Posts Tagged ‘innovation’

xClinic Stakeholder Meeting

Tuesday, November 18th, 2014

On Wednesday November 19th we are convening a meeting of all stakeholders in xClinic+, an evolution of the original xClinic concept integrating more clearly the cultural change agenda of the project. Since the original charette (collaborative design) of 2010 the ideas underlying the project have evolved and the spectrum of interested persons has broadened. In addition a team of graduate students of the Strategic Foresight & Innovation program at OCAD University has explored various models for sustainable operations of xClinic. They will be presenting their findings at the meeting, which is being hosted by the Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab). If you are interested in joining the project you are welcome to attend the meeting. Attendance is free but seating is limited so you have to register on Evenbrite.

SIAA’s Annual Conference 2014

Friday, October 3rd, 2014

Under the title “Talking Data”,  SIAA, the Social Impact Analysts Association, is holding its annual conference in Toronto November 3-4, 2014 at the St. James Cathedral Conference Centre. This is the first time the event is being held outside of Europe and hosting it in Canada should be credited to the efforts of Anshula Chowdhury, the CEO of Social Asset Measurement in Toronto. This is exciting stuff. Leaders from the UK, Europe, the United States, and of course from all Canada, will be in Toronto discussing some of the most pressing issues around impact analysis.

“We see this as a golden opportunity to showcase Toronto’s commitment to social innovation and its burgeoning position as a social impact hub” said Chowdhury in a recent communication. The conference includes plenaries, workshops, interactive activities and networking. In addition delegates will have the opportunity to participate in one of several City Impact Tours aimed at highlighting key institutions in the social innovation space. One such destination will be OCAD University’s sLab, where delegates will learn about the Strongly Sustainable Business Model Group and its pioneering work.

More details about the conference program can be found at the Talking Data web site.

Copenhagen Studio Summit 2014

Saturday, September 13th, 2014

Leveraging the 7th Art of Management & Organization Conference 2014 at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Stefan Meisiek from the CBS and Moura Quwayle from the Sauder Business School at University of British Columbia organized a “Studio Summit” with a limited number of participants (25-30) to explore the state of the art in using the studio method for education and how the envelope could be further pushed.

The 3-day conference was very rich in exchanges and learning so no blog can really do it justice. However, it might be useful to inform about some of the insights gained through the perspective of this one participant.

The first insight was that the studio method is being used in a very broad spectrum of variations and interpretations. There were examples of almost every medium from performing arts to film making to creation of art objects and strong interaction between learners and learning facilitators. What surprised many participants is the discovery that the use of the studio method is more widely spread in business and engineering education than previously expected. This included for example several programs at Harvard’s School of Engineering & Applied Science (SEAS), a film making approach to teaching leadership theories and emotional intelligence from Sacramento State University and an interesting use of art object creation for business students from ESCP Europe (École Supérieure de Commerce à Paris) France.

Second, there are may emerging developments and a strong appetite for developing the method further, which may indicate the increasing need that educational institutions face to “scale up” their programs that use the studio method. This need is also observed in corporations, governments and NGOs mostly stemming from the drive to innovate in order to maintain competitiveness. One of the outcomes of the Studio Summit is the creation of a LinkedIn group to host the network connections resulting from the summit.

Several interesting models for the studio model were developed during the summit and will be highlighted in a number of places. We’ll only mention here the so-called “Chair” model (later also dubbed the “divan” model), which was the result of a break-out group led by Richard Blythe, Dean of the School of Architecture and Design at RMIT with Daved Barry (Copenhagen Business School), Hakan Ozcelik (Sacremento State), Sylvain Bureau (ESCP Europe), Jaclyn Wilson (ESADE Business School) and Nabil Harfoush (OCAD University). A special blog will be dedicated to that model soon.

 

Como Innovation Summit 2014 – Authors Retreat

Saturday, September 13th, 2014

The Como Innovation Summit started in 2012 with the objectives of creating an “invisible college” or network of leading professionals in the field of innovation. The focus initially was on innovation education, although the scope is expanding rapidly. In the first two summits held near Como lake in Italy, a number of interesting observations were made about the emergence of multidisciplinary higher education in a multiplicity of forms. The idea was born to collect those observations in a book in order to alert the higher education community to this development, provide guidance on how to start your own multidisciplinary programs, and offer a collection of already successful programs from around the world as examples. The book idea was pitched to the publisher Springer, who agreed to publish the book in its innovation series. In order to complete the contents of this collectively authored book it was decided to dedicate the Como 2014 summit as a retreat of the book’s authors to finish their respective chapters. The book is intended to be available for Como Summit 2015. Our own Dr. Nabil Harfoush is participating in this project with responsibility together with Dr. Paola  Bertola from Politecnico di Milano for a principle chapter plus a collection of invited short chapters describing select multidisciplinary programs from all over the world.

Studio Summit at Copenhagen Business School

Sunday, August 31st, 2014

As part of the 7th Art of Management and Organization Conference 2014 of the Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Stefan Meisiek of CBS and Moura Quayle of University of British Columbia organized a summit dedicated to the studio teaching/learning method.

Stefan had started the Studio at CBS three years ago, and it has grown to become a space for education and industry interaction over time. The summit is meant to connect likeminded individuals, exchange experiences, and lift studio work to the next level, beyond the formulaic.

The first day was dedicated to exploring the various studio practices of the participants and understanding the current state of studio education and the use of the studio method in general. The format was that of a World Café with a synthesis in Plenum. It was encouraging to discover how may business schools were experimenting seriously with variations of the studio method.

On the second day we explored in 5 breakout groups how to push the envelope of the studio method, particularly into domains other than architecture, art or design. Some interesting frameworks emerged, which will be presented in a blog soon, so stay tuned.

On the last day the agenda is to synthesize the gained insights and findings and chart the next steps for this new community. It goes without saying that intense networking and peer learning is happening constantly even late night after a long day. It is what makes these small focused gatherings (25-30 people) such refreshing and learning intensive events.

International Certificate Course: Urban Food Challenge

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

Citizen Centred Innovation: International Certificate Course
Toronto – Barcelona
September 14 – 26, 2014


Complex social, environmental and business challenges need new thinking and new connections to come up with new solutions. Our rapidly urbanizing world faces evolving demands and threats. How can we prepare for a changed future?

We have partnered with Strategic Innovation Lab at OCAD U (Toronto) and Bau Design College (Barcelona) to deliver an exciting learning opportunity. Join other decision makers, influencers and passionate implementers who are building their skills to take on some of the biggest issues their cities are facing. This unique program brings international participants together for deep exploration in a two week immersion experience. The creative hubs of Toronto and Barcelona are emerging as global leaders in urban innovation and serve as the perfect backdrop for experimentation. One week in each city brings a diverse perspective to the challenges at hand.

You will receive intensive training in a range of disciplines including human factors, design thinking, system mapping, sustainable business models, and co-creation techniques and methods.

More importantly, you will apply your learning to find creative solutions to a complex problem: this time we will be focused on food waste in urban centres. In addition to lectures and hands-on practice, the program includes daily field explorations of food-related aspects in each city, including visits to innovative social food enterprises such as Not Far From The Tree, The Stop Community Food Centre, and a private Jane’s Walk in Toronto; participating in a Tapas Lab; going on a Hidden City Tour of Barcelona (unique guided tour through the old town led by homeless guides); and engaging with organic farmers to understand the inter-dependencies and trade-offs in the complex urban food system.

Download the course brochure with detailed program information by clicking here.

To register in the course:
https://citizen-centric.eventbrite.ca

For further inquiries:
T: +1 905 707 8956
F: +1 416 703 3885

Strategic Foresight for North-East Paris

Monday, November 25th, 2013

The town of Aulnay-sous-Bois in the north-eastern suburb of Paris, France, has signed a 3-year partnership agreement with l’École des Ponts ParisTech one of the most prestigious and selective French “Grandes Écoles”. The partnership, which extends until 2016, aims at defining the “territorial development” of the town and helping the town articulate its Master  Plan 2030.

The first phase of the project includes a survey of the Aulnay territory, its interactions with adjacent communities, and identifying the sectors or topics that should be given special attention in the planning activities. It also includes a review of other jurisdictions that faced similar challenges as Aulnay and have responded with innovative solutions.

As part of the project activities, the Department of Town, Environment & Transportation of the School is teaming up with the Paris- Est D-School to organize a series of workshops for elected town officials, town staff and graduate students to jointly work on some of the topics. We have been invited by the Paris-Est D-School to organize a 2-day workshop with their audience this December to introduce our own approach to strategic foresight and  planning, which is somewhat different from the rich and well established practice of foresight in France.

Looking forward to brush up on our French, interact with our French colleagues and learn from practicing in a different environment.

Recipes for Systemic Change

Sunday, November 11th, 2012

On Wednesday November 14th I have the pleasure of hosting Bryan Boyer from the Helsinki Design Lab and co-author of the book “Recipes for Systemic Change” in an Explorations event at the Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab). The event is organized in collaboration with Social Innovation Generation.

In this event we will explore with Bryan questions like: How might we undertake to “redesign” systems, institutions, markets, and even the social contract, in the face of constraining legacies, limited finances and other extreme challenges in the public sector? When good ideas abound, but don’t always come to fruition, what approach might bring success?

Participating in the event is free but registration is required here. Don’t delay, only a few seats remaining!

A Week of Awards

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

This week two of the educational programs I have been involved with have received awards. First, the core curriculum of the new Design, Engineering & Commerce (DEC) College at Philadelphia University was recognized for its transformational nature and won the Core77 Design Award in Educational Initiative category. The jury commented on all finalists by video; the DEC segment is towards the end but may be worth watching to understand why the program won top honors.

Then the World Future Society announced its F:BL 2012 awards (Futures: BetaLaunch 2012) and I was thrilled to learn that the Strategic Foresight & Innovation (SFI) Masters Program at OCAD University has been selected as one of the top future-oriented start-ups.

When innovators go into uncharted areas and design new solutions, they frequently can’t tell whether they were right or not about their innovation. It is only when their work is recognized by others that they can reduce uncertainty and feel on the right track. There is no better moment for innovators! Congratulations to the teams at DEC and SFI for their excellence.

Toronto: A Hub for Foresight & Futures?

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Toronto is buzzing this week with foresight events and activities. WorldFuture 2012: The annual conference of the World Future Society, is taking place at the Toronto Sheraton Centre, July 27-29, 2012. In conjunction with it the Futures:BetaLaunch 2012 also known as F:BL  2012 awards will be celebrated. This free event features 11 award winning future-focused start-ups is scheduled for Saturday July 28 evening. For details click here.

APF, the Association of Professional Futurists is celebrating 10 years of existence with a full-day of professional development hosted by the Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab) team July 27 at OCAD University’s landmark Sharp Centre, with a reception in the evening. To top it all the Strategic Foresight & Innovation masters program at OCADU is celebrating being selected for on of the F:BL 2012 awards.

Much to celebrate in a Toronto rapidly becoming a hub for foresight and futurists activities.