Community & Social Services

Designing services for people. With people.

We take a human-centred approach to service design by engaging the people we are designing for in every step of the process. We work closely with people who use and administer community services to ensure we’re designing solutions that serve community, improve people’s lives, and translate big ideas to tangible action.

Let’s Connect

Davis Pier allowed the experts—the staff and the clients themselves—to inform our work in a new way. They became true partners to our team and they also became coaches for us on what a transformation agenda could tangibly look like.
—Lynn Hartwell, Client

FEATURED

Tools for Social Services Leaders

Get practical tools, research, and resources to help you strengthen programs keep people at the center of the work.

We’ve built our expertise in disability supports alongside community. And we know how to connect what matters to people with how government services are delivered.

Our new resource library shares practical tools and lessons from our work in community and social services. And human-centred design guides it all.

Access the Library

People working and moving through a bright, open-concept office with exposed brick walls. Over top there is a text box that reads: Resources for Better Social Services

EXPERTISE

Community-led solutions to community challenges

Our team has significant experience working with community-based and government social service organizations. We understand the unique needs of the sector and the community-based organizations that provide wraparound supports and programs to the people who need them.

Housing

Housing is one most critical and complex challenges facing Canadian communities and governments. Davis Pier and Pier Labs are working in community and across the country to help our clients develop effective strategies to accelerate and scale housing supply solutions—and build community and consensus along the way.

Employment & Skills Development

Meaningful employment and training programs aren’t just about job creation, it’s about creating the conditions that support people in starting, growing, and advancing in their careers. Our work leverages human-centred design and behavioural insights to improve employment attachment, economic impact, and outcomes for people.

Justice & Public Safety

We design justice and community-focused programs and services that leverage our experience working in and with the legal community to develop and implement accessible programs and pathways for the public. Through our work we seek to engage with and amplify community voices that highlight the lived experiences of people within the justice system to ensure policy and programs are designed to serve all needs.

Disability Supports

We are actively supporting transformation efforts to enable provincial systems to design and deliver human-centred services that improve choice, inclusion, and opportunities for people living with disabilities. We partner with our client organizations at every step of the process to design, plan, and implement sustainable change.

Childcare & Family Wellbeing

Children and families need access to quality education, childcare, and community supports that reflect their needs. We help governments and service providers strengthen the programs and systems behind these services, improving how they’re designed, delivered, and connected to create better outcomes for children, families, and educators.

Municipal Services

Municipal governments play a critical role in shaping strong, safe, and inclusive communities. We work alongside municipalities and community partners to tackle local challenges, strengthen programs and services, and turn community priorities into action. Our work spans poverty reduction, community safety and wellbeing, equity and accessibility, and organizational change—all with a focus on strengthening services and improving outcomes for residents.

Social Assistance

As governments are grapple with affordability challenges, income supports can make a difference in people’s lives. We have been integral partners in the redesign of provincial income assistance systems. And we’ve driven social impact through our collaborative, person-centred, and insights-driven approach to service design and delivery.

Post-Secondary Education

We understand the complexities, challenges, and opportunities facing post-secondary institutions across Canada. Our proven track record in service design, participatory approaches to engagement, and expertise in transformation and change support the needs of the sector and enhance the experience of the people involved along the way.