What Talent and Skills are Needed for a “Canada Strong” Innovation Ecosystem?

At the 2025 Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC), leaders from across Canada came together to explore a simple but urgent question: What kinds of talent and skills do we need to build a truly “Canada Strong” innovation ecosystem?

Hosted by the Canadian Collaborative for Society, Innovation and Policy, the panel brought together voices from research, social innovation, municipalities, skills development and work-integrated learning:

• Moderator:

  Sandra Lapointe, McMaster University

• Speakers:

  Andrea Nemtin (Social Innovation Canada), Karen Racicot (Federation of Canadian Municipalities), Sandra Boisvert (Universities Canada), Tricia Williams (Future Skills Centre), Sylvie Lamoureux (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council), Rahina Zarma (Mitacs)

Together, they painted a picture of an innovation system that is about more than technology and GDP. It is about wellbeing, prosperity and inclusion in communities across the country.

From Credentials to Capabilities

Canada is one of the most highly educated countries in the OECD, yet continues to face a long-standing productivity and innovation gap. Panelists agreed that one reason is our strong focus on credentials instead of clearly articulated skills and capabilities.

Universities are still very effective at building foundational skills such as critical thinking and learning how to learn. Employers and communities now also need graduates who can:

• Work across disciplines, sectors and cultures

• Communicate in plain language with non-experts

• Navigate multilingual environments and diverse worldviews

• Move from diagnosing problems to co-creating solutions

The panel stressed that these abilities must be treated as core learning outcomes in graduate and professional education, not as optional add-ons.

Innovation Needs Collaboration, Not Silos

Speakers highlighted that real innovation rarely comes from a single lab or company. It emerges from collaboration among academics, industry, governments, Indigenous organizations, non-profits and communities.

Andrea Nemtin described three clusters of skills that show up repeatedly in successful social and environmental innovation:

1. Relational infrastructure Building trust, practising equity, listening to lived experience and holding space for different perspectives.

2. Lab and process skills Facilitation, systems thinking, design methods and futures tools that help people map complex problems and prototype solutions.

3. Scaling and systems change Policy literacy, strategy, entrepreneurship, coalition building and the ability to attract and manage capital so that good ideas do not die in the “valley of death”.

These capabilities are as relevant to municipal climate action and housing as they are to energy and cleantech.

Underused Talent and Under-Resourced Ecosystems

The discussion also surfaced important system challenges:

• Only about one in five PhD graduates will work in academia, yet most programs still assume a traditional academic path.

• Many small and medium-sized enterprises and non-profits do not have the resources or confidence to hire advanced degree holders or partner with universities.

• The social sector, which delivers critical services from food security to health, often operates on short-term project funding with little room to experiment or fail.

At the same time, municipalities are being asked to solve some of Canada’s most complex problems, including climate resilience, housing and infrastructure, often without the tools and talent typically associated with senior levels of government.

Promising Pathways and the Role of Work-Integrated Learning

Initiatives such as Mitacs internships and work-integrated learning programs are already helping connect students and researchers with industry, public sector and community partners. The panel called for these models to be scaled and adapted, particularly for social purpose organizations and smaller communities that cannot easily co-fund placements.

Examples from the United Kingdom and Canada show the potential of:

• Cohort-based doctoral training that combines disciplinary depth with industry-defined challenges

• Embedded training in science communication, design thinking and basic business skills

• Programs co-designed with employers that blend policy, economics, communications and technical expertise

Why This Matters for Energy and Cleantech

For CRIN and our partners, the message from this conversation is clear. A Canada Strong innovation ecosystem for energy and cleantech will not be built by technology alone. It will be built by people who can:

• Work across sectors and disciplines

• Centre communities and equity in the design of solutions

• Navigate complex systems and drive change inside them