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Hubs and Labs Within the Government of Canada (please add your group and update outdated info)
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 Food Inspection Agency Creative Marketplace Lab on Data, Skills and Technology ian.dahlman@canada.ca
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Data Analytics and Modelling (DAM) team jae-jin.ryu@canada.ca
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Innovation and Idea Zone (the i-Zone); the Agency's innovation hub CFIA-innov-ACIA@canada.ca | CFIA i-Zone/ Zone-i ACIA on GCconnex & GCcollab
Canadian Heritage PCH Innovation Lab Robin.Kilroy@canada.ca
Développement économique Canada Incubateur d'innovation diego.dube@canada.ca
Elections Canada Elections Canada Innovation team Jessica.Schultz@elections.ca; margy.vilé@elections.ca
Environment and Climate Change Canada Innovation and Youth Engagement Division Holly Palen; holly.palen@canada.ca @holly_palen

Melissa Poon; melissa.poon@canada.ca; @mykpoon

Chari Marple; chari.marple@canada.ca

Health Canada/PHAC i.HUB Health Canada/PHAC hc.ihub.sc@canada.ca @ihubhcsc
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada Blueprint 2020 @ IRCC Secretariat Maureen.Collins@cic.gc.ca And Tracy.Godin@cic.gc.ca
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada Operations Planning and Performance Branch Research and Development Centre (OPPB RDC) Centre de Recherche et Développement de la Direction Générale de la Planication et du Rendement des Opérations (CRD DGPRO) Jean-Guy St-Amour, Deputy Director, Business Research and Analysis: Jean-Guy.St-Amour@cic.gc.ca o Josh Clory, Senior Research Analyst: Josh.Clory@cic.gc.ca o Emilie Norman-Fortin, Senior Research Analyst: Emilie.Norman-Fortin@cic.gc.ca o Alexandre Strong, Senior Data Analyst: Alexandre.Strong@cic.gc.ca o Mathieu Zerter, Senior Data Analyst: Mathieu.Zerter@cic.gc.ca
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
Privy Council Office Impact and Innovation Unit @impact_innovEN; @impact_innovFR; canada.ca/impact-and-innovation; canada.ca/fr/centreinnovation.html
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
Public Services and Procurement Canada Innovation Zone (Office of the Chief Transformation Officer) TPSGC.dgsizoneinnovation-isbinnovationzone.PWGSC@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca
Treasury Board Secretariat Canadian Digital Service https://digital.canada.ca/ cds-snc@tbs-sct.gc.ca https://twitter.com/CDS_GC
Treasury Board Secretariat Centre for Regulatory Innovation cri-cir@tbs-sct.gc.ca. Gcpedia - CRI Canada.ca - CRI
Environment and Climate Change Canada Regulatory Policy Section danny.lepage@canada.ca
Quebec Federal Council Laboratoire d'innovation du Conseil Fédéral du Québec simon.morin@canada.ca

Innovation Communities in the Government of Canada

Multilateral Innovation Hubs

Academia

Canadian

International

Municipalities

Policy Think Tanks, Research Centers, and Consultancy Innovation Hubs

Accelerators & Commercialization Labs

National Government Innovation Hubs

Australia

Denmark

Finland

South Africa

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

United States


Civil Society Labs

Resources


Common Hashtags