The document outlines the need for systemic change in Canada to address complex challenges such as health, food security, youth employment, and government reform. It emphasizes a shift toward a knowledge-based society, highlighting the importance of collaboration, education, and citizen engagement. A multi-faceted approach involving community prototypes and policy reform is proposed to foster sustainable solutions across various sectors.

1. System change:
Facing Canada’s toughest challenges
Joeri van den Steenhoven
Director, MaRS Solutions Lab
@joerivds
solutions-lab.marsdd.com
#systemchange

2. Planet Earth is blue, and there is nothing I can do.
David Bowie, Space Oddity

3. Food system
Health system
Transport system
Water system
System
an interconnected and interdependent patterns of action involving many institutions
Social system
Economic system
Education system
Political system

4. 1969 - 1989

5. 1969 - 1989
What will be our legacy?

6. Our legacy:
The transition to the knowledge society

7. 1969

8. 1989

9. The basic economic resource – the means of production, to use economist’s term – is no longer
capital, nor land, nor labor. It is and will be knowledge.
Value is now created by productivity and innovation, both applications of knowledge to work.
Peter Drucker (1993)

10. Due to the difficulty of social absorption of revolutions and new paradigms
EACH GREAT SURGE IS BROKEN INTO TWO DIFFERENT PERIODS
???
Recessions-Institutional changes-Role switch
Turning
Point
20 - 30 years
Degree of diffusion of the technological potential
INSTALLATION PERIOD
“Creative destruction”
Battle of the new paradigm
against the old
Concentration of investment
in new-tech
Income polarisation
Led by
financial
capital
Major
technology
bubble
From irruption
to bubble collapse
GESTATION
BIG-BANG
Collapse
DEPLOYMENT PERIOD
20 - 30 years
MATURITY
“Creative
construction”
Widespread application
of the new paradigm
for innovation and growth
across the economy
Spreading
of social benefits
Led by
production capital
From “golden age”
to maturity
Next
Installation
period
Time
Next big-bang
We are here
Carlota Perez. 2002, Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages.

11. Complexity%
System failure
Public%Systems%
Social%Challenges%
Time%

12. Tensions of Transition
Generational:
young vs old
Technological:
old infrastructures vs new technologies
Educational:
higher educated vs lower educated
Geographical:
urban hotspots vs disconnected
Ethical:
technological possibilities vs moral ethics

13. What kind of knowledge society do we want?

14. Government
Society
Decrease of problem solving capacity
Problem solving capacity record high
Difficult to attract and retain people, potential shortages
People better educated and informed,
and many want to be engaged
Less public resources
due to the financial crisis
More private capital for social good
available than ever before
Operating in vertical structures
Technology enables us to collaborate
and perform complex tasks horizontally

18. Social Innovation Labs
& change / design labs
Strengths
Pitfalls
Having a system perspective
Not scaling
Understanding the user
Lack of learning
Ideation & Prototyping
Just brainstorming
Long term
Just a process

19. Mission: To help solve complex societal challenges that require system change.

20. The lab process
H
R
T
M
Hypothesis
Research
Test
Market

21. Developing new solutions
So
D
Co
PR
SC
Solutions
Define
Co-create
Prototype
Scale
You only understand the problem once you start to solve it.

22. Developing new solutions
So
D
Co
PR
SC
Solutions
Define
Co-create
Prototype
Scale

23. Developing new solutions
So
D
Co
PR
SC
Solutions
Define
Co-create
Prototype
Scale

24. Policy Change
Po
F
V
Ev
PF
Policy change
Frame
Vision
Evidence
Policy formulation

25. Building capacity for change
CA
ST
I
EA
EM
Capacity
Stakeholders
Innovators
Early adopters
Early Majority

26. Periodic Table of System Change
H
R
T
M
Po
F
V
Ev
PF
So
D
Co
PR
SC
CA
ST
I
EA
EM

27. 55% of direct and indirect health costs are caused
by chronic diseases,
and it is growing dramatically.
Unhealthy eating is #1 factor with 2.9 billion direct
health costs in Ontario alone.
Challenge #1: Future of Health
We need to change the behaviour of people
at individual, community and system level.
Making healthy eating the easy choice.
In next 5 years we want to prototype new solutions
in 5 communities across Ontario,
and then help scale what works.

28. The food sector is one of biggest employers in Ontario
with 740.000 jobs. It has the 6th largest food processing
sector in North America.
But is it competitive for the future?
In terms of export value Canada is surpassed by many countries.
And also in terms of sustainability Canada has fallen behind.
Challenge #2: Future of Food
For a healthy and more sustainable food economy,
we need to change. From production, processing to retail.
We want to select a value chain and explore
what can be done to promote a more sustainable, healthy food
economy, leading to better food and more jobs.

29. Canada has one of the best education systems in the world
and one of the highest educated population.
But 13% of Canadian youth are not in work or school.
And for some vulnerable groups that number is even higher.
Challenge #3: Future of Work & Learning
Are we preparing our youth for 21st century jobs?
Is our labor market ready for the changing structure of
Canada’s economy?
We want to develop solutions to increase labor participation
of youth, starting with young people with disabilities.

30. Governments today face complex challenges
in a transforming world
while public resources are decreasing.
This calls for fundamental government reform.
Build a government for the knowledge society.
Challenge #4: Future of Government
Start to redesign public services.
Learn to operate from a citizen perspective.
Connect with society to solve problems.
We plan to develop different actions to help government
become more open and citizen-centered.
And connect innovators inside and outside government.

31. Doing it together
Creating partnerships
Building communities
solutions-lab.marsdd.com
Lab Learning
and many more...
and many more...

32. 1969 - 1989
What kind of knowledge society do we want?

33. System change:
Facing Canada’s toughest challenges
Joeri van den Steenhoven
Director, MaRS Solutions Lab
@joerivds
solutions-lab.marsdd.com
#systemchange