New Centre for Research and Innovation at the Ontario College of Art and Design

Strategic Innovation Lab (sLab) is a new centre for research and innovation affiliated with the Faculty of Design at the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD). Located in Will Alsop’s landmark Sharp Centre for Design at 100 McCaul Street in Toronto, sLab builds on the groundwork of the Beal Institute for Strategic Creativity, founded in 2005.

Strategic Innovation Lab operates on a model that integrates academic research, professional engagement, education and skills development for stakeholders in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. sLab is a growing community of researchers and practitioners, design and business professionals, teachers and students, who are passionate about envisioning possible futures.

Our work investigates the intersections of human behaviour, new technologies and organizational capacities. We develop and apply strategic foresight, design research, visualization and prototyping methodologies in order to clarify and feed the front end of the innovation process. From our base within Canada’s largest and oldest university of art and design, we combine deep experience in imaginative and visual thinking with skills in interdisciplinary collaboration, business analysis and strategic planning.