Work at CSI for the day with our new Lounge Pass!

Next Economy Conversations

Our monthly tête-à-tête with industry leaders 

Around the world, there are movements calling for systems change: a world that is sustainable, equitable, and prosperous for all. But what will that world look like, specifically? How are we each going to play a role in defining those specifics? Next Economy Conversations, our newest event series, brings the people building systems-level solutions into conversation so we can answer those questions, and learn from their successes and failures.

Join us at the next Next Economy Conversation

learn more about our past guests

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September 30 is Orange Shirt Day and Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. It’s a day to honour the survivors and victims of the residential school system and reflect on the atrocities Canada committed against Indigenous Peoples.
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We have some big news! The world is changing and so must CSI! We told our members earlier today and now we want to tell you. CSI has made the decision to put 720 Bathurst up for sale and consolidate our operations into CSI Spadina.
CSI Spadina in the ground floor kitchen, looking out towards the lounge and meeting rooms. In the foreground is a kitchen counter, with waffles, toppings, and glasses of coffees and teas. In the background, CSI CEO Tonya Surman is speaking into a microphone on the left. In the middle and on the right, a variety of people stand and sit, listening to her speak.
One of the keys to CSI's magic is our Community Animator Program (CAP) and, specifically, the Community Animators themselves! Through this program, we've worked with more than 1,000 exceptional individuals who have each brought a little something different, and a little sparkle, to our spaces. And we're so glad to have had them in our community, because we've learned that each and every one of them has some exceptional talents, skills, and experiences to offer the world!  
Third floor lounge of CSI Spadina. In the foreground is a light blue loveseat sofa. In the background, we see two people working separately at coworking desks and tables. On the ceiling is a chandelier; to the right, a progress Pride flag.
The CSI staff team includes Pride veterans, newcomers, and everywhere in between! This year, as we celebrated Pride in our spaces and with our member community, we turned to our staff team to learn what Pride means to them. Some experienced it for the first time this year and were awash in the joy; others delighted in the fact that Pride remains such a fun celebration decades later. Others noted the increasing corporatization, which draws our attention away from the central premise of Pride - a protest.
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CSI is many things - a coworking space, a non-profit organization, and a launchpad - but, first and foremost, we are a community. A community of innovators, of changemakers, of neighbours, of people putting people and planet first. And the awesome work that our members do, each and every day, never ceases to amaze us! So of course, we do our best to highlight our members whenever possible. Recently, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Molly Bannerman, Director of Women HIV/Aids Initiative (WHAI), a community-based response to HIV and AIDS among cis and trans women in Ontario. Below is an edited summary of our chat, where we discussed the work of WHAI and their latest Collective Action Community Change report.
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It's Canadian Innovation Week 2023! This year, we're celebrating with our members and highlighting the world changing work that they do. We're spotlighting just a few of our thousands of members here in the themes of Canadian Innovation Week 2023 - be sure to come by our spaces or join our community to meet the rest of our innovators!
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Generally, when we see or hear media about climate change, we’re faced with images of destruction: natural disasters, crumbling infrastructure, rising global temperatures and falling levels of polar ice. And sadly, those are all realities - but there’s another reality, too. The communities coming together to envision, work for, and implement a better and brighter future. To close out Earth Month, we spoke to two people in our community about the role that connection, art, and joy play in the climate sector.
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At CSI, we're proud to share a common, core value with all of our members - putting people and planet first. And so, it should come as no surprise that our members have a lot going on for Earth Month! From mindfulness retreats to individual actions to statements on human rights, there are a variety of ways to get involved with our members' work this April.
A group of CSI Community Animators is gathered around the large table in the CSI Spadina ground floor kitchen
Happy International Women's Day to all the women-identifying folks out there! CSI is a women-led organization, and just over 50% of our staff identify as women, so it's safe to say that at CSI, we're celebrating women all year long. Today, we asked our staff to highlight some of the women who inspire us every day. Here are the people whose cultural, social, economic, or political achievements inspire, encourage, and motivate us to continue putting people and planet first.

Part of the CSI Connects Initiative

CSI Connects helps you build the relationships and collaborations to make change happen. Come to learn, share, make friends and allies. It’s as much about learning as it is about fostering belonging, cohesion and community resilience.

Homelessness & Hygiene Lab

Pipes on a white brick wall

helping those who need it most

In the months since the COVID-19 related economic shutdown, the homeless population of Toronto has more than doubled. People are reluctant to enter shelters because it is difficult to maintain six feet of physical distance from others, and they are concerned about the probability of contracting COVID-19 in such close quarters. This has led to an increase in the number of homeless encampments across the city, encampments that do not have access to washroom facilities, laundry, or clean water.

Concurrently, the measures put in place to combat the pandemic shut down most of the public spaces that people experiencing homelessness count on to access these facilities including libraries, cafes, and community centres. The City of Toronto has identified a need to provide these citizens with the hygiene facilities required to remain clean and healthy.

THE CHALLENGE

We are looking to build a socially responsible, community based solution to the issue of hygiene in homeless encampments. 

THE LAB

The City of Toronto and CSI are working together to facilitate a set of meetings between homelessness experts and social entrepreneurs. These meetings will outline the challenges associated with hygiene in homeless encampments, the intersecting issues that may arise from proposed solutions, and will allow entrepreneurs to work together to develop prototype solutions that can then be implemented and tested in the community. We anticipate three lab meetings scheduled in September and early October, with prototypes ready to be presented by the end of October 2020. 

Part of the CSI Solves Initiative

At CSI, we use labs, social R&D and prototypes that identify new and improved models that can transform existing paradigms and reveal market opportunities. Learn more about our approach here.

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Every One Every Day

Making our neighbourhood better, one project at a time!

The CSI Institute has teamed up with Every One. Every Day. in London, England to share the Our Neighbourhood project. 

Our Neighbourhood Workshops and Project Starter Kits help you build practical projects in your neighbourhood, like planting trees or planning a community celebration. Each kit is focussed on practical project ideas, like planting trees or planning a community celebration. These projects enable neighbours to gather and learn from each other.

Download the Our Neighbourhood Program Booklet for more information.

About Our Neighbourhood Starter Kits

There are four project starter kits that you can work on with your neighbours, while remaining at a safe physical distance, and in your own home.

These kits are perfect for a group of neighbours who want to participate in something, make social connections, and work on projects that strengthen our neighbourhood.

Each of the Our Neighbourhood Starter Kits include materials, equipment, training, support, and helpful hints and tips! Materials can include anything from soil and pots, to bee hives, to seed packets.

The starter kits are a way for you to join with a mini-neighbourhood social ecosystem to plan and execute projects that will help make our community better and stronger.

There are different-sized kits for different-sized groups of people. Each of these kits have a minimum of 3 people, and can accommodate groups of up to 15 (depending on the kit). If you want to join but don’t know other people who would like to start these projects, we can help you find more people in your neighbourhood.

Kit List

Our Neighbourhood Pollinates: build beehives and plant pollinator gardens

Our Neighbourhood Reads: children’s stories and activity programming

Our Neighbourhood Blooms: beautifying our community with bulbs and blooms

Our Neighbourhood Stories: collect and share stories of our vibrant neighbourhood

Download the Our Neighbourhood Booklet now for more information!

Making our neighbourhood better, one project at a time.

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Part of the CSI Solves Initiative

The CSI Institute Create helps creates labs, Challenges, and prototypes that demonstrate new models & solutions are possible. Learn more about the approach here.