Impact Statement: Dr. Sandra Lapointe is an innovator, a convenor, and a capacity-builder. Through transformative initiatives like the Canadian Forum for Social Innovation (CFSI), La/The Collaborative and  Canadian Collaborative for Society, Innovation, and Policy (CCSIP), Dr. Lapointe is a champion to those traditionally left out of the “innovation” discussion. She has forged interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaborations from social science, humanities and arts research that focus on innovation beyond its conventional associations with commercialization. Her impact is felt nation-wide.

Established by Dr. Lapointe in 2024, the Canadian Collaborative for Society, Innovation, and Policy (CCSIP) brings together several nationwide initiatives addressing the need for interdisciplinary, evidence-based research that supports policy innovation and program development. Her efforts to convene and coordinate collective sense-making and action is colossal and the only one of its kind in Canada. In 2025, Dr. Lapointe also launched a National Graduate Education Strategy for Canada (co-led by the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies and the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences) to enable and support higher education’s transition to models of postgraduate training that meet the needs of social innovation ecosystems.

Dr Lapointe’s impact is further felt through The/La Collaborative, a multi-institutional cross-sectoral network that promotes new approaches to research and knowledge mobilization- engaging students from multiple fields and building capacity in social and human research. The/La Collaborative’s model is the first of its kind and serves as a foundation for the Canadian Social Innovation Ecosystem.

She is also the Co-Founder of the Canadian Forum on Social Innovation, a joint initiative with CSPC, an annual forum that brings researchers and practitioners of the social sector to discuss innovation in the social sector.

A true Trailblazer – what Dr. Lapointe has founded will continue to contribute to the Social Science, Humanities, and Arts research ecosystem for years to come.

Bio: Dr Sandra Lapointe is a Professor of Philosophy at McMaster University. She is a Commonwealth alumna, a Fellow of the Humboldt Foundation and an award winning scholar. She is a past President of the Canadian Philosophical Association and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Sillons, the social innovation agency of the government of the Province of Quebec in Canada.

Dr Lapointe’s current research agenda revolves around a series of action-driven projects in higher education, science and innovation policy, knowledge mobilisation and skills development for inclusive impact.

Dr Lapointe is the Founding Director of the Canadian Collaborative for Society, Innovation and Policy (ccsip.org), a multi-institutional research and action network, and within it, of the Observatory for Public and Social Innovation. Through The/La Collaborative she leads a series of talent and knowledge mobilization and is dedicated to enhancing social sciences, humanities and arts’ contribution to innovation across sectors. Dr Lapointe is the convener of the annual Canadian Forum for Social Innovation.