A collective of Social Innovation Lab practitioners exploring what the next 10 years of Lab practice might look like.
What the Future of Labs is About
The Future of Labs is a collective of seasoned Social Innovation Lab practitioners exploring what the next 10+ years of Lab practice might look like in Canada and beyond. What started as a single gathering of practitioners from Canada and around the world in 2024 has evolved into a vibrant international network of passionate people using Lab and ‘Lab like’ approaches to tackle complex social challenges with and alongside communities. This website serves as a central ‘hub’ for this network and their work around furthering Labs in Canada.
Why the Future of Labs?
Across all sectors, there’s growing recognition that society is under immense pressure—and that the rush to oversimplified, quick-fix solutions is undermining real systems change. Over the past 15 years, many social innovation labs across Canada—federally, provincially, and community-led—have explored new ways to tackle complex challenges. While lab approaches have shown promise, experienced practitioners are now in a reflective period, confronting gaps in practice, consistency, and impact. Labs are at an inflection point. Many mature labs are moving away from the “lab” label, while continuing the work of collective problem-solving. At the same time, public and private labs have quietly shut down or shifted practices without clarity on what changed. Future of Labs is focused on working with experienced lab leaders to explore where labs are most effective, how they differ from other systems change methods, and what capabilities and ecosystems are needed to support their evolution.
Questions We’re Exploring
The Future of Labs is centred around five core streams of inquiry.
2. Situating Labs
What are Labs’ unique contributions to social change? And when is a Lab the best approach to use?Learn more
What We’re Learning Reports and Tools
Here you’ll find reports and other deliverables created by the Future of Labs convenors.
Primer Report
Written in 2024, the Primer provides a synthesis of Lab history in Canada, trends, data from a survey and focus groups with diverse Lab practitioners, a collection of inspiring examples of Lab practice, and some provocations to consider. In it we have also attempted to trace the essence of some of the lineages of thought, philosophy, and practice underlying Labs. The Primer Report is intentionally scrappy, written in a way that is accessible, like a story, and open to future iteration.
2024 Gathering Report & Recommendations
Written in 2024 shortly after the first practitioner gathering, this report provides summaries of each of the five conversations held during the gathering. Each summary includes a brief description of the questions explored and how conversations were facilitated, as well as a synthesis of the raw data captured from participants, summarizing what was heard and initial impressions.
Annual ‘What We’re Learning Report’
If we can secure funding, we’re hoping to curate an annual ‘What We’re Learning Report’ that taps into the collective learning and wisdom of Social Innovation practitioners across Canada and around the world. If you’re interested in sponsoring this arm of work please be in touch at actionlab@skillssociety.ca.
Wicked Complex Podcast: The Future of Labs
Interested in learning more about what happened at the first practitioner gathering and the recommendations that followed but don’t want to read the report? Check out our three part podcast series on it!
Stewards
The Future of Labs is stewarded by Action Lab and Social Innovation Canada.
Sponsorship Opportunities
This work is currently unfunded and being held by a small group of passionate Lab practitioners across Canada. Check out our sponsorship page to learn more about how you can help move this important work forward.
