I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the following recent graduates  from the Knowledge Management Institute of Canada’s new prototype program, Knowledge Management and Workplace Innovation.

• Stephen Cohos 
• Anne Marie Robert 
• Mike Dyman 
• Anne Marie Robert 
• Babak Mokri
• Nicole McArthur

These students participated directly in co-creating the program and through their collective efforts, demonstrated the knowledge, skills, mindsets and experiential learning of an innovation capable graduate and employee and applied these attributes to address the complex challenge of providing Canadians with access to affordable housing by 2030. As a result of their outstanding contribution and commitment to improving Canada’s capacity for innovation, they have all been afforded the opportunity to be part of the WINCan (http://www.wincan.ca) movement.

I would also like to express my sincere thanks to the iSchool (Colin Furness) at the University of Toronto, and particularly our workplace partners, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (Steffan Jones, Jonathan Chan, Emily Bashir and Cassandra Bernard) and the Bank of Canada (Dhaval Shah, Michel Tremblay, Sylvie Mougeot, Dinesh Shah, Rakesh Arora) for their invaluable contribution and ongoing support in helping to develop Canada’s first KM and Workplace Innovation credential. 

Finally, I would like to thank our incredible WINCan team, Dr. Tom Carey, Allison Davies, Tyranny Anderson, Doug Symington, Anahita Baregheh, along with my friend and mentor, Dr. Marlene Scardamalia, her right hand, Susana La Rossa and the IKIT support team.

The final report addressing the challenge of affordable housing for Canadians , developed by the students will be published on the KMIC and WINCan websites shortly.

Blake Melnick,

CEO/CKO, 

The Knowledge Management Institute of Canada

KM and Workplace Innovation - About the Program 

This unique micro credential is the result of over four years of research around the relationship between KM and innovation involving many of Canada’s leading universities and workplace organizations.

The result is a new program designed to ensure all graduates are “Innovation Capable” by helping students develop the mindsets, skillsets, and knowledge that will prepare them for opportunities in a world characterized by complexity, uncertainty, and exponential change.

The 8 week online course introduced a completely new model of education, which treats "the classroom as the workspace”. The program emphasizes experiential learning and focuses on addressing real-world challenges with respect to workplace innovation. It included weekly webinars, podcasts and virtual visitations by senior leaders, workplace organizations and interdisciplinary subject matter experts who engaged with participants, shared strategies, and collectively explored how to design and foster cultures of innovation within workplace settings.

Workplaces include start-ups, businesses, the public-sector, governments, and non-profits.  Innovative workplaces utilize the skills, develop the talents, and express the values of all employees. Innovative workplace cultures emphasize self-organized teams, encourage risk-taking, help build resilience, demonstrate inclusive decision-making, and value self-improvement. Such workplaces make people feel fulfilled in their jobs. Ultimately, innovative workplaces create a virtuous cycle where satisfied employees deliver higher levels of performance.