Publications & Thought Leadership

Society faces challenges and uncertainties that threaten social cohesion and community well-being in Canada and around the world. Advanced education institutions are uniquely positioned to invent and scale the solutions needed to enable a better quality of life for all of society within planetary thresholds. Many of these solutions can be found in their existing assets and capacities, which, when directed at building social infrastructure, can reveal the pathway for citizens and their institutions to thrive. Since 2017 a group of 30 presidents (the Canadian University Presidents Social Impact Collaboration) created several tools, resources, and connections to leverage these assets and capacities to scale their social impact and put Canada on a more sustainable course. Ten Actions to Accelerate University Social Impact summarizes the results of these efforts, organized into President and Administrator Engagement. Ten Actions to Accelerate University Social Impact includes ten actions presidents and their teams can take right away for greater impact. It sets out ten quick starts university presidents and their teams can pursue to accelerate their institutions as a greater force for good.

Ten Actions to Accelerate University Social Impact includes links to a number of resources and calls to action to university leaders to scale up their social impact:

• Foundational paper
• Presidents’ Vision Document
• Social Infrastructure Framework
• Social Impact Continuum of Practice
• Integrating Social Infrastructure into Institutional Strategic Planning Guideline
• Social Impact Decision Tool
• Integrating Social Infrastructure into Campus Infrastructure
• Creation of a 2040 Vision for the Engaged Administrator
• Administrator Leadership in Community Engagement
• Employee Social Purpose Lifecycle
• Social Purpose Resource Kit for Administrators

Ten Actions to Accelerate University Social Impact is a comprehensive resource for social impact university professionals who seek to harness their institutions to put society on a sustainable footing.