--- title: "The Non-Profit's Dilemma: Innovate or Perish" description: With no place to hide from change, the next decade will bring unprecedented transformation to Canada's non-profits. image: https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Engage/Draimen_Engage.png --- [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=200&height=47&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) # The Non-Profit's Dilemma: Innovate or Perish Posted on April 13, 2016 [By Tim Draimin](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/tim-draimin) - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) With no place to hide from change, the next decade will bring unprecedented transformation to Canada's non-profits. This metamorphosis will be driven by metrics unleashed by open data; new behavioural insights; deepening new technology penetration; demographic shifts (e.g. aging population's service demands, millennials assuming workplace leadership; generative partnership approaches; and, revamped government commissioning of contracted services (Gs+Cs). Will the resulting innovation, supported by [Social R&D](http://bit.ly/1EB8RKA), be the exclusive domain of *new* upstart non-profits and social enterprise hybrids? Or, will we also see an expansion of *existing* organizations intentionally and systematically leveraging their deep front-line experience to reshape programs and better tackle root causes? Non-profits that are keen to innovative and accelerate their impact are fortunate that there are many excellent resources now available to guide this journey. A leading example is the [DIY Toolkit](http://diytoolkit.org/) assembled for a global audience by a team at the United Kingdom's innovation foundation [Nesta](http://www.nesta.org.uk/). [SiG](http://www.sigeneration.ca/) and [Innoweave](http://www.innoweave.ca/) are two Canadian organizations that collaborate with Nesta and DIY. Nesta, formerly the government-created National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, is an international powerhouse that became an independent charity in 2012. Several years ago, SiG and MaRS hosted Nesta's CEO and well-known social innovation thought leader, Geoff Mulgan, for [various presentations](http://bit.ly/1XUveEH). DIY has scoured the world and reviewed hundreds of tools to be able to curate and assemble a [downloadable set of practical tools](http://bit.ly/21KV8fk) to help trigger and support social innovation. The tools are organized around [Nesta's seven stage framework for innovation](http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/innovation-flowchart). The well-developed field of mainstream innovation dates back well over a century. While [the *term* "social innovation" has been actively used for 200 years](http://www.csiic.ca/PDF/SocialInnovation_2012.pdf), the *field* is only several decades old. Nesta's online DIY Toolkit blends mainstream and social innovation resources, organizing and presenting them in an agile, informative and accessible way that empowers social change innovators to pursue formulaic or iterative approaches for achieving greater impact. On Wednesday May 18th I will be exploring these DIY tools and their application in a with Nesta's [Brenton Caffin](http://www.nesta.org.uk/users/brenton-caffin), who leads the ongoing development and deployment of the DIY Toolkit. I hope you'll be able to join this dialogue! **Learn More:** - Attend [*Gearing Up for Social Impact*](http://events.tamarackcommunity.org/webinar-nesta-social-impact?__hstc=163327267.4303eb40d3d341254eb6c6662d2b4554.1458820801947.1460492144764.1460540766462.53&__hssc=163327267.1.1460540766462&__hsfp=1310597954&hsLang=en-us) a webinar on May 18 @ noon EST with Tim Draimin of Social Innovation Generation and Brenton Caffin of Nesta - Learn more about [Social Innovation Generation](http://www.sigeneration.ca/) - Read [*Systemic Innovation: A Discussion Series*](http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/systemic-innovation-discussion-series) by Geoff Mulgan and Charles Leadbeater - Check out Nesta CEO Geoff Mulgan's writing on [Collaboration and Collective Impact](http://bit.ly/1UPYBKd), February 1, 2016 - Discover Nesta's [ Alliance for Useful Evidence](http://www.nesta.org.uk/project/alliance-useful-evidence), an open network and forum to champion the use of evidence in decision making for social policy and practice - Read Nesta's [*Making the Change*](http://bit.ly/1SmYfHC): *Behavioural factors in person and community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing* Topics: [Collaborative Leadership](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/collaborative-leadership), [Tim Draimin](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/topic/tim-draimin) ![Tim Draimin](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Headshots/Team_Headshots/2015_Tim_Draimin_Edited.jpg) ### By [Tim Draimin](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/tim-draimin) Tim is the Executive Director of Social Innovation Generation (SIG) National. SiG is a partnership of The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District, and the University of Waterloo. SiG acts a catalyst for strengthening the enabling ecosystem for social innovations to be able to go to scale and generate whole system change. In 2010 SiG convened the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance, a blue ribbon panel that proposed a seven-point agenda for mobilizing private capital for public good influencing federal, provincial and municipal policy across Canada. Tim was the founding CEO of Tides Canada Foundation and serves on the boards Trico Charitable Foundation, Social Innovation Exchange (SIX), Partnership Brokers Association (PBA), and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Grand Challenges Canada (GCC). Tim is a senior advisor to the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing (CII). ## Related Posts [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Next%20Steps%20written%20on%20desert%20road.jpeg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/design-for-change-6-lenses-strategy?hsLang=en-us) #### [Design for Change: 6 Lenses Strategy](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/design-for-change-6-lenses-strategy?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/2022_ttcblog_featuredimage2.png)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/building-trust-in-a-virtual-world?hsLang=en-us) #### [Building Trust in a Virtual World](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/building-trust-in-a-virtual-world?hsLang=en-us) [![](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/elena-rouame-tools.jpg)](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/tools-for-2022?hsLang=en-us) #### [Tools for 2022: Tamarack’s Top 10 Resources published in 2021](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/tools-for-2022?hsLang=en-us) [![BACK TO THE LATEST](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829.png)](http://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/316071/e6ffa9bb-4467-4833-8ecc-eb340b11d829) [![20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hs-fs/hubfs/Administration/Tamarack%20Logos/20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png?width=3401&name=20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange.png "20yrLogo-2_WhiteOrange")](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) ### Tamarack [Home](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/?hsLang=en-us) [Latest](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest) [Events](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/eventlisting?hsLang=en-us) [Donate](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/donate?hsLang=en-us) [About](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/whoweare?hsLang=en-us) ### Follow Us [** ** ](https://www.facebook.com/TamarackInstitute) [** ** ](https://twitter.com/Tamarack_Inst) [** ** ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tamarack-institute-for-community-engagement)   In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth we honour and acknowledge that our work occurs across Turtle Island (North America), which has been home since time immemorial to the ancestors of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples. ### Subscribe Be in the know. 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