A Nation of Innovators: Why Not?
John Stackhouse
Senior Vice-President, Office of the CEO, Royal Bank of Canada. Host of Disruptors, an RBC podcast
The federal government recently put out a splashy report called A Nation of Innovators. Turns out, that may be more aspirational than we’d like.
The Rideau Hall Foundation, which is tracking Canada’s record of innovation, has developed a new index, and it’s not giving us top marks. According to the Culture of Innovation Index, we’re a B- nation. The foundation surveyed Canadians on a range of factors it believes drive innovation, and gave us a score of 71 out of 100. That means we’re neither “driving” nor “trailing."
The foundation scored Canada on six variables: diversity (79), collaboration (79), risk tolerance (76), creativity (68), openness to technology (60), and curiosity (58). The poor scoring on curiosity may be the most troubling finding.
Among the findings:
- We don’t recognize our innovators. Even though two-thirds of respondents read business news, only 20% recalled seeing news on innovation in the past month
- 61% agree we’re risk averse
- Men are more inclined to believe innovation should be led by the private sector. Women tend to see government as a lead player
- Canadians like new technology but don’t like to pay for it
- Gen Z are the most positive on Canada’s prospects: 35% think we’re innovative. That compares to 23% among Millennials and 29% for Boomers
David Johnston, the former governor general and champion of the report, likes to say that we all learn as kids to ask “why,” yet as adults we’re not encouraging Canadians to ask “why not?”
He fears we suffer from “a culture of complacency,” unaware that good no longer cuts it globally.
If the fundamental problem is ambition, Johnston believes we need to focus much more on our schools — and to double down on teachers. “We have to help our young people find the heroes to teach them to ask why — and why not.”
Certified Leadership & Career Coach | Connect & Collaborate | HYPE Your People | Authenticity Matters
5 年Innovation arises from radical collaboration. And creating a supportive network of diverse knowledge and perspectives. Ideas are the easy part. Making them real is tough. We’re moving in the right direction. To bump up our scorecard globally requires more focus and collaboration then ever among the private, corporate and public sectors.
Benchmarking is step one in understanding how & where to improve ! Step Two is to look past top rated countries and ask "In the ideal world..."
Helping Companies Grow in the Climate Future | B Corp CEO | Impact and ESG Strategist | Lecturer | Podcast Host
5 年We greatly appreciate the work and thought RBC puts towards youth! It certainly makes a massive difference for us at LOI - League of Innovators?working with the youth we work with!
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt | Project Manager | OKRMPC | CAP | Data Analytics | Human Centric | Consulting | Continuous Improvement | Career Development |
5 年Completely agree Patrick :) believing in yourself is the first step I accomplishing anything !!! Mind over manner :)
VP & Deputy Managing Director Credit, Canadian Private Banking
5 年Very though provoking, why not; as kids we are all told if we put our minds to It, we can accomplish anything. The fundamental question therefore is, what has changed?