EDGE UP (Energy to Digital Growth Education and Upskilling Project) is a multi-stakeholder program launched in Calgary in 2019 to test new approaches to skills development for workers to re-engage with technology jobs being created in all sectors of Calgary’s economy. The EDGE UP 2.0 program is led by Calgary Economic Development and delivered in partnership with the Information and Communications Technology Council, University of Calgary Continuing Education, SAIT, Bow Valley College, Mount Royal University, and Riipen. The program targets professionals displaced from the structural change in the oil and gas sector. Students are trained for in-demand information technology jobs including data analysts, full-stack software developers, information technology project managers, cybersecurity analysts, UI/UX Designers, Digital Marketing, etc. Details on the NEW EDGE UP 2.0 program and how to apply will be available June 2021. 

BIPOC entrepreneurs and BIPOC-led organizations in Atlantic Canada are forming strategic partnerships with incubators and accelerators as part of a co-operative effort to dismantle historical systemic barriers built even higher by the pandemic.

Hubs of Innovation: A playbook for place leaders was created in collaboration with the UK Innovation Districts Group, with research led by The Business of Cities and is designed for place-leaders, anchor institutions and larger stakeholders who play key roles in the innovation sector. The report provides guidance to those at different stages of maturity in developing innovation hubs and draws on best practices from existing hubs such as MediaCityUK in Salford, the Belfast Innovation District, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London and the Knowledge Quarter in Liverpool.

The organization, created by a Toronto-based web developer, shares up-to-date information on Twitter and Discord about eligibility and vaccine clinic locations across the country, and many have been using it to navigate the confusing process of booking appointments and getting that first dose. Volunteers monitor public health portals, vaccine clinic websites and tips from the account’s followers.

Through the pilot, Deliverect’s solution will connect UberEats, Doordash, SkipTheDishes, and other delivery companies directly to restaurants’ POS system in order to automate the online order process. Deliverect’s platform aims to alleviate the requirement to have staff maintain multiple tablets for delivery orders, reducing mistakes and wait times for customers. At least 100 independently-owned restaurants are expected to receive free access to the platform for 90 days through the pilot. The program seeks to pilot solutions that target challenges facing main street small businesses.

They achieve this through increasing the pool of professional early-stage investors, educating entrepreneurs on fundraising best practices, and sustaining long-term relationships across all stakeholders.  They raise funds through weekly happy hour events or “beer sponsorship”.

All drivers will be required to take the same strict COVID precautions, and will be masked while doing deliveries.

Independently owned restaurants, service businesses, retailers, tour operators and experience providers have continued to make Edmonton a place to be proud of, even when business could no longer operate as usual. In fact, many of Edmonton’s trailblazing entrepreneurs have found a way to give back to the community while working to keep their local businesses afloat during these uncertain times. Read on to learn more about the inspiring Edmontonians behind local businesses, and how they are stepping up through creative thinking and a spirit of community. Click here for even more entrepreneurs who are making a difference.

1. Use empty retail spaces and 1st & 2nd floors to encourage independent shops and to incubate a recycle, repair and regenerate artisanal industry to create a healthy mix of well-designed work/live spaces.
2. Use available micro spaces to set up pocket parks, as in cities such as Tokyo, Barcelona and San Francisco.
3. Convert more streets to pedestrian use only, widen pavements on shared streets, and create better links to public transport.
4. Strengthen alliances with other like-minded groups in Bradford to engage with Council to ensure a generous level of consultation well before important planning decisions are made.
5. Work with community groups in Bradford to create activity spaces that can be enjoyed by all the city’s communities.
6. Join with other groups to exchange ideas and learn from experiences.

Are you interested in creating (or hosting) a pop-up but are not sure where to start?

In the wake of COVID-19 Wallplay has created a toolkit on how vacant spaces can be repurposed for public good. Wallplay has been facilitating pop-ups since 2013, we helped pioneer the “vacant space as pop-up venue” model and we are excited to share what we’ve learned.

VisitorBay is a digital visitor management tool that allows for an automated sign-in process that is more secure than traditional paper methods. Before COVID-19, the company launched a digital registration system for clients that would see the end of paper sign-in sheets left out in the open for all to see. A few weeks into COVID-19, company founders Brett Carrier and Ricardo Casanova knew there was an opportunity to adapt their product to help companies.

The City of Ottawa’s Innovation Pilot Program (IPP), managed by Economic Development Services (EDS), is shifting its focus towards COVID-19 economic recovery efforts. This new focus, the Recovery Stream, provides companies the opportunity to test and quickly deploy their technology innovations in real-life testing environments with the City or one of its economic development partners. The program provides companies with valuable feedback on their innovations, prior to scaling and production.

To help keep the community engaged and to ensure the Fox Theatre in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood will still be in business once the virus restrictions are lifted, a fundraising campaign was started by the theatre. For $150, plus taxes, community could purchase a plaque with their name on it to be put on seats at the historic theatre. The Fox posted information about the sale on their website and within a short amount of time all 251 seats were “sold”. The theatre later sold naming rights for other parts of the building.

A restaurant in Dallas is coping with the pandemic by leveraging Better Block’s approach to adaptive urbanism. The Better Block crew had constructed several wooden market stalls that were going to be used for a pop-up outdoor market in the Allen project. Now, they’ve used them to turn Oddfellows into an actual outdoor market, stocking the shelves with the restaurant’s stock and selling neighbors staples that may be difficult to find at the stores that remain open.

The simple device from a small Coquitlam fabrication company enables two people to carry out a transaction two metres apart.

Proposals can address issues pertaining to supply, administrative support, people management, sales systems or other areas. The implemented solutions will help small businesses deal with the challenges from COVID-19.

A Mi’kmaq run non profit agency is using 3-D printing technology to make medical supplies for health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 3-D printers are normally in classrooms across Nova Scotia but are now in Halifax printing protective equipment that may be in short supply for isolated communities.

Vancouver artists are working together during the COVID-19 pandemic to create some beauty through public murals. Much of the city’s busiest areas have turned into ghost towns and storefronts are being boarded up. But the Vancouver Mural Festival (VMF) is commissioning artists to transform those fronts with temporary works of art.

More than 50 people who used to work in Bruce County’s libraries and museums have been asked if they could work with seniors instead. To date, the former librarians and archivists have just been screening people as they enter the nursing homes, but they’ll soon be trained to take residents to meals, clean bed pans, organize rooms, and eventually, even answer some call bells.

Through a partnership with Folding@home, four of the RPL’s servers and five computers from its Digital Media Studio are hard at work crunching data that scientists around the world are using to research COVID-19.

In Toronto, nine TPL branches have been converted into food distribution centers in the past few weeks, in partnership with three local food banks. In Montreal the Grande Bibliothèque, the largest library in Quebec has been transformed into a daytime respite space for homeless people.

With public libraries across Canada suddenly shuttered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, library leaders and workers across the country are quickly adapting to still serve people, primarily online. This article describes some of the initiatives across the country of libraries or library staff.

When clients visit a food bank at a TPL branch, library staff will add an age-appropriate book for each child in a family who is interested. TPL’s food banks have been set up in partnership with North York Harvest Food Bank, Daily Bread Food Bank and Second Harvest in nine library branches across the city.

Eateries now selling pantry staples and toilet paper as dining rooms remain shut

Mustang Survival and Arc’teryx are working with other companies to provide 90,000 gowns in coming weeks.

Featuring companies retooling to produce protective screens, social distancing dots, personal protective equipment, and driving services.

The project has attracted a small army of developers, engineers and designers, all looking to help fight the pandemic. It has also brought in wedding decorators, seamstresses, film set builders, high schoolers, lifeguards, electricians, illustrators, event planners and auto-glass installers, who just want to pitch in however they can.

The online platform helps connect Canadian tech job seeker with employers; provides industry resources to transition to tech/work from home, and serves as a place for industry supporters to share their services, sessions, resources, etc.

Starting Tuesday, 100,000 medical-grade surgical masks will be rolling off the assembly line daily. Once the second machine arrives, he will be able to produce 100,000 N95 respirators a day as well.