Posts Tagged ‘Government 2.0’
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
The idea was intriguing. Create a lab where faculty and graduate students of the Strategic Foresight & Innovation (SFI) graduate program at OCAD University could practice foresight and innovation professionally on real-life projects. However, the beginnings of the Strategic Innovations Lab (sLab) were very modest: No dedicated staff but rather two faculty, who are teaching in the SFI and undergraduate programs, plus a few external professionals who were interested enough to invest time and effort on a volunteer basis. Most of the people involved were also participating in getting the SFI program up and running in record time while managing the challenges posed by the novelty of its concepts and design.
Fast forward two years. The SFI program’s success is widely acknowledged inside and outside the institution. In September 2011 the program will be taking in its third cohort. Meanwhile, the sLab has moved from small projects to a few major ones: the Media Futures 2020, a collaboration of multiple organizations led by sLab is about to be wrapped up; an sLab team has been contracted to provide inputs to the strategic planning process of OCADU for 2012-2017; members of sLab are participating in the team leading the “Take Ontario Mobile” (TOM), a collaborative project developing a vision for enabling Ontarians to access services from any device anywhere; and sLab has just started an important foresight project on Economic Futures Ontario (EFO).
Among the characteristic buzz and apparent chaos of project deadlines and the completion by the 2009 cohort of their Major Research Projects for graduation an interesting and promising capacity in the field of foresight is emerging. sLab specific methodologies are solidifying and one can almost touch the experience gained through intense engagements with real projects.
We are proud to have been involved since the beginnings in these interesting activities and look forward to continue to contribute to this unique space that sLab is carving for itself.
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Government 2.0, healthcare, innovation, leadership, mobility, OCAD, OCADU
Posted in The Nabou Chronicles | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
Produced by IT World Canada and in cooperation with the CIO Association of Canada, CIO Exchange is a one-day peer-to-peer forum where senior IT executives share their insights and global expert advice around questions that keep the CIO community up at night.
This year’s CIO Exchange will be held 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM on September 15, 2011 at the Toronto Board of Trade, 77 Adelaide St. West, 4th Floor, Toronto. The theme is focused on the transformation of the ICT function in the organization and the implications for the role of the CIO in the future.
More information and registration here.
Tags: business model, CIO Canada, CIOCAN, Government 2.0, innovation, leadership
Posted in News | Comments Off
Saturday, February 12th, 2011
On January 27 the Ontario Chapter of the CIO Association of Canada invited a lead team of IDC Canada researchers to present their top 10 Canadian ICT Predictions for 2011, based on their global research, with particular emphasis and focus on Canada to the Association members and guests. Each year IDC surveys over 400,000 technology users and decision makers around the world in five regions (Asia/Pacific, US, Canada, Latin America, and EMEA) and six domains (energy, financial, government, health, manufacturing and retail). The research provides unparalleled insight into the Canadian ICT industry.
Following the presentation by three IDC research leads, participants had an opportunity to discuss these technologies and their impact on the organization, as well as an opportunity to pose questions to the IDC team.The discussion was interesting and what participants shared of their own experiences provided a level of insight rarely found in similar events. Here are in no particular order some of the things I learned there:
- SMEs are leading in cloud use for storage and backup, while larger organizations are leading in cloud processing.
- Push to the Cloud is driven by business imperatives not IT. IT needs to build the organization’s cloud governance.
- US based cloud providers a lesser concern lately, probably due to convenience!
- Open data will be storming Canadian public sector. Over 30% of government organizations (all levels) are working on open data initiatives.
- A converged wireless WAN data services offering is to be expected from Rogers and Bell in 2011.
- By end of 2011 50% of all Canadian cell phones will be smart phones.
- Security for mobile is imperative: need to install counter-measures on all end points or monitor such end points centrally.
- Some organizations are pushing enterprise policies to private mobile devices connecting to their networks.
- Outsourcing usually brings out hidden problems of the organization and risks loosing inherent knowledge accumulated previously.
All in all it was an event well worth attending. For information on next event of CIOCAN check out their web site at www.ciocan.ca
Tags: CIO Canada, CIOCAN, Government 2.0, innovation, manara, mobility, openness, wireless
Posted in The Nabou Chronicles | No Comments »
Saturday, August 7th, 2010
In September 2009 the Design Faculty at OCAD University inaugurated a new and exciting Master of Design (MDes) program in Strategic Foresight & Innovation. The program initially will be on a part-time basis with a first cohort of 21 students. The program is focused on graduating “change leaders” and uses an interesting multidisciplinary approach not only in its content design but also in the selection of candidates for the program and in the delivery of learning experiences using more than one instructor in the classroom whenever possible.
OCAD Main Building at 100 McCaul St.
As part of a newly developed course on “Business Model & Policy Innovation” graduate students self-organized in small groups and selected organizations with innovative business models to investigate over the summer semester. Organizations studied include Bullfrog Power, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Artscape, Pollution Probe, Zero Footprint, The Stop and Acumen Fund. The investigation looked at the current business model, alternative models, external factors impacting the organization, in particular policy and regulatory issues. Each group produces a strategic report documenting their work and findings.
The final reports will be presented and defended in two public critique sessions on Friday August 13 and 20 in the presence of OCAD faculty and some representatives from the organizations selected. If you are interested to attend, send an email to nharfoush [at] faculty.ocad.ca for details of the events.
Tags: business model, change maker, collaboration, Government 2.0, innovation, OCAD, policy, SFI
Posted in News | Comments Off
Monday, January 18th, 2010
In response to changing priorities in the world economy the 40th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) traditionally held in Davos (Switzerland) is being held under the motto “Improve the World: Rethink, Redesign, Rebuild”.
The premise of Davos is that changing the world requires global cooperation, which in turn needs engaging stakeholders from business, government, the media, science, religion, the arts and civil society.
The rethink component is driven by the work of over 70 Global Agenda Councils involving over 1000 experts that meet on a regional or sectoral basis to advance ideas and solutions to the most critical challenges facing the world.
The redesign components builds upon the ongoing work of the Forum’s Global Redesign Initiative (GRI), an unprecedented multi-stakeholder dialogue with the ambitious goal of adapting structures and systems of international cooperation to meet present and future challenges challenges that the world is facing.
In order to support a continuing dialogue before and after Davos, WEF has been building a Web 2.0 collaboration platform called WELCOME. Our own Rahaf Harfoush is a key member of that initiative. You can follow the Davos events and discussions on WEF’s web site, or on aggregator sites such as the Eqentia WEF portal. You can also follow them on Twitter (@davos or the tag #WEF). You can also watch on YouTube Lee Howell, Managing Director, Head of Programming & Global Agenda Councils discuss the themes of Davos 2010 here.
Tags: #WEF, Community Futures, Convention, Davos, Government 2.0, leadership
Posted in News | Comments Off
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Communicate. Inspire. Build. These are the tenets of the 2009 Biannual Convention of the BC New Democratic Party, which will be held in Vancouver at the end of November. To commemorate the past 40 Conventions the 2009 Convention features the 40th Ruby Gala Dinner on the evening of Saturday November 28th.
The keynote speaker is our own Rahaf Harfoush, author of “Yes We Did” who will be talking about the changing face of social media and how these tools can be used to achieve organizational goals.
Tags: BC, British Columbia, Community Development, Convention, Government 2.0, NDP, New Media, Obama campaign, Obama volunteer, social media, Yes She Did
Posted in News | Comments Off
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
HealthCare Leaders is a non-profit association of individuals who hold leadership and management positions in health care, or within organizations that serve health care, in British Columbia.
HealthCare Leaders is most frequently known for its continuing professional education offerings including its annual Leadership Conference in October and Community Care Conference in May, both of which draw hundreds of participants from all parts of the province. The Association provides several other services for members.
This year’s Leadership Conference will be held on October 19th and 20th at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, BC. It is titled “Leading Healthcare: Inspire and Achieve” and will be focusing on leadership strategies, complex networks and organizational reform. The full program of the conference can be found here. The Foush will be speaking at the conference on October 20th and will be signing her book Yes We Did
Tags: BC, British Columbia, Community Development, Government 2.0, Health Care, healthcare, Keynote, leadership, Obama campaign, Voices that Matter, Yes She Did
Posted in News | Comments Off
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Over the past 20 years, Moncton transformed itself from a blue-collar town with an uncertain future to one of the most diversified and fastest growing metropolitan centers in Canada. The success of its transformation is entirely due to its focus on the Broadband Economy, and how all stakeholders have collaborated to leverage technology for community development.
The hard work of the past two decades was recognized earlier this year when the Intelligent Community Forum in New York named Moncton one of the 2009 Top Seven Intelligent Communities in the world. In fact, the Canadian Province of New Brunswick has been identified by the Intelligent Community Forum as a best practice model. This year, two New Brunswick cities, Moncton and Fredericton, are among the 2009 Top Seven Intelligent Communities.
Now Moncton is host to the First Intelligent Communities Summit, where participants will share best practices and brainstorm on the next steps in leveraging technology for community development. These next steps will be designed to help businesses and communities weather economic storms, prosper and improve quality of life.
Rahaf will be the keynote speaker at the Economic Club of Canada luncheon on October 7th. The presentation will be followed by a book signing event for Rahaf’s book Yes We Did.
Tags: Community Development, Community Futures, Government 2.0, Intelligent communities, Keynote, Moncton, New Media, Obama campaign, Obama volunteer, social media, Voices that Matter, Yes She Did
Posted in News | No Comments »
Sunday, August 16th, 2009
IT World Canada (publisher of CIO Canada) in association with the CIO Association of Canada, is holding its first CIO Exchange on September 16th, 2009. The format of this new “forward-facing event” consists of a on-day peer-to-peer direct exchange of insights and expertise around critical issues facing CIOs.
This first CIO Exchange will be addressing the precarious balance between two often-competing principles: the openness necessary to integrate with all partners in the value chain, and the security to ensure the safety of systems and intellectual property — and from potential legal liability. This topic has increasing importance given the rapid proliferation of wireless networks and mobile devices.
The keynote address will be delivered by Chris S. Thomas, Chief Strategist, Intel Corporation and Director of Architecture, World Ahead. Nabil has been invited to participate in this Exchange and will be reporting back in our blog on the outcomes of this event.
Tags: CIO Canada, CIOCAN, Government 2.0, Keynote, mobility, openness, security, wireless
Posted in News | Comments Off
Sunday, June 7th, 2009
The Lac Carling Congress annually brings together senior ESD practitioners (e.g. DMs, CIOs, ADMs, DGs, Project Directors, etc.) from all three levels of government in Canada with private sector companies who are or wish to be partners in the delivery of ESD solutions. The event focuses on the advancement of electronic delivery of government services in Canada. The theme for Lac Carling 2009 is: Govt. 2.0 – The Value Proposition.
The Conference is being held June 14-16 at the Queen’s Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Rahaf will be the keynote speaker and participate in a panel discussion on Sunday June 14th.
Tags: Community Development, Government 2.0, New Media, Niagara, Obama campaign, Voices that Matter, Yes She Did
Posted in News | Comments Off
