What is an Innovation Lab?

Innovation labs are based on the idea that the competencies and mindsets needed for systematic innovation are not the same as those required for stable, daily operations and service delivery at the front line. Innovation labs seek to provide approaches, skills, models and tools beyond what most trained civil servants usually possess. This may call for the creation of dedicated ‘safe’ spaces and opportunities for collaboration on innovation across units, departments and sectors to assist the exploration phase of innovation. Labs typically involve key stakeholders, including end users such as citizens and businesses, in a process of co-creation. For governments this means crafting new solutions with people and not just for them.

With innovation labs, the hope is that the establishment of dedicated, cross-cutting organisational structures can strike a blow at vested interests, power plays, and organisational infighting. Labs do so by being permanent structures with a mission to temporarily unfreeze organisational embedded practices. (Powering Collaborative Policy Innovation: Can Innovation Labs Help? 2012.)

Innovation Hubs/Labs in the Government of Canada

  • Updates and activities happening within the Government of Canada Innovation Hubs and Labs community can be found on GCcollab
Hubs and Labs Within the Government of Canada (under construction)
Department Name of Hub/Lab/Team Contact(s)
Canada Revenue Agency Accelerated Business Solutions Lab tracey.snow@cra-arc.gc.ca; Andre.Patry@cra-arc.gc.ca; @AGPatry; Adrian.Senn@cra-arc.gc.ca; @adrian_m_senn
Canada School of Public Service Design & Learning Lab Kony.Trudel@canada.ca
Canadian Heritage Innovation and Experimentation Team Robin.Kilroy@canada.ca
Développement économique Canada Incubateur d'innovation diego.dube@canada.ca
Environment and Climate Change Canada Innovation and Youth Engagement Division Sunny Uppal; sunny.uppal@canada.ca @sunnyuppal

Chari Marple; chari.marple@canada.ca

Shanu Bhandari; shanu.bhandari@canada.ca @shanu_bhandari

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada Service Insights & Experimentation (Pier SIX) IRCC.CEPierSIX-PilierSIXEC.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada Social Innovation Division, Settlement and Integration Policy
Natural Resources Canada OEE Social Innovation UnLab frank.gale@canada.ca
Public Services and Procurement Canada Innovation Secretariat TPSGC.DGAPINNOVATION-PABINNOVATION.PWGSC@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. GCCollab: https://gccollab.ca/groups/prole/988619/eninnovating-the-pay-administrationbranchfrinnovation-u00e0-la-direction-gu00e9nu00e9rale-de-lu2019administration-de-la-paye
Treasury Board Secretariat Canadian Digital Service https://digital.canada.ca/ cds-snc@tbs-sct.gc.ca https://twitter.com/CDS_GC

Innovation Communities in the Government of Canada

Multilateral Innovation Hubs

Academia

Canadian

International

Municipalities

Policy Think Tanks, Research Centers, and Consultancy Innovation Hubs

Commercialization Labs

National Government Innovation Hubs

Australia

Denmark

Finland

South Africa

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

United States


Civil Society Labs


Resources


Common Hashtags