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"The Canadian Association of Journalists and the CAJ Education Foundation are kicking off the decade with a groundbreaking conference where news staff and management can learn about emerging techniques, technologies and models to transform journalism for the 21st century. This conference will focus on skills, strategies and tactics that news organizations can start implementing immediately. It will be held on Jan. 30 at the MaRS Centre, a major innovation hub a stone's throw from Queen's Park in Toronto."

"The Canadian Association of Journalists and the CAJ Education Foundation are kicking off the decade with a groundbreaking conference where news staff and management can learn about emerging techniques, technologies and models to transform journalism for the 21st century. The conference focuses on skills, strategies and tactics that news organizations can start implementing immediately. It will be held on Jan. 30 at the MaRS Centre, a major innovation hub a stone's throw from Queen's Park in Toronto."

"The United States spends more on health care-related research and development than any other country. In 2003, it was estimated that the Federal government alone spent over $26 billion. Pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers and other private companies invested over $10 billion more. At its best, the American health care system is capable of delivering care unsurpassed anywhere else in the world. Yet, a 1999 Institute of Medicine study estimated that as many as 98,000 Americans die each year from hospital related medical errors. A recent study by the Rand Corporation (a non-profit think tank) concluded that less than 50 percent of encounters with doctors and hospitals resulted in optimal, evidence-based treatment. Studies show that as many as 42 million Americans - almost 15 percent of the population - lack health care insurance. Surveys reveal that patients do not feel they have adequate information about their conditions, and that their experience with health care ranks below that of most other sectors, in fact below that of the post office. In the aggregate, the country is spending nearly $2 trillion on health care, and yet the nation's health care system does not meet acceptable thresholds for safety, quality, access or cost. In 2005, VHA Health Foundation's board of directors sought to better understand the reasons behind this paradox. The foundation commissioned Larry Keeley and his associates at Doblin Inc. to apply the rigorous analytical methods that are used in their evaluation of other American industries and companies. The project set out to discover when, where and how innovation was taking place in health care. It also sought to identify organizations that were developing model innovation processes, and to explore where opportunities for successful innovation might lay."

This Toronto based incorporation brings entrepreneurs, public and private companies, investors, non-profit organizations, academia, professionals, and government to promote the social value of innovation. SEC has an Advisory Board, a large global networking of business partners, a news feed, and a personal business model, to be found at http://www.seconsortium.com. Social individuals with business and management skills are welcomed to join the team.

Net Change Week is a celebration showcasing social and digital change-makers. Powered by the Social Innovation Generation Team at MaRS (SiG@MaRS), Net Change Week is a concerted effort to join forces in order to facilitate cross-disciplinary learning and create new models for change. April 21, 2009

Winter launched Squag, a social space for children with autism or those who communicate differently. For the past 11 years, she has worked as an aide to her austistic nephew, who she calls spectacular and the strongest person she knows. Kids like him are totally underestimated, she says, which compelled her to build Squag to help them express themselves and communicate - in an almost artist-like way - as well as develop friendship and connection.

Allyson Hewitt, the lead of our social innovation practice at MaRS, talks live at the G&M about why businesses should consider having a social mission.

From Publishers Weekly\nChristensen (The Innovator's Dilemma) analyzes the strategies that allow corporations to successfully grow new businesses and outpace the other players in the marketplace. Christensen's earlier book examined how focusing on profits can destroy even well-run corporations, while this book focuses on companies expanding by being "disruptors" who are able to outpace their entrenched competition. The authors (Christensen is a professor at Harvard Business School and Raynor, a director at Deloitte Research) examine the nine business decisions integral to growth, including product development, organizational structure, financing and key customer base. They cite such companies as IBM, AT&T, Sony, Microsoft and others to illustrate their points. Generally, the writing is clear and specific. For example, in discussing whether a company has the resources necessary for growth, the authors say, "In order to be confident that managers have developed the skills required to succeed at a new assignment, one should examine the sorts of problems they have wrestled with in the past. It is not as important that managers have succeeded with the problem as it is for them to have wrestled with it and developed the skills and intuition for how to meet the challenge successfully the next time around"; they then provide a real-life example of a software company. Similar important strategies give readers insights that they can use in their own workplaces. People looking for quick fixes may find the charts, diagrams and extensive footnotes daunting, but readers familiar with more technical business management tomes will find this one both stimulating and beneficial.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) publishes yearly reports on Canadians' research dollars at work. In addition to reporting on specific health care 'research successes' and developments, the site links to regional profiles (Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, The Prairies, and British Columbia). The 2006-2007 editions are now up.\n\nCIHR's 2-page Commercialization report (PDF) for 2006-2007 reveals Canada's Innovation Index for the year as well as the country's shift towards investing in new companies and capacities. CIHR's commercialization strategy includes research, talent, capital, and linkages.

The iPod is a harbinger of a revolution in product design: innovation that targets customer emotion, self-image, and fantasy, not just product function. Read the hidden stories behind BodyMedia's SenseWear body monitor, Herman Miller's Mirra Chair, Swiffer's mops, OXO's potato peelers, Adidas' intelligent shoes, the new Ford F-150 pickup truck, and many other winning innovations. Meet the innovators, learning how they inspire and motivate their people, as they shepherd their visions through corporate bureaucracy to profitable reality. The authors deconstruct the entire process of design innovation, showing how it really works, and how today's smartest companies are innovating more effectively than ever before.

MaRS Innovation announced the appointment of its first full-time president, Raphael (Rafi) Hofstein.

Blog mentions of a presentation where Charles Plant spoke about Venure Capital and how you need to have a compelling business case to maximize and obtain favourable conditions from VCs. March 3, 2009

Blog mentions of a presentation where Charles Plant spoke about Venure Capital and how you need to have a compelling business case to maximize and obtain favourable conditions from VCs.

MaRS Innovation announced its permanent Board of Directors. MaRS Innovation is focused on converting important discoveries into a new generation of products, services and high value jobs.

MaRS Innovation announced its permanent Board of Directors. MaRS Innovation is focused on converting important discoveries into a new generation of products, services and high value jobs. Feb 6, 2009

Almost two years after Ottawa's 'Innovation Hub' was first proposed, documents show the province has serious concerns as to whether the Hub can garner enough private-sector support or will create enough jobs to qualify for funding.

Almost two years after Ottawa's 'Innovation Hub' was first proposed, documents show the province has serious concerns as to whether the Hub can garner enough private-sector support or will create enough jobs to qualify for funding. Feb 9, 2009

The symposium, Entrepreneurship & Commercialization in Biomedical Science, is being held on Thursday, May 14, which marks the 50th anniversary of both York University and The Gairdner Foundation. At this symposiums they will address the problem that Canadian researchers expertise to need to do in developing drugs and vaccines to address pressing medical needs. Mention of Susan Smith as a Board Member of MaRS Innovation.

The Economist shows how different entrepreneurs around the world are creating businesses with the goal of improving the world, while still making money: social entreprenuership

Communitech EIR Advisor Dan Mathers writes about the new MaRS website including the Entrepreneur's Toolkit which includes planning documents and workbooks for strategy, financing, HR and financial model templates.

Dan Mathers mentions about the launch MaRS new website and highlights the MaRS Entrepreneur's Toolkit. Dec. 10, 2009