18 GEORGIANVIEW SPRING 2022
CENTRE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION
Georgian committed to social innovation, more than a
decade ago. What began as a project in select academic
programs has become a college-wide movement that
runs to the very core of what defines Georgian. And Suzie
Addison-Toor has been involved every step of the way.
"We've certainly been through a lot of iterations,
but really, that's part of the innovation," she says. As
Director, Social Innovation and Student Success, Suzie
and her team ensure one constant – The Centre for
Changemaking and Social Innovation (CCSI), works
to create positive change for healthy and flourishing
communities.
Social innovation is a key differentiator for Georgian
as the first and only college in Canada designated
a changemaker college by Ashoka U. The college
is recognized for embedding social innovation and
changemaking into culture, programming and operations.
That commitment was instrumental in winning a recent
$245,000 grant from the Suncor Energy Foundation to
expand CCSI's innovative Community Impact Lab model
and leverage the Social Enterprise Network of Central
Ontario. The new Community Impact Lab Network is
designed after the "living labs" model where Georgian
students and highly-skilled mentors work collaboratively
with community stakeholders on innovation projects.
"Human Services students work with local non-profits
on field placements aimed at solving specific social
problems." Suzie explains. "Now, we can expand to many
more programs and invite social innovation expert fellows
to come in and mentor the teams."
Students from programs across the college will
continue #ChangeTheNow projects this year. This
effort became critical when the pandemic forced many
employer partners to withdraw their usual on-site co-op
opportunities.
"We've leveraged #ChangeTheNow through an incredibly
Creating
positive
change for
the long term
|
It's been more than a decade since Georgian committed to social innovation and Suzie has been involved every step of the way.
