Our team attended the International Maternal Newborn Health Conference (IMNHC 2023) in South Africa, and we were able to see the brand identity we created for the conference take centre stage. See how it all came together.

We took the gender-based violence visual pocket guide we developed for low-literacy learners in South Sudan to Mali and Honduras and adapted it to the countries’ culture and language.

Everyone who’s written about the possibilities of ChatGPT seems to agree on one thing–it’s most helpful when you’re doing routine or repetitive tasks that can be easily automated. But can AI completely replace the roles that humans have in business? We don’t think so. Here are three reasons why.

Although the work of public health inspectors and environmental health officers touches crucial aspects of our daily lives, the public doesn’t often see the work they do. You could say that invisibility was one of their superpowers—until now.

Gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most prevalent forms of violence during times of conflict and crisis. It is destructive to communities and can lead to increased rates of homicide, suicide, lifelong disability, mental illness, substance abuse, poverty, and social exclusion. Creating a low-literacy, visual guide for non-GBV trained humanitarian practitioners in South Sudan has been one of the most rewarding projects we’ve taken on.

No, it’s not time for Doublemint gum, but it is time to celebrate. Be the Change Group has hit double digits, as April 3 ushered in our 10th anniversary.

We’re pleased to announce that our own Dr. Natalie Chan recently joined Business in Vancouver’s 2021 Forty Under 40 winners! Highlighting the achievements of B.C.’s young entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals, the Forty under 40 distinction is awarded to 40 outstanding professionals who are under 40 years of age and have demonstrated excellence in business, judgment, […]

We are so excited to unveil Kimberley’s new Child Care Action Plan! Over the past three months, we’ve been working hard to engage the city of Kimberley’s families, caregivers, soon-to-be parents, child care providers and facilities to inform a pathway forward for child care in Kimberley.

We’re partnering with the UBC Therapeutics Initiative to engage key stakeholders and develop a brand and identity for the Portrait program.

We are proud to be women owned, women led, and women driven. The only ceiling in our office is the one that keeps us dry on rainy days, and there is no shortage of rain in Vancouver. We are so privileged to have the opportunity to attend this year’s Women Deliver Conference hosted in our beautiful city. The message for this year, POWER, PROGRESS, CHANGE, resonates deeply with our team, in recognizing that women are highly skilled and, when given the opportunity, can be key changemakers in the world.

By now, we’re all familiar with household recycling, and we don’t think twice about it. But have you ever thought about the challenges that face our institutions when it comes to recycling much larger volumes of much more diverse items?

We are grateful to be a part of this historic day honouring and remembering those we lost in the AIDS epidemic.

A year ago, we began working with the University of British Columbia Department of Emergency Medicine to create a network of the 1400+ emergency practitioners across B.C. It was an ambitious project that would use a web-based tool to support emergency practitioners in every type of emergency department from remote to large community hospitals.

Over the years, Be the Change Group has made it our mission to only work on projects that contribute to real, positive change. As a result, much of our work has focused on health and the environment. However, in the past year, we’ve added a new sector to our portfolio: education.

When the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recently contracted us to create a short video promoting Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), we weren’t anticipating llamas as well.
But so it goes.

This World AIDS Day, December 1, 2014, we’re thrilled to be launching the B.C. Interior Health My Health is Sexy campaign, as part of British Columbia’s ground-breaking Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS (STOP HIV/AIDS) program that encourages routine HIV testing and earlier treatment.

We’ve made it our goal to make a difference, and it’s happening! Be the Change Group is extremely pleased and honoured to have been nominated for the AccolAIDS Social/Political/Community Action Award for our work in The 30 30 Vancouver Campaign.

When it comes to the once deadly disease, HIV/AIDS, we can’t help but think, “We’ve come a long way, baby!” That being said, we know that there’s still a long way to go and many lessons to be learned from those who were there, on the frontlines, in the beginning. That’s why we’re so pleased to be working with AIDS Vancouver to celebrate their 30 years by launching The 30 30 Campaign.

Here are our 5 best practices for turning a “just OK” social media campaign into a campaign that gets results.

Our research lead, Stephanie Liu, is our go-to expert who ensures that everything we do is grounded in evidence. So when the UBC Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency Program was restructuring to follow a competency-based medical education approach, Stephanie was the clear go-to.

When it comes to providing evidence-based solutions to our clients, the researchers at Be the Change Group are experts. But you don’t have to take our word for it – we have the championship wins to prove it!

I’m a doctor, I’m an entrepreneur, and I’m an expecting mother. I’m also a 35-year-old woman, undergoing one of the most intense experiences of my life. And, along with the anticipation, joy, and love I’m feeling for growing my family, I’ve got some mixed feelings too.

It’s a good feeling when hard work and collaboration is recognized. Our 20th Anniversary campaign for the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (now Michael Smith Health Research BC) won a Gold Quill Award from the International Association of Business Communicators, and we’re feeling pretty chuffed.

With the ongoing pandemic, the worsening opioid crisis, and some really frightening climate change events, there was much to reckon with in 2021. And for most of us, there were times of significant anxiety, struggle, and frustration. It has been hard, all around. But as James Baldwin said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

VIEW and DOWNLOAD our policy here Every country, province, and city has different guidelines and recommendations on what and what not to do during the COVID-19 pandemic. With B.C. moving forward with opening up the economy, many broad recommendations have been made, all of which culminate in requesting that all businesses develop a safety plan […]

We’re honoured to be partners on this project, and we know that it presents a tremendous opportunity for us to continue building our knowledge around Indigenous education and child care, and truth and reconciliation, and our relationships with First Nations communities across B.C.

Introducing the Skills and Education Group membership hub. It’s like dubstep. Except it’s good.

We are so excited to announce GreenCare’s Green+Leader Together Campaign!

British Columbia’s Interior region is rich with restaurants and other food service facilities that bring residents and visitors delicious meals day-in and day-out.

On the heels of assessing the needs and interests of IH communities by consulting closely with them, producing informative videos about water supply, and building a microsite to house this information, we’ve designed an accurate, highly user-friendly interactive map to address water users concerns in real time.

Our latest project with Interior Health features a series of public service videos and a microsite, all focused on our most vital resource: water.

Wait; for those who haven’t had a chance to meet Zibu, we’d better explain what we’re talking about.

At Be the Change Group, we believe that the more accessible and clear health resources available to the community, the better! So when the opportunity to work with the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) came up, we jumped on it.

Our CEO, Brandy Svendson, proudly took home the Pacific Northwest Film Festival Judge’s Award (the Let It Cook Honorable Mention) for directing A Love Story at the 41st Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival.

At Be the Change Group, we take great pride in creating awareness about projects that lead to meaningful environmental change. Now contracted by the UN Climate Change secretariat to produce and animate a video for the Momentum for Change initiative, we’re working hard and enthusiastically to highlight innovative and transformative solutions for climate change and wider economic, social, and environmental challenges.

Health inequity is real, and we see examples of its impact all around us — including in Be the Change Group’s home base of Vancouver, British Columbia. That’s why it matters that we do our part to support organizations that are working to bring social justice to health systems.

The work that we do changes lives, because the people we work with are innovators, problem solvers, and leaders. Normally, we like to let our clients take all the spotlight, but because it’s our birthday, we thought you might want to learn a little more about us. 

In May 2023, more than 1,800 stakeholders will gather in South Africa at the first biennial International Maternal Newborn Health Conference with an important goal: to accelerate solutions to improve maternal and newborn survival and prevent stillbirths as countries strive to achieve the ambitious targets outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals. Be the Change Group will be there too.

For 10 years, we’ve been creating change by partnering with like-minded clients. We’ve been supporting them in addressing issues facing the communities they serve by meeting those communities where they are and providing evidence-based, community-centred solutions. We’ve also built lasting relationships with people who really care—and kick ass doing it. 

Life as an entrepreneur and innovator involves taking a driven and creative approach to business, along with making the sacrifices necessary to build the organization. At Be the Change Group, co-founder and CEO Brandy Svendson handles it all with grace and humour.

Be the Change Group now stands with the fewer than 100 B Corp certified companies in British Columbia, each of which is evaluated for its social and environmental impact and continually held accountable through the B Corp recertification process. Globally, we’ve joined companies like Patagonia in considering the repercussions of everything we do, and ensuring that our business is conducted in a way that prioritizes the people and places that need the most support. 

Time sure flies when you’re having fun!

We are so happy to be celebrating Be the Change Group’s 8th anniversary with the team! It looks a little different this year because of COVID-19, so we are celebrating it together but physically apart.

Let’s face it—it’s easy to get confused about what waste goes where, especially since the items you can recycle at a hospital cafeteria can be quite different from the items you can recycle at home.

Thanks to our continuing work with the GreenCare Energy and Environmental Sustainability (EES) team, at Be the Change Group, we’re becoming a lean, green, Environmental Performance Accountability Report (EPAR) writing team!

The Gulf States Health Policy Center (GS-HPC) invited our CEO, Brandy Svendson, to Alabama to meet with their team and begin our project with them. We couldn’t be more excited! The Bayou is known for several iconic things: delicious crawdads, the best fried pickles in the USA, southern hospitality, and the GS-HPC’s progressive, socially attuned work in creating policy through community-driven research.

In producing its sixth annual Environmental Performance Accountability Report (EPAR), the Energy and Environmental Sustainability Team (EES) that is a service line of the Lower Mainland Facilities Management was looking for a design partner that would ensure strong content is seamlessly matched with strong design. Enter Be the Change Group.

After a two year hiatus, Zibu is back! And he’s here to tell us all about how far he’s come since we last saw him in Bonn, Germany.

When the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) was making a broad effort to engage stakeholders regarding sexually-transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI), they needed an organization to analyze the responses to their online questionnaire.

We were immediately on board: it’s one of our specialties.

While there are 95 bricks and mortar emergency departments already in place across British Columbia, Canada, a comprehensive, current, and engaging resource to connect all emergency medicine practitioners isn’t.

Over the next few months, we’ll be working on a new Interior Health campaign to draw attention to how advances in HIV treatment and care have improved the lives of those living with the disease. We’ll also be breaking down the stereotypes that prevent people from being tested and accessing life-saving treatment.

It’s only been two years since we opened our doors, but it’s been even better than we expected. We’ve been working with the best of clients on projects that we believe in 100%, and it’s been especially rewarding to see that our brand of business can thrive.

There were stories of Gaetan Dugas, “patient zero” being at the first ever AIDS meeting in Vancouver— and we were determined to find the footage!