Engage Nova Scotia

What Engage Nova Scotia does

Engage Nova Scotia is a Canadian registered charity (charitable number 854284924 RR 0001) founded in 2012 and headquartered at 5475 Spring Garden Road, Unit 203, Halifax, Nova Scotia. The organization's mission is to place quality of life at the center of public decisions in Nova Scotia through systematic population-level surveying and data-driven community engagement. Its core offering is the Nova Scotia Quality of Life Survey — the largest survey of its kind in Canada, with the 2019 edition capturing nearly 13,000 respondents across 230+ questions and producing what the organization describes as the largest single wellbeing dataset of its kind in the world (300,000+ data points). A second survey was conducted in 2025, with early results expected in fall 2026 and detailed reports rolling out in early 2027.

The survey output is operationalized through two interactive web-based tools built in collaboration with Dalhousie University's Faculty of Computer Science: the Wellbeing Mapping Tool, which visualizes results geographically across the province, and the Wellbeing Analysis Tool, which segments data by place, topic, and demographic and maps findings onto eight domains of wellbeing and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The methodology is anchored by a research partnership with the Canadian Index of Wellbeing at the University of Waterloo, with Mitacs-supported tooling development and additional partnerships spanning Cape Breton Regional Municipality, New Dawn Enterprises, Community Cares, Every One Every Day Kjipuktuk/Halifax, Front Street Community Oven, and the international WEGo wellbeing-economy partnership.

Engage Nova Scotia operates as a non-profit with no commercial pricing; all data, mapping, and analysis tools are provided free of charge to Nova Scotians, government bodies, municipalities, community organizations, and researchers. The organization is funded through government grants and charitable donations, distributes survey invitation cards via Canada Post, mobilizes 150+ volunteer community leaders across nine regional leadership teams, and delivers findings through workshops, public forums, presentations, and a quarterly newsletter. Its work has been cited by Canada's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam in the 2025 Report to Parliament on Wellbeing and Public Health and featured in presentations in over 32 countries.

Name

Engage Nova Scotia

Legal name

Engage Nova Scotia

Website

https://engagenovascotia.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Engage Nova Scotia is a Canadian registered charity that conducts the Nova Scotia Quality of Life Survey — the largest of its kind in Canada — and operates interactive mapping and analysis tools built with Dalhousie University to help governments, municipalities, and communities make policy decisions grounded in resident wellbeing data.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Wellbeing Research and Analytics

NAICS

Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral Risk & Health Survey Surveillance (HLAJANAD)

Keywords

• Community wellbeing research
• Quality of life data
• Survey analytics platform
• Non-profit data analytics
• Wellbeing measurement tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Halifax, Nova Scotia

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Charitable Funding: As a Canadian registered charity (charitable number: 854284924 RR 0001), Engage Nova Scotia is funded through government grants and charitable donations from community investors. The organization operates on a non-profit basis with the mission to improve quality of life for Nova Scotians.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Engage Nova Scotia conducts the Nova Scotia Quality of Life Survey—a comprehensive province-wide survey with over 200 questions capturing residents' perceptions of affordability, housing, loneliness, trust in institutions, and more—and makes the resulting data accessible through two proprietary interactive web tools: the Wellbeing Mapping Tool (for geographic visualization) and the Wellbeing Analysis Tool (for deeper statistical segmentation by place, topic, and demographic). All tools were built in collaboration with Dalhousie University's Faculty of Computer Science.

Product overview

Engage Nova Scotia operates as a single unified initiative focused on measuring and improving quality of life in Nova Scotia. The core offering consists of the Nova Scotia Quality of Life Survey—the largest of its kind in Canada—paired with two complementary analytical tools: the Wellbeing Mapping Tool for geographic visualization of survey data, and the Wellbeing Analysis Tool for deeper statistical analysis and segmentation. All tools were built in collaboration with Dalhousie University's Faculty of Computer Science and the Canadian Index of Wellbeing at the University of Waterloo.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nova Scotia Quality of Life Survey A comprehensive province-wide survey of over 200 questions capturing Nova Scotians' perceptions, experiences, and behaviours related to quality of life, including topics like affordability, housing, loneliness, trust in institutions, and connection to nature. For provincial government, municipalities, community organizations, and researchers.
• Wellbeing Mapping Tool An interactive web-based mapping tool built with Dalhousie University that allows users to explore and visualize 2019 NS Quality of Life Survey results by geographic area across Nova Scotia. For government, municipalities, community organizations, researchers, and the public.
• Wellbeing Analysis Tool An interactive web-based tool that analyzes 2019 NS Quality of Life Survey data in minutes, segmenting data to show differences by place, topic, and demographic. Generates spotlight tables, lists of notable assets and concerns, and concise statements about survey findings. Maps quality of life indicators onto eight domains of wellbeing and Sustainable Development Goals. For government, municipalities, and community organizations requesting deeper community-level data.

Quantifiable outcome

• CBRM Council adopted 'social inclusion' as a strategic goal to balance economic and population growth, and struck task forces on housing, transit, and recreation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Canadian Index of Wellbeing, University of WaterloocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary research and methodology partner. The Canadian Index of Wellbeing at University of Waterloo is one of the globally leading experts in the field of wellbeing. Their Community Wellbeing Survey is the basis for the NS Quality of Life Survey. The NSQOLI grows out of efforts by this academic partner.
• Dalhousie University, Faculty of Computer SciencecoreTechnology or IntegrationBuilt groundbreaking tools including the Wellbeing Mapping Tool and Wellbeing Analysis Tool in collaboration with Dalhousie researchers. The tools were built from the ground up by researchers at Dalhousie in partnership with Engage Nova Scotia team members.
• MitacscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the Wellbeing Analysis Tool development through the Mitacs Accelerate program. Mitacs is a national research organization that connects companies with academic researchers.
• New Dawn EnterprisesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in Cape Breton Regional Municipality project. Provided on-the-ground collaboration in Sydney Mines for the workshop and community engagement activities.
• Community CaresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner in Cape Breton Regional Municipality project. Partner in Sydney Mines for workshop and community engagement activities with residents.
• Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFlagship case study demonstrating how quality of life data can inform municipal decision-making. CBRM gained access to the largest single dataset on well-being for any municipality of comparable size in North America. The data led to council adopting 'social inclusion' as a strategic goal.
• Every One Every Day (EOED) Kjipuktuk/HalifaxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner through SDG Program. EOED aims to bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals together to discover skills and aspirations for programming in their community.
• Front Street Community OvenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner through SDG Program. Engage Nova Scotia partnered with the Oven on a narrative project to bring the story of this community initiative to life and further conversations about quality of life.
• Wellbeing Economic Governments (WEGo) PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanada participates in WEGo, a partnership with Scotland, New Zealand, Iceland, Wales, and Finland working towards a wellbeing economy. Engage Nova Scotia is connected to this international network.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Canadian Index of Wellbeing (University of Waterloo): Engage Nova Scotia's named research and methodology partner. CIW produces the Community Wellbeing Survey framework — the direct basis for the NS Quality of Life Survey — and is described in the company's own materials as 'one of the globally leading experts in the field of wellbeing,' making it the closest methodological peer.
• Social Progress Imperative: Publishes the Social Progress Index, which ranks jurisdictions on quality-of-life and wellbeing indicators independent of economic output — the same conceptual frame Engage Nova Scotia uses to argue that 'economic data alone doesn't paint the full picture of community wellbeing.'
• Measure of America: A project of the Social Science Research Council that produces the US Human Development Index and population wellbeing reports segmented by geography and demographics. Highly comparable in mission (community-level quality-of-life measurement) and in how it converts survey/statistical data into policy-facing tools and reports.

Broad incumbents

• Gallup: Operates the World Poll and a body of wellbeing/life-evaluation research (including the Cantril Ladder used in the World Happiness Report). A much larger incumbent covering many of the same quality-of-life constructs but at a global, commercial scale.
• OECD Better Life Index: OECD's interactive wellbeing index covering 11 domains across member countries. Engage Nova Scotia has presented to the OECD; the Better Life Index is the international incumbent that the NS survey methodology explicitly aligns with via the eight domains of wellbeing framework.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Large foundation that funds the County Health Rankings and extensive wellbeing/health-equity measurement work in the US. A much larger incumbent doing comparable population wellbeing measurement, but as part of a broad philanthropic portfolio rather than a single sub-national initiative.

Emerging players

• Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll): Global movement and network of organizations pursuing a wellbeing economy; closely connected to Engage Nova Scotia via the WEGo partnership and aligned in mission around putting wellbeing at the center of policy.
• Happy Planet Index: Produces the Happy Planet Index ranking countries on wellbeing, life expectancy, and ecological footprint. Conceptually aligned with Engage Nova Scotia's framing that economic metrics alone are insufficient, but operates at country level and as a smaller-scale NGO.

Regional players

• New Zealand Treasury – Living Standards Framework: New Zealand government's wellbeing budget framework, built around a multi-domain Living Standards Framework. Direct methodological analogue to Engage Nova Scotia's eight-domains approach, but implemented at national-government level and therefore not directly competitive in the same geography.

Others

• Boston Consulting Group – Sustainable Economic Development Assessment: BCG's SEDA ranks countries and cities on wellbeing-environment-economy indicators. A commercial consultancy doing comparable composite wellbeing measurement, but as a paid advisory product rather than a community-led, open-data initiative.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/engage-nova-scotia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Engage Nova Scotia