The Victoria Consortium was formed for the purpose of purchasing 2006 Census Urban Poverty Project custom tabulations as part of the national CSDS initiative. A similar partnership existed in Greater Victoria after the 1996 Census and produced the report Poverty and Inequality in the Capital Region of British Columbia in April 2000.

The present consortium shared the initial cost of purchasing the 2006 Census UPP data in October 2008. One of the partnership’s first acts was to change its name to Growing Prosperity in the Capital Region. Now that the data tables have all been received the partnership has moved into its second phase: Data Analysis, Reporting and Community Outreach and Involvement. Kimberley Stratford has taken on the role as lead for this phase of the Growing Prosperity Project. Additional interested parties including: the University of Victoria (UVIC) Office of Community Based Research; Camosun College; municipality of Saanich; and Together Against Poverty are being brought on board and will be contributing to the project in-kind.

The Growing Prosperity Project plans to: produce an updated report similar to the 2000 report; engage college students in understanding poverty by introducing courses in the classroom; raise the level of public awareness of poverty with a view toward identifying options for action leading to change and increased prosperity in the region.