Over the last three months the Canadian Chapter of the Service Design Network has been hard at work: (1) putting in place the necessary infrastructure to administer the chapter, particularly challenging given the geographic span of Canada; (2) promoting the chapter and supporting local events; and (3) planning our first major multi-city initiative. What follows is a detailed accounting of each of these areas.

Our chapter has three principal aims:

1. Lead the Conversation: We will partner with organizations, host events and produce content, creating a platform for conversation about service design. We will encourage practitioners to share best practices, give access to tools and present case studies. Some of these conversations are already taking place in various contexts, the chapter will help focus these efforts into a coherent discussion.

2. Strengthen the Community of Practice: Service design remains a relatively new discipline in Canada. We will bring together professionals from across disciplines to share language, tools and practices. We will regularly host networking events that facilitate connections between practitioners. These efforts will be complemented by digital community-building activities.

3. Support the Next Generation of Designers: As seasoned design professionals, we have the obligation to nurture up-and-coming designers. Working with members of the chapter, we will create opportunities to mentor new design talent.  With our deep relationship with OCAD University and the University of Toronto we will host regular mentor days, facilitate workshops and give presentations to students whose studies intersect with design. We will also encourage chapter members to create internship opportunities for new graduates.

Chris Ferguson
Chris Ferguson - Chapter of SDN Canada/ Associate Consultant at Pharma Launch Inc.

Chris is the founder of Bridgeable, a leading service design agency located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He and his team have developed leading-edge service design tools that are sought after by global organizations. Chris regularly teaches and facilitates workshops at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) and the Rotman School of Business. He actively attends service design conferences, and has presented at ServDes in Helsinki, and published two articles in SDN’s Touchpoint.

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bio - Director, Service Innovation

Does Ramy have these skills or expertise? LeadershipRemove suggestionStrategic PartnershipsRemove suggestionBusiness DevelopmentRemove suggestionStrategyRemove suggestionMarketing StrategyRemove suggestion Type another area of expertise... What is this?EndorseSkip Relationshippartners NoteReminder Tag Connected 2/9/20151 year ago Posts 3,508 followersPublished by Ramy Design thinking with empathy creates human-centred solutions Design thinking with empathy creates... August 5, 2015 Background Summary Ramy is an engineer, a designer and a maker, living in Toronto. As Architech’s Director of Service Innovation, Ramy heads Service Design and Design Strategy, leading internal teams and working with clients to create innovative & differentiated customer experiences. Leveraging best practices from the worlds of Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design, Ramy ensures that customers & end users are central in solving complex business challenges.

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bio - Managing Partner at DesignThinkers Group Canada

Does Adriana have these skills or expertise? StrategyRemove suggestionMarketing StrategyRemove suggestionMarketingRemove suggestionMarketing CommunicationsRemove suggestionStrategic PlanningRemove suggestion Type another area of expertise... What is this?EndorseSkip Relationshippartners NoteReminder Tag Connected 11/11/20153 months ago Background Experience Managing Partner DesignThinkers Group Canada 2014 – Present (2 years)Canada Founded in Amsterdam in 2007, DesignThinkers Group is one of the leading 'design-driven'​ innovation agency, facilitating organizations around the world making the transition from being strictly product-orientated and sales-driven, toward being service-oriented and human-centered. We are a global agency, represented in 18 countries. We train, develop and facilitate creative multi-disciplinary teams and communities to drive positive change. Our clients include the likes of SAP, Coca-Cola, L'Oreal, Phillips, Green Peace and the United Nations.