The Centre for Sustainability and Social Innovation

Ezio Manzini “Creative Communities & Sustainable Qualities”

“Don’t just design for what people want. Think instead of communities and how to design for active collaborative individuals.”

ISIS continued its international speaker series on social innovation by welcoming Ezio Manzini on April 4^th. Ezio Manzini is a leading expert on design for sustainability and professor of Industrial Design at Milan Polytechnic.

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Risky Business

A few weeks ago I was at the gym with a friend of mine who works for a large insurance company. We were engaging in the usual banter about our day-jobs and how he spends most of his time talking to executives about their company’s legal exposure to poor management decisions. Many of these executives are from Canada’s large resource extraction and energy firms – your garden-variety heavy polluters. When discussing their companys’ exposure to the risks posed by climate change many respond, “Yes, we’re aware of the issue. But until the government tells us we have to do something about it, it’s business as usual.” That’s about as far as the discussion goes.

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Peter Shergold kicks off the Inspiring Action for Social Impact Speaker Series

“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” Peter Shergold

On Feb 6^th, ISIS launched a Speaker Series showcasing social innovation from around the globe. The speaker for the event was Peter Shergold who has extensive experience in Australia’s private, public and non-profit sectors as well his role as a professor at the country’s cross-university Centre for Social Impact. He spoke about the change that has taken place over the years where government has increasingly shifted more of the delivery of social services to community service organizations. Services like employment assistance, mental health care, prisoner rehabilitation and many others have shifted to non-profit organizations in hopes that this would provide better care, reduce costs and promote innovation. As he wryly commented – two out of three isn’t bad.

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An Ode to Aquaculture – Why Farming the Sea Might Not Be Such a Bad Idea!

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the North Coast of Vancouver island, which included a journey to the traditional territory of the Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw First Nation just north of Port Hardy on the mainland. I was there meeting with project partners and exploring the potential for shellfish aquaculture as a means of economic development and social engagement for local communities (As a side note, I also saw an orca at close range. Not that I’m bragging or anything). I also had a chance to visit with bona fide shellfish experts from the Vancouver Island University Centre for Shellfish Research, which, by the way, has just opened the doors on a lovely interactive marine field station at Deep Bay that I encourage people to check out. Read More…

Overcoming the Myth of the ‘Lazy Indian’

The Osoyoos First Nation has numerous economic initiatives including the successful NK’MIP Resort and Winery.

Today I was lucky enough to hear Chief Clarence Louie from the Osoyoos Indian Band speak at the University of Calgary. Chief Louie was named one of 9 aboriginal movers and shakers you should know, and he has quite a gift for moving people. His message, loud and clear, was – business is the direction that First Nations should take. “First Nations need more business people, and fewer social workers,” he said. He proposes that more money should be spent on economic development and less on welfare.

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