Allyson Hewitt
Director, SiG@MaRS and Director, Social Entrepreneurship | MaRS Discovery District
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Creating the conditions that expand the realm of entrepreneurship so it incorporates a strong social component is what SiG@MaRS achieves
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Biography
A seasoned nonprofit leader with many social innovations to her credit, Allyson currently leads the social innovation program at MaRS that includes the creation of Social Innovation Generation (SiG@MaRS) along with partners across the country. This program develops capacity in the field of social innovation and social entrepreneurship; provides advisory services to social entrepreneurs and helps transform systems for greater impact.
Allyson comes to MaRS from SickKids where, as the Executive Director of Safe Kids Canada, she was a passionate advocate in preventing injuries to children. Prior to that, Allyson was the Executive Director of Community Information Toronto, an agency that brings people and services together. In this capacity she helped lead the development of 211, providing three-digit and online access to social service, community and government information. For this work she was awarded the Head of the Public Service Award, as sponsored by HRDC and several other prestigious awards for meritorious public service.
Allyson has been leading and volunteering in not-for-profit organizations for over 20 years, including shelters for homeless youth and battered women. Her academic background is in Criminology, Law, Public Affairs, Voluntary Sector Management and Leading Change.
She has a BA in Criminology, a degree in Law, a diploma in Public Affairs and post graduate certification in Voluntary Sector Management and Leading Change/Organizational Development.
Industry Expertise (3)
Non-Profit/Charitable
Fund-Raising
Social Services
Areas of Expertise (9)
Corporate Social Responsibility
Stakeholder Engagement
Social Entrepreneurship
Social Innovation
Social Finance
Nonprofit Management
Fundraising
Social Enterprise
Community Development
Accomplishments (5)
Executive Director, Safe Kids Canada, The Hospital for Sick Children (professional)
Executive Director, Community Information Toronto (professional)
Executive Director, Safe Kids Canada, Hospital for Sick Children (professional)
Director, Social Entrepreneurship & SiG@MaRS – MaRS Discovery District (professional)
2007-11-01
Social Innovation Generation (SiG) is a group who believes that serious social problems can be solved. In order to nurture the health, resilience and vibrancy of our linked social, economic and ecological systems SiG will work to develop a "living laboratory" of social experiments that have the potential to achieve system change and improve the well-being of Canadians. Our aim is to search for solutions that engage the creativity and resources of all sectors.
Steering Committee Member – Ontario Centres of Excellences' Social Innovation Program (professional)
Ontario Centres of Excellences' Social Innovation Program brings together members of Ontario’s business community with not-for-profit organizations and social enterprises to collaborate on projects that lead to innovative products, services and business models. The program is designed to build new and enhance existing partnerships between Ontario industry, academia and the not-for-profit and social enterprise sectors.
Education (5)
Carleton University: BA, Criminology & Corrections
Carleton University: Law 1985
York University: Graduate Certificate, Voluntary Sector Management 1992
Algonquin College: Diploma (incomplete), Public Affairs
University of Toronto: Graduate Certificate, Leading Change 2002
Links (9)
- MaRS Discovery District
- SiG@MaRS
- MaRS Centre for Impact Investing
- Entrepreneurship: Two women from MaRS
- MaRS, creating opportunities for clusters to thrive
- Jack Layton and social innovation: A tribute
- Changing systems by changing ourselves
- Blending social and economic outcomes
- A Made-in-Ontario Definition of Social Innovation
Event Appearances (16)
Shared Value and what it means for the non-profit sector
MaRS Event Series Webinar
2011-11-16
Social Innovation Generation @ MaRS
10 Carden Social Innovator Speaker Series Guelph, Ontario
2011-04-15
What Social Innovation Means to Durham Region
Exploring Social Innovation in Durham Whitby, Ontario
2011-05-05
Panel Moderator: Meet the Entrepreneurs – Social innovation
Entrepreneurship 101 Event Series MaRS Discovery District, Toronto
2010-12-15
KEYNOTE SPEECH: Innovation & Resilience
Innovation & Resilience for Nonprofits: A Community Conversation & Forum London, Ontario
2010-05-07
KEYNOTE SPEECH
Open Ottawa Libre Ottawa, Ontario
2011-09-28
Keys to the Collaborative City
Creative Places + Spaces: The Collaborative City Conference MaRS Discovery District, Toronto
2009-10-30
On Line Collaboration Initiatives
2012 Guelph Technology Economy Conference Guelph, Ontario
2012-01-17
KEYNOTE SPEECH: Innovation for Community Change
Northwestern Ontario Innovation Centre Speaker Series Thunder Bay, Ontario
2011-12-06
Putting the Social in Ontario's Innovation Program: A Regional Story
Ontario Centres of Excellence Discovery 12 Toronto, Ontario
2012-05-15
Panel Moderator – Social Finance: From Theory to Practice
PFC Conference – Changing Philanthropy: New Visions, New Voices Toronto, Ontario
2011-10-04
KEYNOTE SPEECH: The Social Innovation Ecosystem in Ontario
The Association of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research Annual Conference University of Waterloo, Ontario
2012-05-30
Social Innovation Generation
Open Minds Speaker Series MaRS Discovery District, Toronto
2012-02-02
Social Entrepreneurs in Action: Insights from the Front Lines
QSB Centre for Responsible Leadership’s Discovery Learning Workshops Toronto, Ontario
2012-09-21
HowTo.gov: Crowd-sourced Wikis in Government
GSA's DigitalGov University Workshop Series Webinar
2011-11-07
People-led Policy Development
Roadmap: 2030 Toronto, Ontario
2011-10-26
Sample Talks (5)
Social Innovation Generation @ MaRS
Allyson will share her insights and discoveries from her years at the helm of SIG@MaRS and lead the workshop in a dialogue about the broad social/economic and environmental impacts stemming from the rapidly expanding social innovation and social entrepreneurship sectors in Toronto and across Canada.
Social Innovation: Helping us “do good” better!
Allyson will talk about social innovation (new ways to address old social problems), social finance (new ways of funding this important work), and social entrepreneurship (the people working to make money and make a difference).
Convergence Innovation
Innovation can happen anywhere but it accelerates on the margins. With this premise in mind Allyson Hewitt, Director, Social Innovation Generation at the MaRS Discovery District or SiG@MaRS, will outline the experience of MaRS in promoting “convergence innovation”. She will describe the imperative to create a neutral space where all sectors are valued and how Canada is well positioned to not only jump on this train but to lead it.
Putting the Social in Ontario's Innovation Program: A Regional Story
From multinational corporations to not-for-profit organizations to new social entrepreneurs, finding new ways to address persistent social and environmental challenges while creating value and contributing to Ontario’s economy is everybody’s business. This workshop will present information about the opportunity for collaborating on social innovation from the perspective of the academic, community, health care and industry sectors.
Social Finance: From Theory to Practice
Foundations in Canada have been challenged by the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance to begin to invest more of their assets in ways that directly support their mission. This could be through program-related investments, investments in nonprofit loan funds or intermediaries, or equity investments in mission-related companies. This presentation will offer some practical examples of how innovative financing, driven by foundation investments, are making a difference in Canada.
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Host/MC
- Author Appearance
Social