MaRS Discovery District

Background

Innovative companies that are building Canada’s future. From helping entrepreneurs launch and grow high-impact ventures to capturing global market opportunities for our ventures, MaRS focuses its work on three main sectors: Information & Communications Technology (ICT), Cleantech, and Health. In addition, social innovation is an overarching area of focus at MaRS. The social innovation team works alongside the other sector teams, helping provide a social innovation lens to MaRS venture clients that identify a social mission.

Full Description

This initiative will have four phases: discovery, development, incubation, and implementation. A grant from the Foundation will support the following:

• an office at MaRS Discovery District, Canada’s largest innovation hub
• professional staff – skilled in systems transformation and social innovation – to provide thought leadership
• outreach across Canada, engaging service providers and recipients: businesses, and local, regional, national and international networks and collaborators, as well as civil society partners already operating in this sector
• training, assessment and reporting on progress
• a technology platform for accessing tools and resources and to facilitate matches
• a national, bilingual, high-visibility social media campaign