Canadian Social Prescribing Link Worker Competency Framework

Supporting a cohesive, Canada-wide approach to social prescribing.

What is the Link Worker?

The Social Prescribing Link Worker, also known as Community Connectors, Navigators, Coordinators, and other titles, are individuals who provide dedicated, tailored and co-creative support to help bridge the gap between health and social care. They help to identify individual needs, interests and goals, offer encouragement, address barriers, and provide supported navigation and access to social and community resources. Link workers are usually staff with a diverse professional backgrounds and lived experiences, and they complement the role of health care and social service providers to provide additional wrap-around supports as part of the interprofessional and community care team. 

What does the Link Worker do?

  • Trust and relationship building with clients.
  • Health, wellbeing and needs assessments.
  • Understanding key social determinants of health affecting individual and community wellbeing.
  • Personalized care planning through co-creation.
  • Connecting individuals to community resources.
  • Collaborating with healthcare and social service providers.
  • Community development and service improvement.

About the Competency Framework

The Canadian Social Prescribing Link Worker Competency Framework, currently in development, will outline the domains, competencies, essential skills and knowledge required for Link Workers and equivalent roles, including Community Connectors, Resource Coordinators, and Navigators (henceforth encapsulated in this document as ‘Link Workers’). This framework will be designed to ensure the broader Social Prescribing workforce is well-equipped to consistently deliver high-quality care and support across Canada. 


The Social Prescribing Link Worker Competency Framework will support a cohesive, Canada-wide approach to social prescribing by:

Demonstrating the value of the Link Worker role and the overall benefits of social prescribing for health and community care.

Offering guidance for learning, training, support, and supervision for Link Workers.

Providing clear and consistent standards for practices

and functions carried out

by Link Workers.

Link Worker Competency Domains

The Link Worker competency domains are categorized according to the Link Workers role in supporting the individual client, engaging with community stakeholders and performing administrative functions that enhance sustainability of social prescribing practices. 

Individual Support

  • Effective communication
  • Cultural safety and competence
  • Person-centred care planning
  • Behaviour change support

Community Engagement

  • Partnership building
  • Local resource knowledge 
  • Community development

Program Administration

  • Population health monitoring
  • Data collection and monitoring 
  • Quality and safety compliance
Download the Competency Domains

The Development Process

The Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing (CISP) at the Canadian Red Cross promotes social prescribing (SP) workforce development by offering resources that support consistency and cohesion across SP practices. The Canadian Social Prescribing Link Worker Competency Framework was initiated to build consistency and consensus on the priorities and training needs for SP Link Workers across Canada.


CISP partnered with Sian Brand, co-chair of the National Social Prescribing Network in the UK, to conduct an environmental scan of available SP related competencies and trainings in Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Singapore with a focus on delivering institutions, target groups, and prioritized skills building.

Twenty-three partners and stakeholders from community and healthcare-based SP organizations in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Saskatchewan were engaged in consultations to share resources and knowledge that informed the development of competency domains that are essential to the Link Worker Role. 


These consultations offered valuable feedback, allowing for refinement and iteration of the resulting Link Worker competency domains. The insights, time, and consideration offered by these stakeholders are greatly appreciated. 

The next phase of this process will be to identify and elaborate on the individual competencies within each domain, incorporating guidance on developing these competencies through training and education.

If you would like to share feedback and additional information that can inform the development of this resource, please connect with us!

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