Research Impact Canada is a pan-Canadian community of practice focused on helping universities and other research organizations across the country maximize the impact of research to benefit their communities.
In 2019, Research Impact Canada was brought on to support knowledge mobilization for the Future Skills Centre and to help foster a network of innovative partners in the skills and workforce development sector preparing Canadians for the future of work.
As part of this partnership with the Future Skills Centre, Research Impact Canada is helping to support a Community of Practice focused on skills and training development. We bring together a pan-Canadian community to encourage the adoption of effective workplace and learning practices across the skills development and training sector.
RESEARCH IMPACT CANADA SPRING 2023 OFFERINGS
Note: Activities can take place in-person or online. You can participate in live Zoom meetings, access resources on-demand, or participate in online discussion forums anytime. The Community of Practice allows all participants to connect with others, access tools and resources, and advance their learning.
As part of the CoP, Research Impact Canada is co-organizing offerings in the following areas.
Connecting People to People
Meet people across the country who are preparing Canadians for the future of work, and participate in peer learning and exchange.
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Peer Learning Groups (PLGs)
PLGs provide an opportunity for you to connect with and learn from similar people and organisations across diverse sectors and industries. These sessions will focus on themes that have emerged across our network as common interests and challenges.
PLG Resources:
- Influencing Public Policy and Connecting with Policymakers(opens in a new tab)
- Telling Compelling Stories of Change and Impact(opens in a new tab)
- Measuring and Evaluating Impact(opens in a new tab)
Upcoming Sessions:
Using Evidence for Impact (in partnership with Blueprint(opens in a new tab))
Tuesday, March 21
11:00am to 12:30pm ET
This session examines the constraints and challenges around generating evidence and how data is used to demonstrate impact, reach the right people and inform success in your program. Participants will also hear about strategies and tools that help an organization to communicate impact, ways of adapting data to inform program design and change, and case studies from organizations that use data to convey their impact.
Register(opens in a new tab)
Professional Development Toolbox Series – Storytelling with purpose for impact!
March 30, 2023
12PM ET
Sharing a story to demonstrate the effectiveness of your work can assist you in obtaining the support required to bring your idea to life. By attending this workshop, you can learn how to create an impactful story that advances the effectiveness of your work, using tips, tools, and resources provided.
After participating, you can expect to:
– Gain a better understanding of your audience and engage them in the storytelling process
– Be able to identify the elements that make compelling stories
– Increase your awareness of strategies and tools that can help you develop stories that call for action
Register
Connecting People to Knowledge
Access curated products, case studies, and tools with actionable insights and innovative practices
Insight Bytes are short, engaging pieces of online content that discuss new and interesting topics in the world of data. The purpose of Insight Bytes is to encourage skills and employment service practitioners to think about data from different perspectives and to promote evidence-based decision making and use of data in organizational practices. Some examples can be found below.
Water Cooler Chats are weekly posts, highlighting current or topical issues and conversations which will promote and connect people to knowledge by linking to aligned FSC research or projects


Connecting People to Learning
Learn from experts, access learning supports, and participate in professional development opportunities on relevant and timely topics
Stay tuned for information about upcoming offerings.
The Future Skills Community of Practice
Connecting a community of people who are helping Canadians gain the skills they need to thrive in a changing labour market
The term ‘Community of Practice’ refers to a community of people who share a common interest, have similar goals, and who come together to learn, share, and achieve individual and group objectives. As the world of work rapidly changes, many organizations across the country are working on improving skills development and training services to help Canadians transition.
The Future Skills Community of Practice is a network of diverse partners in the skills development and training ecosystem who are working to help Canadians recognize the skills they need and how to get them. The Community of Practice is an active and growing network of 1400+ stakeholders, including researchers, non-governmental organizations, and training services providers. We invite anyone interested in skills training, labour market research, and the future of work to join.

Want to learn more about any of these initiatives?
Sign up for the Future Skills Centre Community of Practice Monthly Newsletter(opens in a new tab) to to stay up to date on upcoming Community of Practice events, innovative programs, news and resources to support your organization. We will cover topics like navigating in-demand skills, community engagement, building partnerships, and so much more. We look forward to connecting with you!
For more information about any of these initiatives, you can also contact Trudy Button (tbutton@yorku.ca) Manager, Stakeholder Engagement for Skills Innovation at Research Impact Canada.