After 20 years as Executive Director of the Real Estate Foundation of BC, Tim Pringle has become a familiar face to many in the broadly defined "land use industry" in BC communities. On November 1st Tim stepped aside to make way for Karin Kirkpatrick (recently of UBC's Sauder School of Business) to assume the leadership role. At the same time, the Foundation launched a new Special Programs position, and appointed Tim as Director.
“Generally, Special Programs refer to initiatives in which the Foundation is playing a collaborative role with other agencies,” Tim says. “It’s an acknowledgement that we are doing something innovative by working directly with other actors to achieve mutually desirable ends.”
Like other granting agencies, most of the Foundation’s resources are committed to a responsive grant-making. Organizations apply for project funding. If the application is successful, the Foundation transfers the funds to this third party organization. They then carry out projects that are consistent with the Foundation’s purposes.
A number of Foundation activities, however, don’t fit this model. “One of the reasons for our success over the years has been our ability to focus on land and the people who work with land, and to engage them in a collaborative fashion," Tim says.
Working collaboratively on issues the Board of Governors have determined are priorities allows the Foundation to be more effective with its resources. This adds value to Foundation grants in a number of ways, what a former Governor called “getting better bang for the Foundation’s buck.” Current examples include Communities in Transition and Green Values Vancouver Island. “In both cases, by using a collaborative, engaged approach the Foundation is better able to address regional issues like rural transition or sustainable settlement choices,” says Tim.
"Our target audience is the people who work with the land base, and the communities they serve. Whatever their credentials may be, these ‘practitioners’ have a working knowledge of the land base. Their level of practice determines whether projects are successful or not, so the Foundation has a direct interest in enhancing and supporting this level of practice.”
Practitioners include local government staff, NGO volunteers, real estate professionals, stream biologists, and geo-scientists — among many others. Years of working closely with practitioners has built good working relationships within, and knowledge about, BC communities and the land use issues they face. “This allows us to become more innovative in our approach,” Tim says. “With our focus on land, and with our expertise and relationships, we are able to play a larger, more active role than many funding agencies. Special Programs recognizes this ‘special’ capacity and approach.”
The results of this approach are cited by a number of academics, professionals, and other land use practitioners. Their estimation is that Foundation’s approach is a fundamental reason for the high standard of land use practice in BC, as compared to other parts of North America. Special Programs recognizes this successful past practice.
For it's part, the Board of Governors is pleased to retain Tim after his long tenure as Executive Director. "Having him as Director of Special Programs means that we can keep drawing on his extensive knowledge and experience," says past Chair Barry Brown-John. "It also means that we can be even more focused in our collaborative outreach programs that give added value to the Foundation's investments in practitioner and community land use practices."
For his part Tim Pringle is excited with his new appointment. “Working with practitioners is a very positive experience. They are the people ‘on the land,’ as it were. Whether they’re brokering real estate, acting as stream stewards, or working in local government — they’re the ones grappling with the issues. I’m looking forward to spending more time learning about what we at the Foundation can do to help them, and working with them to make it happen.”
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