Stories of Innovation

A Vision for the Future Visionary Beginnings and National Expansion of VIASOFTSince 1990, VIASOFT has been a pillar of innovation in Brazil, born from the vision of Itamir Viola and Roberto Elias da Silva. Originating in Pato Branco, a small city in Paraná, and initially focused on enterprise systems, the...

As a not-for-profit, national centre of expertise for the digital economy, ICTC strengthens Canada’s digital advantage in a global economy. Through trusted research, practical policy advice, and innovative capacity-building programs, ICTC fosters globally competitive Canadian industries empowered by innovative and diverse digital talent. In partnership with a vast network of...

Hexagram est un regroupement stratégique interuniversitaire des Fonds de recherche du Québec dédié à la recherche-création abordant les relations entre les arts, les cultures et les technologies. Fondé en 2001, le réseau regroupe aujourd’hui 45 membres chercheurs et environ 200 membres étudiants issus de 8 institutions d’enseignement supérieur au Québec...

The Miami DDA is committed to fulfilling its mission collaboratively, ethically and professionally, consistent with the Authority’s public purpose. The Miami Downtown Development Authority (Miami DDA) is an independent agency of the City of Miami funded by a special tax levy on properties within its district boundaries. The agency is...

Southwire’s roots extend back to 1937, when Roy Richards, Sr. started Richards & Associates (R&A) to erect power poles with the ultimate purpose of bringing electric light to his grandmother’s home. During its first two and a half years, R&A strung 3,500 miles of cable, becoming the nation’s second-largest Rural...

Two decades after the first laws around human trafficking were created, the Human Trafficking Institute’s (HTI) founders noticed a gap in the global response to trafficking: these great laws were not being enforced. HTI stepped in to provide prosecutors and investigators around the world with the tools and guidance necessary...

Zero-emission communities require largescale electrification, retrofitting buildings, integrating renewable energy, developing sustainable mobility concepts, implementing green industry solutions, and transforming cities in a human-centered way. Furthermore, those next-generation communities should be affordable, mixed and inclusive, providing all essential services within walking distance. This also means easy access to green spaces,...

Depuis 2016, nous avons la conviction que la collaboration et la mutualisation des pratiques et des ressources (le mouvement) de tous ceux et celles qui par leur accompagnement permettent de réaliser en moins de temps qu’il n’en faudrait autrement (les accélérateurs), peuvent décupler l’impact des startups (l’innovation) de toutes les...

DOUG SMITH AND MELINDA D’ANTOUNO CREATED A PROGRESSIVE CUSTOMER-FOCUSED ACCOUNTING FIRM TO UNIQUELY ADDRESS THE FRUSTRATIONS OF SMALL BUSINESSES. In 2011, Doug and Melinda set out to start a new kind of CPA firm. They wanted to take a fresh look at the industry and create a firm that really...

A container village on Campus Drie Eiken, in which 30 volunteers took up residence to test polio vaccines, that was the setup for Poliopolis, a study at UAntwerpen conducted within a closed container village on campus, in 2017. To ensure proper follow-up, participants remained in quarantine for 28 days. The...

As the first and largest digital platform for finding in-home care, Sittercity, a Bright Horizons company, has come a long way since 2001. , We were the first to make online child care an employee benefit and we continue to connect millions of parents with babysitters and nannies every year....

The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation equips people, organizations, communities, and networks with tools to bridge divides, build capacity, and tackle shared challenges. By Turning Outward, people enable communities to become a collective force for change. Catalyzing HopeThe Harwood Institute exists in a long tradition of catalytic organizations throughout American...

Data science is having an impact across many industries globally. It is described as being a multidisciplinary field that extracts meaningful insights and knowledge from raw data by combining techniques from statistics, mathematics, computer science, and domain expertise to uncover patterns, build predictive models, and guide data-driven decision-making within organizations....

For 20 years, DEL (Développement économique de l’agglomération de Longueuil) has been supporting entrepreneurs and accelerating the realization of their business projects. How? By offering personalized business coaching, mostly free of charge. DEL’s objective is simple: to help businesses in the greater Longueuil area succeed through its services:• Innovation• Digitization...

Can a digital state be built from scratch with external expertise and support? B.EST Solutions has spent the past 15 years proving that it can. Founded with the mission of adapting Estonia’s pioneering digital state experience to new contexts, the company has become a trusted developer and operator of national...

At Nergica, we stimulate innovation in renewable energies through applied research, technical assistance, technology transfer and support services for businesses and communities. Our mission is to accelerate the development and adoption of renewable energies. We specialize in developing solutions for integrating renewable energies into the grid, optimizing the performance of...

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), long celebrated for its rugged coastlines, vibrant culture, and rich history, is transforming into a thriving tech powerhouse. At the forefront of this evolution is techNL, a not-for-profit industry association with a bold mission to accelerate the growth of NL’s tech sector and position it as...

Trapper, Ali and I had lived through building and operating live games like Star Trek Timelines, investing millions to build up the infrastructure to enable it. We didn’t think anyone should have to do all of that again. Our team has a unique background that includes not only making games—but...

Coral Gables was founded on innovation, being one of the very first planned communities in the United States. Today, we’re known internationally as a Smart City, leveraging information and communication technologies and intelligent connected infrastructure to benefit our residents, employees, businesses, and visitors, as well as make our city more...

Repairably certification aims to bring repair into the practice of the 21 century. As a third-party independent certification body, we test and verify whether a product fulfills 10 basic rules of the Repairably Manifesto, as the methodology for repairability and product rebirth to enable circularity in business models.“ Alan Suchánek,...

Founded in 2018, ALPA Kids creates digital learning games for children aged 3–8, developed in close collaboration with local teachers and researchers to ensure pedagogically sound, age-appropriate content in each child’s native language. ALPA Kids mission is to turn children’s screen time into a safe, enriching learning experience by offering...

Founded in 2022 by Johanna Stina Haar (MA) at the age of 24, Claricy is an Estonian DeepTech company that helps small and mid-sized enterprises navigate digital transformation. Johanna holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in IT management, complemented by experience as both a financial specialist...

Philadelphia is the birthplace of American independence – a city where ideas of democracy, access, and public responsibility were first debated, documented, and declared. Two and a half centuries later, those ideals are sustained not only by words, but by infrastructure. Streets, sidewalks, schools, hospitals, transit hubs, and public spaces...

Founding Story: Bridging the Gap Between Education and Real-World Experience Youth Growth Network (YGN) was founded with a powerful mission: to bridge the gap between academic learning and the real-world skills students need to thrive in their future careers. Recognizing that traditional education often falls short in providing hands-on experiences,...