood out when I sat in on a Demos members' meeting was the sheer depth and breadth of cooperative knowledge in the room — practitioners who have built, governed, financed, and federated cooperatives across multiple sectors and continents. That is exactly the kind of expertise our movement needs as we build a national federation for community energy. Demos brings both the strategic discipline and the practitioner depth to help us turn a complex, multi-stakeholder process into a coherent direction for the organization.”
Dr. Martin Boucher, Founding President, Community Energy Cooperatives Canada Dean of Research, NorQuest College
"Demos' adaptability in responding to evolving municipal priorities was remarkable. For municipalities seeking transformative affordable housing solutions developed through genuine partnership, Demos delivers exceptional value that continues paying dividends after project completion."
Erin Black & Jared Abbott
Affordable Housing & Homelessness, City of Edmonton