Support Us
The Missing Middle Initiative, housed at the University of Ottawa’s Institute for the Environment, seeks to revive Canada’s urban middle class. But we can’t do it alone; we need your help.
Subscribing, For Free, Would Really Help
If you enjoy our work at MMI, we would appreciate your support. The most important thing you can do is subscribe, for free, to this publication.
We would also appreciate it if you subscribed, liked, left a comment on, or followed us on our podcast or our various social media channels.
Consider Becoming a Supporting Partner Organization
Although our ambitions are large, our budgets are not. The MMI team is relatively small, comprising only five full-time employees and an annual budget of under $1 million.
MMI has no endowment and must pay for salaries and services used both inside and outside the University of Ottawa; therefore, it relies on relationships with supporting partners. MMI currently receives roughly half of its funding from charitable organizations and not-for-profit supporting partners, with the remainder from government and private-sector partners. Supporting partner organizations provide data, insights, and financial support to MMI through contracts and grants.
Contractual Research Partnership Opportunities
MMI works with Supporting Partners on specific pieces of research, such as our report Strengthening the core: Increasing social license for healthy infill development in London, Ontario, which would not have been possible without the generous support of the Public Health Agency of Canada. Please take a look at Reports for our full list of research reports and associated Supporting Partners.
MMI enters into Supporting Partnerships only that align with our mission and strategy and meet the rigorous research requirements set out by the University of Ottawa, as well as our need to remain politically independent. MMI retains full editorial control of the final output as outlined in MMI’s editorial independence and integrity policy.
Our research partnerships typically have a $50,000 minimum, with discounts for charities, not-for-profits, and long-time supporters of MMI.
Support MMI with a Research Grant
MMI also works with Supporting Partners who are not associated with a particular output, but rather seek to support the organization’s work as a whole, including the Missing Middle podcast and our pieces published on our Missing Middle Substack.
Grants differ from contracts, with the University of Ottawa noting the distinction between the two as follows:
The most important difference between a contract and a grant lies in whether the researcher is legally obligated to deliver specific outcomes.
A research grant is a financial award provided by a funding agency or organization, usually to support a specific research project. It is typically awarded based on the merit of the proposed research and the qualifications of the researcher. A grant enables the performance of self-directed research, where there is no contractual obligation for performance. There may be terms and deliverables, such as reporting requirements, and payment schedules, but performance and outcome requirements are less specific.
A research contract is a legal agreement between a researcher or institution and a funding entity to perform specific research services or deliverables. Contracts are often used when the funder requires more direct control over the research process and outcomes and expects specific results in exchange for funding. The scope of work, deliverables, and milestones are explicitly defined in a contract.
MMI Supporting Partnership grants have a $10,000 minimum and are subject to the same rigorous University of Ottawa research requirements and MMI editorial independence, integrity, and political independence policies.
Editorial Independence and Integrity
MMI’s credibility hinges on our ability to maintain editorial independence and avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest, a challenging environment for an organization that requires working with supporting partners. To navigate this tension, MMI does not undertake projects that run counter to or outside of our stated goals and objectives. Furthermore, MMI retains exclusive editorial control over all publications and outputs, and our research findings and recommendations are not subject to approval or revision from supporting partners.
MMI recognizes that our need for editorial independence creates potential for tension between our organization and our potential supporting partners, particularly near the end of a project. Prior to starting any project, we work closely with our potential supporting partners to ensure that their goals and objectives align with MMIs and that the final product meets the needs of all parties involved. If a common vision cannot be achieved, MMI will not take on the project.
Political Independence
The University of Ottawa, which houses MMI, is a registered charity. The University of Ottawa, and by extension MMI, as a charity, is prohibited from devoting any resources to the direct or indirect support of or opposition to any political party or candidate or from engaging in any other partisan activities.
Learn More about MMI
For more information on MMI, please refer to the following links:
About us: Who we are and why we exist.
Our mission: Details on the strong middle-class Canada we are trying to create.
Our strategy: How we will create a strong middle-class Canada
Our impact: Our success, to date, in creating a strong middle-class Canada.
Our team: The team working towards creating a strong middle-class Canada.
Support us: How you can help us create a strong middle-class Canada.
As well as our knowledge mobilization outlets, including:
Reports: A list of long-form studies and reports, including ones that predate the formation of MMI.
Podcast: Links to the Missing Middle podcast (available in both video and audio versions), video content, and our social media content.
Media: Links to MMI mentions in the mainstream media, along with guest pieces written by MMI staff in outlets from The Globe and Mail to The Toronto Star to The Hub.
Substack archive: An archive of our past Substack posts.