Social Innovation for Canada’s Future

When discussing Canada’s economic future, we often center the conversation on emerging technologies such as AI or Quantum, and more recently on large-scale infrastructure projects that are for national interest. The focus, though, is rarely on the social dimensions of innovation. 

As humanities and social science scholars highlight, innovation does not occur in a vacuum, it interacts with and relies on people, cultures, institutions and systems. Technologies must therefore be embedded within the broader context of social innovation. 

Further, we need innovation not just in technology, but in our social systems as well. To solve the problems facing Canadians, like poverty, homelessness, and accessibility to education, we need solutions grounded in how we live and come together to build a stronger future. We don’t need innovation for innovation’s sake; we need innovation to better the lives of Canadians.

Why Social Innovation Matters 

The development of an innovative strategy for Canada’s economic future must include social innovation. The leading voices of social innovation and its impacts are humanities and social science scholars. It is critical to bring these scholars into discussions on innovation to guide the development and the implementation of innovative strategies and technologies whereby the social benefits are accessible to all Canadians, by design and not as an afterthought. 

The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences promotes these disciplines, their research, and teaching for the advancement of an inclusive, democratic, and prosperous society. With over 90,000 researchers and graduate students in our diverse community, it is clear that the exclusion of humanities and social science voices in the development of economic strategies will negatively affect the acceptance and sustainability of these strategies.

Social innovation refers to the development and implementation of novel strategies to address social challenges. A strategy addressing these challenges that does not center societal impacts and the scholars who study them will only serve as a temporary, incomplete solution. 

Networks across Canada have already begun pushing the important work of social innovators. For example, the Federation is collaborating with The/La Collaborative, which provides space for cross-sectoral dialogues, promoting input from social sector leaders and innovators, creating alignment on education, policies and practices delivering concerted action plans for Canada’s future. 

Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) at the Center of Innovation

So what are the benefits of embedding HSS and social innovation in innovation strategies? 

By focusing on economic impact and social impacts, we can ensure any strategy developed is representative of Canada as a whole, or as appropriate, the communities it affects. The exclusion of these voices creates unequal impacts and risks longer-term instability in implementation.

For example, the exclusion of Indigenous voices when implementing internet access and infrastructure changes has led to long-lasting inequities, a digital divide that has still not been addressed, despite this being a vital technology of our times.  

Incorporating HSS scholars also allows strategies to recognize the root cause of a challenge. For example, when addressing homelessness, many policies focus on addressing late-term factors such as rehabilitation and housing access. However, the focus on late-term factors does not address the core issue. HSS scholars like Nemoy Lewis, on the other hand, focus on societal root causes. Through this focus on solutions targeting the core of the challenge, HSS scholars and researchers can help develop and implement truly comprehensive and successful strategies.

Elevating HSS Voices

How can we adjust policies to accommodate and integrate HSS voices? 

By integrating HSS expertise from the start, and throughout the policy and innovation cycle, and fostering robust interdisciplinarity.

This requires bolstering the understanding of what HSS disciplines study and how they contribute to innovation in Canada. HSS disciplines help articulate the values that should guide innovation. They do not only respond to change; they anticipate it, interpret its impacts, and help society navigate it with care and foresight. This also means adjusting funding programs, evaluation criteria, and policy narratives to reflect the full spectrum of innovation.

Social innovation is key to securing Canada’s economic future. Social relations lie at the core of how people, institutions, and policies intersect. Humanities and social science scholars, researchers, and leaders provide invaluable insights and creative approaches to these intersections. 

By placing HSS at the core of Canada’s innovation agenda, we can build a more inclusive, democratic, and prosperous society for all.