TDI offered training and support to a collaborative focused on innovation in food systems and healthcare across Canada.
The Nourish Canada Anchor Collaborative Cohort was a national research initiative working at the intersection of food systems and healthcare. Led by Nourish Canada, a spin-off of the McConnell Foundation, the project spanned all provinces and engaged teams developing proposals to address complex challenges in these sectors. The Transition Design Institute provided research training and systems-thinking education to teams pitching for funding, equipping them with methods to frame their challenges systemically and develop more effective solutions.
Research Approach and Training
The first round of Transition Design training was attended by over 70 participants from across Canada. Through a structured series of online workshops, teams used Transition Design principles to analyze the wicked problems affecting their communities. The training introduced participants to tools for mapping stakeholder dynamics, exploring historical contexts, and identifying intervention points. In the second phase, successful teams that secured funding as part of the Anchor Collaborative Cohort underwent additional Transition Design training, using Zoom and Miro to refine their approaches and integrate systems thinking into their funded projects.
Ongoing Support and Impact
Once projects were underway, the Transition Design Institute continued to provide guidance through tutorial sessions with the research teams. These tutorials acted as a sounding board, helping teams apply Transition Design principles to both their research and data analysis. This project demonstrated how Transition Design research often combines education in systems thinking with deep stakeholder engagement and the development of systemic solutions. By embedding Transition Design into both the funding and implementation phases, the initiative supported long-term, sustainable impact in food systems and healthcare innovation across the entire country.