Citizen Engagement

A number of community consultations took place over the course of the project, to capture local insights and frontline expertise. All Ontarians were welcome to participate, as we sought out insights from workers, employers, service providers and other community leaders, through interviews, workshops and a survey. A total of 120 people were consulted, from 36 cities across Ontario.

In phase two, we led 12 public and stakeholder workshops across the province, complemented by a public survey of 122 others. Read our report on these consultations.

Sector Research + Analysis

We continued to engage key stakeholders from two sectors in Ontario, as identified by the Expert Advisory Panel. Through this process, we interviewed a broad cross-section of individuals, including from large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, organizations on the cutting edge of technology development and commercialization, industry associations, and labour organizations.

We also aimed to build upon existing research to help fill key gaps in our understanding of how technological change – and automation in particular – will impact Ontario’s workforce.

Final Report

The final report, entitled Better, Faster, Stronger: Maximizing the benefits of automation for Ontario’s firms and people, shares insights and experience from diverse sectors and communities to better understand the risks and rewards of automation for Ontario’s industries and workforce and the implications growing its uptake has for all sectors in the economy.

This report follows BII+E’s highly cited study The Talented Mr. Robot: The impact of automation on Canada’s workforce and integrates novel analysis and key stakeholder insights with feedback from consultations and surveys of more than 200 individuals representing labour, businesses, and developers of technology in both the public and private sectors. It is also guided by the perspectives of the Expert Advisory Panel with technology, academic, and industry expertise.