A core part of Ivey’s renewed mission is to identify and address the critical issues facing organizations and society and become the go-to place for thought leadership, knowledge, and actionable insights on these matters.
Drawing inspiration from what’s top of mind in the news, the boardroom, and society, we have focused our high-impact research and learning on three critical issues: Canada’s Place in the World, Evolution of Work, and Sustainability. Over time, we will adjust the list of critical issues, as needed, to ensure we are always keeping leaders abreast of the trends and advancements that will help them to make an immediate impact on their organizations and the world.
Impact
To make meaningful impact, research insights on critical issues need to be incorporated into practice where they’ll have the potential to influence industry, policy, and society.
Outreach is an important part of Ivey’s critical issues initiative to ensure the School’s expertise and thought leadership are shared with those who can make a difference. Our recent efforts include livestream events, a media article series, and the launch of a new critical issues knowledge hub, Impact, to cement our commitment to these issues. One notable example was a day-long symposium that brought together some of Canada’s top business leaders for a discussion on future trends, challenges, and opportunities.
Progress highlights
The Future We See Symposium
A big part of our outreach strategy was the organization of a day-long event in November 2023 at the Toronto Region Board of Trade called The Future We See Symposium, to close our centennial celebrations. The event, which brought together more than 200 business leaders, shared how organizations are taking on critical issues as well as what our faculty are doing to address them, and helped to position Ivey as a go-to for critical issues knowledge.
At the Symposium, we also announced Ivey’s inaugural Evolution of Work Chair, Rob Austin and the soft launch of the Impact site, which were important in reinforcing Ivey’s commitment to its critical issues.
Given the positive feedback on the Symposium, next steps are to try to interest the Symposium attendees in future events such as a newly planned livestream series called Impact Live where we will discuss various critical issues in a virtual panel format.
The Future We See Symposium – Bringing Ivey expertise to change makers and thought leaders
Future-minded leaders come together to discuss critical issues
Ivey Dean Sharon Hodgson moderated a CEO panel on how critical issues are affecting firms. It featured three Ivey alumni: Linda Hasenfratz, EMBA '97, LLD '19 (Linamar); David McKay, MBA ’92, LLD ’19 (RBC) and Jeffrey Orr, HBA ’81, LLD '17 (Power Corporation).
The ethical, social, and cultural implications of technology
Rahaf Harfoush, HBA '06, who is part of the newly announced United Nations AI Advisory Board, gave a keynote address on the influence of generative artificial intelligence on business and the world.
Envisioning the future of Canadian leadership
Ivey’s Martha Maznevski, PhD ’94, and Dusya Vera, PhD ’02, were part of a panel discussion on what leadership in Canada might look like by 2050 and how we will get there.
CEO panel considers the critical issues around establishing firms
Ivey’s Darren Meister probed Nicole Verkindt, HBA '07 (Buggy), Shahrzad Rafati (BBTV), and Scott Vanderwel, HBA '98 (PointsBet Canada), on the support required for businesses to thrive within and beyond Canada's borders.
Can Canada’s health care system chart a new path forward?
Mahmood Nanji, Power Corporation of Canada Fellow at Ivey’s Lawrence National Centre, led a discussion with three prominent health care experts on ways Canada can rebuild a world-class health- care system.
AI and the changing face of organizations
Ivey’s Fredrik Odegaard spoke with Mark Daley (Western University) and Salim Teja, HBA ’96 (Radical Ventures) on advancing artificial intelligence strategies in the workplace.
Cultivating Genius
Ivey’s Romel Mostafa led a discussion with renowned biographer Walter Isaacson on the traits that drive impactful innovation.
What's next
Impact: Ideas that Ignite Change
Continue to mobilize faculty insights and thought leadership via the Ivey knowledge web hub, Impact.
Impact Live
Launch a new livestream series to replace Ivey Idea Forums, which betters ties in to our content on the Impact site.
Critical Issues Challenge Fund
Ongoing funding of high-impact projects that address one or more of Ivey’s critical issues.
Outreach
Three new Globe and Mail sponsored content stories, each on a critical issue, are planned for the upcoming year.
Sustainability-focused Case Writing Competition
In June 2024, Ivey Publishing will launch a sustainability-focused Case Writing Competition in collaboration with the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME). This initiative aims to encourage faculty members to develop cases aligned with sustainable development goals (SDGs) and build Ivey Publishing’s collection and leadership in SDG case materials.
Critical issues review
Ongoing review and adjustment of the critical issues as needed.