Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab) develops and applies strategic foresight, design research, visualization and prototyping methodologies in order to clarify and feed the front end of the innovation process. We investigate the intersections of human behaviour, new technology and organizational capacity.

From our base within Canada’s largest and oldest university of art and design, we combine deep experience in creative ideation, design thinking and practice with skills in interdisciplinary collaboration, business analysis and strategic planning. sLab's research program is underwritten by base institutional support, proceeds from professional engagement, research grants, and participation by faculty, students and community representatives. Outcomes include papers and reports for industry and academic publication, participatory workshops, proprietary deliverables, and commercialization initiatives in collaboration with industry partners.

 Themes and Priorities

Our research program is currently organized around possible futures in the following interrelated realms:

• Education Futures — Visualization, Collaboration, Play
• Media Futures — 2020 Media Futures; sBook: Cross Platform Reading, Writing, Publishing
• Design Futures — Designing for Emergence
• Sustainable Futures — Strongly Sustainable Business Models
• Work Futures — Unfinished Business
• Health Futures — experience journeys, collaboration, safety and quality

sLab's research program is underwritten by base institutional support, research grants, research commissions, and participation by faculty, students and community representatives. Current and planned outcomes include articles for industry and academic publication, industry and community workshops, position papers, reports, proprietary deliverables, and commercialization initiatives in collaboration with industry partners.

sLab Approach and Priorities

• Design thinking — Human-centred problem finding, problem framing and problem solving
• Creative insight — Leading to innovative strategies, platforms, policies, systems
• Strategic foresight — Thinking about, debating, planning, shaping the future
• STEEPV analysis — Social, technological, economic, ecological, political & values signals
• Understanding impacts — Key to our guiding philosophy

Publications

We provide access to research publications and working papers from sLab members and OCAD graduate students, most of which are available under a Creative Commons license for download and circulation. In addition, books, journal articles and online papers published by members of the extended sLab community are listed and available with the constraints of their publishers. To inquire about publication, please contact us.

• Books
• Research Papers
• Working Papers