Reframing Purpose & Opportunity for the OASW

Cliqueworthy helped the Ontario Association of Social Workers transform stagnant virtual networking groups into a valuable cross-functional member program. The team gained clarity, alignment, and a clear path to make member connection a core part of their strategy.

1

Leadership team aligned on vision

Several

New cross-sectional opportunities identified

1

Community launch roadmap developed

20%

Members re-engaged during pilot program

Vanessa Rankin – Former Director, Policy & Communication

Ontario Association of Social Workers

"We went from wanting a platform solution to having a manageable and tangible roadmap to achieve our goals."

“Sophie came alongside our team as a subject matter expert, community builder, and mentor to deliver on what we asked for. And in the process, she also guided us toward uncovering new opportunities for member recruitment, retention, and online education that we had not even considered.

She seamlessly tied the outputs of our community to our core business plan and organization’s mission, helping us to see additional possibilities for activating our community across functions. She’s exactly who you want on your side in this work!”

When a Member Perk Becomes a Problem

OASW is the voice of the social work profession in Ontario. It is a voluntary, bilingual, non-profit association representing more than 10,000 social workers. Their virtual networking groups were once a place for connection, but over time became a burden.

The platform they used to support them felt dated and clunky. Members used the space more to vent than to engage. 

Leadership was fielding complaints instead of conversations. With dwindling participation and no clear sense of purpose, the platform felt like a liability. Shutting it down seemed like the only option.

“After decades of operating a traditional listserv, we knew it was time to modernize this form of virtual networking for our members across the province but we recognized that we did not have the technical knowledge to do this alone. I still remember the immense excitement and relief I felt when our search took us to Sophie, who embodied the extensive yet niche expertise we were seeking.”

Slowing Down to Rethink What Matters

Before making a final call, the leadership team agreed to pause and rethink the problem. I guided them through two facilitated strategy sessions designed to help them step back from tech frustrations and reconnect with their deeper goals.

We started by exploring what was really going on:

  • Where were members getting stuck or pulling away?
  • What assumptions were the team making about member needs?
  • What was this space supposed to make possible, and had that ever been clear?


We used what we uncovered to map out unmet needs, clarify what the community should offer, and begin reshaping the platform’s purpose. Through group brainstorms, empathy mapping, and structured decision-making, the team slowly began to shift from “Should we keep this?” to “What could this become?”

“Sophie took time to lead us through a series of activities that allowed us to understand our members across the lifespan of their journey with the Association. She worked to understand the needs of our members and our capacity to meet these, resulting in us landing on the right digital solution AND a plan designed to scale and leverage the solution and our communications on this to our and our members’ benefit.”

A Second Look, a New Direction

As we moved through the sessions, the conversation began to shift.

What began as a conversation about whether to shut the networking groups down evolved into something more important: the virtual platform wasn’t just a standalone resource. It was essential to ensuring equitable access for members across the province. More than that, it had the potential to connect, support, and amplify the work already happening across departments.

That shift in perspective reframed the platform from a source of frustration to a space full of untapped possibility.

“Sophie brought community building to life for me! She helped me to look at our community through the eyes of our users and members in new and innovative ways. This did not always mean doing more in an already crowded digital environment but instead being strategic to consider what made our offering unique, what added value for our users and where we could narrow and broaden our focus for maximum impact within our capacity to deliver.”

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Turning Insight Into Organizational Momentum

Rather than walking away, the team committed to a focused pilot that reimagined the platform as a meaningful, mission-aligned space for connection and learning. 

What was once considered a side project began to take its place as an important supporting player that helped reinforce the broader goals of the association and created new pathways for engagement.

This foundational work also paved the way for a second phase of collaboration. I supported the design and launch of a pilot program that, over the next 18 months, re-engaged approximately 20 percent of the membership. The pilot helped rebuild trust, spark participation, and reestablish the community as a vital part of the member experience.

  • 1 leadership team aligned on vision
  • Shift from shutdown to strategic investment​
  • Several new organizational opportunities identified​
  • 1 community launch roadmap developed​
  • 20% of members re-engaged during pilot