Introducing: Binoojiinyag gaa-bi-giiwejig, The Children Who Came Home
After a provincial apology from the Children Aid’s Society left the local community feeling a lack of acknowledgement of their unique situation, the community and local CAS came together in the spirt of designing something by the survivors for the survivors. Binoojiinyag gaa-bi-giiwejig-Children who came home initiative was formed by engaging the community in education sessions and by forming a group of survivors to design what needed to be done.
Social R&D Booster Pack Series
SI Canada is hosting a Booster Pack Series to help social purpose organizations learn and leverage social R&D capacities and resources. This Booster Pack Series has been designed to help advance solutions to complex social challenges, and help organizations access the funds to implement and scale their ideas. Five virtual sessions Tuesdays, Feb 23 to…
Social RnD National Gathering Summary
On June 16-17, 2020, Social Innovation Canada hosted a virtual Social R&D: A National Practice Gathering to address the following questions: How are Canadian social innovators addressing complex challenges in this changing time? How can social R&D tools and practices strengthen their efforts? At this time of systems disruption and reinvention, strengthening our capacities to…
Building a cross-generational Lab in Crowsnest Pass
Like many rural communities in Canada, the Crowsnest Pass is facing tough challenges. The 6,000 inhabitant town in Southwest Alberta is struggling with the outmigration of youth, a declining and ageing population, a decreasing share of people of working age, and a gap between future work skill requirements and residents with these capabilities. In response…
How SLiDE is connecting college students with community organizations
“Our institutions have a lot of resources that we need to do a better job of sharing with our communities.” Launched in 2017, SLiDE (Service Learning in Design & Engineering) is the first program of the Social Innovation Lab at Algonquin College in Ottawa. By connecting college students’ skills and energy with community-based organizations, the…
Social R&D Case Studies: Grant Winners
These five Canadian organizations will receive $5,000 to share their learnings using Social R&D approaches in their communities. At this time of systems disruption and reinvention, strengthening our capacities to better solve problems has never been more needed. Across Canada, social innovators have been tackling social issues using experimental approaches, such as human-centered design, social…
We are hosting ‘Social R&D: A National Practice Gathering’
On June 16-17, 2020, Social Innovation Canada will host ‘Social R&D: A National Practice Gathering’ to connect and strengthen the Social R&D field in the country. How are Canadian social innovators addressing complex challenges in this changing time? How can social R&D tools and practices strengthen their efforts? At this time of systems disruption and…
Grassroots social innovation in Manitoba
“I’m just very interested in driving an Indigenous agenda forward, in terms of how do we support changemakers in our region to do the change that we know needs to happen, and how are we doing that from an Indigenous value-based lens, how do we get resourcing for that, and how do we hold that…
COVID-19: Resources for Canadian Social Innovators
The COVID-19 global pandemic is forcing Canadian nonprofits, social enterprises, and social innovation practitioners to quickly adapt to a new reality. Recognizing that the current scenario is particularly challenging for the most vulnerable people in our society, we believe that we, social innovators, are needed like never before. To help us all navigate these turbulent…
Expanding Community Networks in British Columbia
“I see that as the key success—relationships are happening in this space and they’re not happening with the same people over and over again. There are new people coming in.” — Laura Gaaysiigad Cuthbert Laura Gaaysiigad Cuthbert works every day to connect and build a broad community network—and not just among those who are already…