Join us for our 2026 Innovation Partnership Summit, a cross-sector gathering of leaders, innovators, and practitioners committed to advancing social innovation and systems change.
This Summit brings together leaders, innovators, practitioners, researchers, and community partners working across health and continuing care, social and community services, academia, industry, non-profits, and government. Designed for those who lead, research, deliver services, and influence policy, the Summit is for people shaping systems and committed to improving outcomes across health, care, and community settings—by connecting ideas and turning insight into action.
For those shaping the future of care, community, and systems.
This Summit is designed for leaders, innovators, practitioners, researchers, and community partners who are reimagining how health, care, and social systems work—together. If you influence decisions, challenge the status quo, or turn ideas into impact, you belong here.
Sandra Stabel
Founder & CEO of Grey Cube Innovations
James Stauch
Navigating the Rupture: Reimagining Systems for Impact
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s landmark speech in Davos earlier this year challenged leaders to “build a more resilient and just alternative” to the dying status quo. While framed in the context of geopolitics and global trade, the call to rethink systems resonates across sectors - from healthcare and social services to policy, academia, and industry.
Join social innovation and systems sense-maker, educator, and author James Stauch as he explores how moments of disruption create opportunities for transformation. Drawing on insights from social innovation and systems change, he will challenge the audience to rethink how partnerships, collaboration, and bold ideas can move beyond conversation and toward measurable impact in our communities and beyond.
John Vardalos
Scaling Social Innovation: Turning Ideas into Organizational Capability
In today’s rapidly changing landscape, innovation can no longer be someone else’s responsibility. For organizations working across healthcare, social services, and community systems, innovation must become part of everyone’s role - from leadership to frontline teams.
In this closing keynote, John Vardalos, founder of J5 Design, will explore how organizations can strengthen their capacity to support social innovation and move promising ideas into practice. The session will examine how innovation can be advanced in ways that maintain stability in the environments people depend on, while still pursuing meaningful and lasting impact.
Attendees will leave with practical insights into building organizational conditions that help good ideas move from concept to implementation and increase the reach and effectiveness of innovation efforts.
Fireside Chat: From Silos to Solutions: Innovating Aging Together
John Brown
Lynn Leslie
Carson Sander
Trent Marx
Trish Josephs
Moderated by Patty Wickson (CLIQ), this fireside chat brings together innovators who are transforming the way we approach aging and continuing care. Attendees will hear about real-world solutions that break down traditional silos, foster collaboration, and leverage technology to create more connected, person-centred care.
Through engaging discussion, this session will explore the challenges and opportunities of innovation in the sector, highlighting how partnerships and creative approaches can improve quality of life for older adults while supporting care teams.
Advancing Resilience: Applying Brain Science in Policy and Practice
Nancy Mannix
In the 1-hour introduction to the Brain Story and Resilience Scale Framework, the main metaphors of the Brain Story, including the Resilience Scale, will be described as a vehicle for mobilizing knowledge about the importance of brain development and early experiences on lifelong health outcomes.
We will outline examples from Alberta of policy and practice changes incorporating the Brain Story and Resilience Scale Framework, as well as how the application of a common language and knowledge base can be used to build resilience and improve outcomes for children, families, and communities.
Supporting Implementation in Continuing Care: Readiness and Reality
Kelly Baskerville
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Patty Wickson
Join Kelly Baskerville (ICCER) and Patty Wickson (CLIQ) for an interactive breakout session, where attendees explore The Guide for Innovators, a practical guide designed to support the uptake of innovation in real-world care environments. Through discussion and hands-on activities, attendees will examine the realities, challenges, and opportunities of implementing new solutions, while sharing insights that can help shape future innovation strategies in the sector.
Stronger Together: A Collaborative Approach to Community Safety
Kathleen Kelly
Gillian Weaver-Dunlop
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Join Gillian Weaver-Dunlop (FearIsNotLove) and Kathleen Kelly (YW Calgary) for an inside look at the Calgary Joint Shelter Report, a collaborative initiative that has expanded from three to 11 domestic violence shelters across Calgary and area over the past three years. The presentation will highlight why this report was created: to shine a light on the challenges facing survivors in Calgary, and the collective actions shelters are taking to respond. We will share key 2025 findings, high-level trends and central messages emerging across agencies working together to support individuals and families seeking safety.
The presentation also offers a behind-the-scenes look at how the report comes together and how it is used across the sector as a tool for shared advocacy and relationship-building. Attendees will leave with practical insights on applying this collaborative model in their own work.
Global Lessons in Equity Focused Innovation
Kevin Melanson
Join Kevin Melanson (BSF) and others in exploring what innovation looks like in low-resource and low-/middle-income countries, highlighting real examples from other countries. Panelists will discuss successes, challenges, and special considerations, with practical takeaways for innovators working in high-resource settings like Calgary.
The Dr. Barrie Strafford Centre for Learning, Innovation, and Quality (CLIQ) is a centre at The Brenda Strafford Foundation (BSF) that brings together various roles dedicated to innovation, organizational learning, quality improvement, and research to further BSF’s mission: “to be an innovative force in optimizing well-being and enriching lives.”
Through sponsorship, you can help foster dialogue, strengthen partnerships, and advance promising ideas that improve CLIQ and The Brenda Strafford Foundation's work in innovation, research, and care.
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Networking Reception Sponsor
Community Sponsorship
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