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Five years in: How Innovation North is changing the system

Nov 7, 2024

Innovation North And Partners Come Together At Innovating Systems Event

The Innovation North team, Ivey faculty and students, and business partners come together at Innovating Systems: An Idea Exchange at Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario

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Ivey sustainability professor, Tima Bansal, has long championed what some would call a 'radical' view: a future where businesses and society thrive together. In 2019, she transformed this radical vision into reality with the launch of Innovation North, Powered by Ivey – a pioneering initiative tackling complex systemic challenges through innovation and meaningful collaboration between academia and industry.

Five years and 30 landmark partnerships later, Innovation North celebrated its journey, the development of a systems-thinking tool, and looked to the future with a sustainability-oriented event, Innovating Systems: An Idea Exchange. Held at Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario on October 29, the symposium brought together over 150 leaders from business and academia for a day of inspiring reflections and dynamic discussions on innovating a brighter, more resilient future.  

Demystifying systems

A key theme of the event was demystifying systems, a concept that remains elusive for many. Speakers described systems as interconnected elements forming a whole, from families to healthcare to the economy. Bansal highlighted that as the world becomes increasingly interconnected, systems thinking – seeing beyond simple solutions to understand how changes in one part ripple through the whole – is more essential than ever. She stressed that business and academic institutions play a crucial role in advancing this mindset.

 “I believe that we in business, and business schools, can offer a new way of thinking. And that is by putting systems thinking into view,” said Bansal.  

The future we want starts today

The Chinese proverb, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is today,” perfectly captured the spirit of the three keynotes delivered by Chris Marquis, Professor at Cambridge’s Judge Business School and author of The Profiteers; Rob Wesseling, President and CEO of The Co-operators; and Peter Senge, MIT senior lecturer and renowned author of The Fifth Discipline. Each speaker challenged the audience to think beyond immediate gains and consider how today’s actions can lay the groundwork for a more resilient, purpose-driven future.

Chris Marquis began by calling for a more holistic approach to business—one that transcends profit and aims for societal impact. Citing innovation from companies like Pepsi and Patagonia, he highlighted the importance of firms examining the entire value chain, from design to consumer use. “We need to hold businesses much more accountable, to think not just about stakeholders but about their core business model,” Marquis said.

Rob Wesseling, President & CEO of Co-operators, a key Innovation North partner, echoed this purpose-driven focus, urging businesses to reevaluate their core purpose. He likened purpose to planting seeds: “It takes time to let seeds grow… people may want to move the tree when it’s not productive early on. But in time, that tree can become highly productive.” Wesseling also highlighted that not every seed will sprout, framing failure as an essential step toward meaningful innovation and change.

Returning to the stage after delivering the inaugural keynote at Innovation North’s 2019 lab, Peter Senge, known as the “father of systems thinking,” underscored the role of shared learning and community circles in driving systemic change. Senge advocated looking to younger generations for insights, calling them “children of the world” for their global awareness. He argued that young people, attuned to urgent challenges, have a sense that the time to act is now.

Collective solutions to emerging disruptions

As part of Innovation North's mission to unite academics and practitioners in solving complex systemic challenges, the Innovating Systems event highlighted four “Disruption Duos” – dynamic pairings of academic and industry leaders tackling today’s biggest disruptions: artificial intelligence (AI), the nature of work, climate change, and socio-political whiplashes. Here are some of the standout insights they shared:

AI: Mark Daley, Chief AI Officer and Professor at Western University, and Salim Teja, Partner at Radical Ventures, discussed how AI will transform "intelligence labor" just as the Industrial Revolution reshaped physical labor. They encouraged businesses to evaluate the roles of workers in an AI-driven world, assess potential risks, and prepare all generations for this shift.

The nature of work: Rob Austin, Professor and Evolution of Work Chair at Ivey, and Rashid Wasti, EVP and Chief Talent Officer at Weston Group, reflected on how the pandemic revealed diverse ways people can work and thrive. They urged managers to tailor their approach to individual employees, even rethinking job structures to better fit worker needs, rather than forcing workers to fit pre-defined roles.

Climate change: Oana Branzei, Professor and Paul MacPherson Chair in Strategic Leadership at Ivey, and Melissa Lecznar, Senior Director of Climate Impact at JLL Canada, stressed the importance of a holistic approach to climate change. True systems change, they reasoned, requires looking beyond isolated actions to understand and address interconnected environmental impacts.

Socio-political whiplashes: Romel Mostafa, Assistant Professor and Director at Ivey’s Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management, and Rachel Guthrie, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at Export Development Canada, discussed the intensifying politicization of issues. Using “woke” as an example, they highlighted how meanings can shift and urged companies to seek common ground, prioritize collaboration, and focus on long-term trends to navigate these shifts.

A commitment to lasting innovation

In his remarks at the event, Ivey’s Dean Julian Birkinshaw, MBA ’91, PhD ’95, stressed a global crisis in capitalism, noting the tendency for businesses to prioritize shareholders over societal stakeholders. By uniting researchers and business leaders, he argued, systems thinking can take root and help drive the innovation needed for businesses to thrive, while addressing critical future challenges – a vision at the heart of Innovation North. Recognizing the significance of this forward-looking approach, he confirmed that Innovation North is here to stay at Ivey, saying, “Innovation North will be a big part of Ivey’s future.” While details are still evolving, several projects are already in motion, signaling a promising future for Innovation North, Powered by Ivey.

To learn more about Innovating Systems: An Idea Exchange, including full speaker bios and illustrative take-aways by graphic recorder, Emma Richard, visit the event’s website.