The Innovation Lab

The Accelerator program

Our Accelerator program aims to empower our projects to maximize their effectiveness and contribute to the advancement of the skills development ecosystem through innovation practices and continuous improvement. This program is designed to complement our current innovation partners’ existing scope and help teams expand or enhance their project design within a rapid time-frame.

Traditionally, grants prioritize immediate implementation and outputs, which can restrict an organization’s ability to test and iterate on their projects. In contrast, our Accelerator program prioritizes design and experimentation. Throughout the program, our partners are encouraged to explore new approaches, embrace uncertainty, take risks, and incorporate input and iteration into their program design within a low-stakes environment, all while helping to build the capacity and skills of the project team.

To achieve this vision, the Accelerator provides flexible and tailored support to address the specific needs of each project and team. Participants in the program benefit from the guidance of Innovation Advisors, who offer personalized support and hands-on assistance. They also receive training on utilizing innovation practices and tools, gain access to our national networks and relevant research from our partners to foster valuable connections and insights. Additionally, participants receive additional funding to cover staff time and associated costs.

Since its inception, the Accelerator program has supported two cohorts, with 23 partners having participated to date.

Incubation Network

To enhance our reach and support for new approaches in skills development, we are piloting the Incubation Network initiative focused on the theme of newcomer integration. 

The Incubation Network currently includes seven project partners from across Canada representing a diverse range of geographies, methodologies, and leaders. These projects all share a common purpose – to surface novel approaches that enhance newcomer integration into the Canadian economy and make the most of the talent in Canada.

We are convening these partners for a series of learning sessions to advance experimentation and build cross-sector peer-learning connections to exchange ideas and identify additional opportunities to enrich newcomer integration in the labour market.  

The exploration and development of these approaches will uncover helpful insights that can inform wider efforts in addressing this key issue. Beyond the current theme, there is the possibility to explore future thematic issues impacting Canada’s future of work.