Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience

At the Waterloo Institute for Social Innovation and Resilience (WISIR), we are committed to generating trans- and inter-disciplinary knowledge about social innovations and the social innovation process (the dynamics of learning, adaptation and resilience). Our approach is to pursue collaborative research and projects that bridge University of Waterloo departments, involve researchers from around the world, and engage those beyond academia. WISIR seeks to mobilize this knowledge through a range of new curriculum offerings and training opportunities - both within and outside of a university setting. WISIR is an outcome of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and Social Innovation Generation (SiG) project at the University of Waterloo (SiG@Waterloo). SiG is a national initiative focused on advancing understanding of and building the capacity for social innovation in Canada. The work has been carried out by a collaborative partnership of The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, University of Waterloo, the Mars Discovery District, and the Planned Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) Institute. The project's ultimate goal is to support whole system change through changing broader economic, cultural and policy contexts in Canada to allow social innovations to flourish.