Tim Brodhead – the lynchpin of Canada’s Social Innovation Agenda

Tim Brodhead, President and CEO of the JW McConnell Family Foundation and his colleagues have been systematically and strategically supporting some of the most innovative responses to Canada's social, health, education and environmental challenges since the mid-nineties.  Many 'scaled up' social innovations like Mary Gordon's, Roots of Empathy or John Mighton's, JUMP or Anil Patel's TimeRaiser owe their origins to Tim's ability to spot their talent, and their unique, creative ideas; to invest in their passion and equally, to stick with them through inevitable growing pains.

Most of us in the community sector know about the JW McConnell Family Foundation. Few know about the man at the helm and his determination to enable creative Canadians to tackle our toughest problems. Tim is a man of high standards who is driven by a passion for social justice equal to all the gold seeking athletes inspiring us in Vancouver right now.  He will not rest until there is a transformation in how we take care of each other and our environment. And Canada is the better for it.

Now for the first time the creative force behind McConnell steps forward in an article written for the Philanthropist entitled: On Not Letting a Crisis Go to Waste: An Innovation Agenda for Canada's Community Sector.

The article displays Tim's intellect, his grasp of broad complex issues and his discernment after nearly two decades of thoughtful grant making across Canada.  Tim understands our sector, he also understands the way the world works and the key levers to use to accelerate positive social change.  His article is both a 'tour de force' and a call to arms. It should be the subject of a week of op eds in every newspaper in Canada; essential reading for public sector leaders and politicians; and a rallying point for all those who recognize the old ways are not working very well.  Tim has made the case.  We have to reinvent ourselves, our sector, our organizations and our country if we are to become an economically and socially just society.

You can access a PDF of Tim's article https://www.thephilanthropist.ca/

or from McConnell's website.

https://www.mcconnellfoundation.ca/en/about/presidents-corner/on-not-letting-a-crisis-go-to-waste-an-innovation-agenda-for-canada-s-community-sector

To read more about Social Innovation Generation (SiG) – the Foundation's major investment in creating a culture of continuous innovation in Canada at: www.sigeneration.ca 

www.sigeneration.ca PLAN and the PLAN Institute are honoured to be partners in this collaboration:  www.planinstitute.ca

This post was composed for PLAN Institute's website.  Click here for a direct link:

https://www.planinstitute.ca/blogs/aetmanski

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