Partnerships
Flourishing Enterprise Institute (FEI)
FEI is a global applied research and innovation network founded in 2019 and incubated at the Viessman Centre for Engagement & Research in Sustainability at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. The institute strives to facilitate the new movement toward flourishing-as-sustainability among organizations of all types and sectors and to catalyze the development and mobilization of Systemic Management Innovations.
The scientific concept of “flourishing” goes beyond traditional sustainability by focusing on actively enhancing the well-being and thriving of individuals, communities, and ecosystems.
To advance its goals, the FEI focuses on the following activities:
- Identifying and profiling leading Systemic Management Innovations (SMIs) that enable organizations to address the complex and interconnected challenges they face
- Conducting Applied Research leading to credible evidence that contributes to mobilization and learning that contributes to SMI development
- Network Building
- Knowledge Mobilization
Municipalities Adapting in Response to Complexity
Leveraging systemic management innovations to enable just transitions toward a sustainable future
With the Viessmann Centre for Engagement & Research in Sustainability (VERiS) at Wilfrid Laurier University and the ICLEI World Secretariat, REFOCUS started in 2020 to grow a Canadian-focused applied research partnership, Municipalities Adapting in Response to Complexity. The partnership seeks to demonstrate that the complex, interconnected issues we face can be more effectively addressed through fundamental changes to core management practices. To this end, it’s goal is to identify, understand, develop, and disseminate tools needed to empower municipalities to address the challenges of sustainability, climate and equity.
Today, the partnership comprises dozens of municipalities, NGOs, academic institutions, and innovators collectively motivated by the potential to accelerate the development and mobilization of transformative solutions through transdisciplinary collaboration.