2018 was an extraordinary year.
With 2019 fast approaching, we have a great deal to be proud of and reflect on. We have sought to explore and answer important questions as they relate to Canada’s innovation economy.
Some highlights from this year include:
- A new approach for understanding the risks and benefits of automation for Ontario’s workers and businesses at a sector and community level, reported in Better, Faster, Stronger.
- The groundwork for further development of inclusive innovation policies in Canada in Pathways to Inclusive Innovation.
- Levelling Up, we mapped the digital skill programs and policies that exist across the country and tested our own Digital Literacy + Coding Pilot with state of the art learning tools including a custom pathway zine.
- Together with CIFAR, we hosted AI Futures Policy Labs in three provinces, engaging directly with policymakers, industry leaders and civil society organizations.
- Our Empowering Women Entrepreneurs projects continue to share lessons and best practices in responding to the main barriers to women’s entrepreneurship, helping us to better understand the systemic and intersectional barriers that impede women’s economic empowerment.
- And lastly, we were excited to be cited in Canada’s G7 Innovation Ministers’ Statement on Artificial Intelligence.
As we look ahead to 2019, we are excited about even more international collaboration (stay tuned for more from us on this), work from coast to coast, testing and piloting new and creative ways of influencing policy, and further exploration.
As the year comes to a close, we are excited by what we’ve achieved, and by the potential of our talented team, strong partnerships, and new ideas to meaningfully contribute to tackling some of the biggest challenges facing our country. I wish you and yours the best for the holiday season and a happy new year.
Warmest regards,
Sean Mullin
Executive Director, Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship