Driving Business Success & Community Impact
The Barrie Chamber of Commerce is proud to launch a Community Impact Lab to bring together students, businesses, and community leaders to create local impact
With this launch, the Barrie Chamber of Commerce is joining the Community Innovation Network, an initiative founded by Georgian College and the YMCA Simcoe-Muskoka. The first of it's kind, the Barrie Chamber's Community Impact Lab will join the network to support businesses in engaging and collaborating in new ways around community prosperity.
Stronger Business. Stronger Community. Greater Prosperity.
This initiative connects businesses, students, and community leaders to create innovative, sustainable solutions that drive both economic success and social impact. As part of this Lab's role, the Chamber is working to bridge the gaps between education and industry, bring together students and employers to innovative ways we collectively can address socio-economic challenges, inclusion and environmental stewardship.
This initiative was made possible through federal funding provided by BHER (Business + Higher Education Roundtable).
Who Should Join?
This program is ideal for all business owners, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders who want to:
Increase profitability while integrating ethical business practices.
Connect with emerging talent to gain fresh perspectives.
Contribute to a stronger local economy while future-proofing their business.
Build resilience in an evolving marketplace.
Membership with the Barrie Chamber is not required to participate.
Exclusive Benefit for Chamber Members
Chamber members gain free access to the Intro to Flourishing Business Model Design Course, a five-week program designed to help business owners:
- Understand how economic, social, and environmental factors shape long-term business success.
- Use the Flourishing Business Model Canvas to design innovative, future-proof business strategies.
- Align personal values with business growth for a more fulfilling, purpose-driven approach to success.
FREE for Barrie Chamber Members for March 2025!
Join Us
By participating, you’ll position your business as a leader in sustainability, innovation, and community impact, while unlocking new growth opportunities. We invite business owners, community leaders, and students to be part of this initiative. Whether you’re looking to collaborate, mentor, learn, or contribute, the Community Impact Lab offers an opportunity to engage, innovate, and make an impact.
Contact: Adam Dagenais, Adam.Dagenais@GeorgianCollege.
Location: Barrie Chamber of Commerce, 121 Commerce Park Drive, Unit A, Barrie, ON L4N8X1
Let’s shape the future of Barrie, together.
Why Should Business Owners Get Involved?
Your business doesn’t exist in a vacuum. A thriving community creates the conditions for business success. The Community Impact Lab offers tangible, strategic benefits for business owners:
- Innovate & Future-Proof Your Business
Collaborate with students, researchers, and industry leaders to design cutting-edge business models that integrate economic growth with environmental and social well-being. - Gain Access to Emerging Talent
Connect with skilled students and recent graduates eager to bring fresh ideas, digital skills, and new perspectives into your business. This is an opportunity to mentor, recruit, and invest in future leaders. - Strengthen Your Brand & Community Presence
Customers and employees increasingly support businesses that prioritize social responsibility. By participating, you’ll enhance your reputation as a community-focused, future-ready business. - Solve Real-World Challenges Together
Business owners, educators, and community members work side by side to identify challenges, test solutions, and drive real impact.
What is a Community Impact Lab?
Community Impact Labs provide an inclusive space for collaboration, where students, business leaders, and community members co-design, test, and implement forward-thinking solutions that drive meaningful change.
Through community-based participatory research, these labs support real-world learning, innovation, and relationship-building between businesses and future leaders.
How It Works
The Community Impact Lab is more than a think tank. It’s an action-driven initiative where businesses actively collaborate, experiment, and implement solutions that work. The Lab follows a four-step approach to innovation and impact:
EXPLORE – Identify challenges and emerging opportunities.
FRAME – Define the issue and develop practical solutions.
SHIFT – Implement and refine strategies for real-world application.
REFLECT – Assess outcomes and refine approaches for continuous growth.
Here’s how you can get involved:
- Identify Challenges
Business owners work with educators, students, and community organizations to pinpoint social, environmental, and economic challenges affecting the local business ecosystem. - Co-Design & Test Solutions
Using the Flourishing Business Model Canvas, businesses participate in interactive workshops to design and refine new business strategies that drive both profit and purpose. - Implement & Evaluate
Solutions are piloted in real business environments, with ongoing support from Georgian College, the Chamber, and community partners. - Scale & Grow
Successful strategies can be refined and expanded to help more businesses and the broader community thrive.
Why It Matters
A Community Impact Lab is more than just a space where businesses, students and community can work together to address the complex challenges impacting our local economies and communities. At it's core the Barre Chamber Community Impact Lab:
- Bridges education and business, giving students direct access to industry leaders.
- Supports local businesses by introducing new types of business models and innovative problem-solving.
- Strengthens community connections, ensuring long-term benefits for all stakeholders.
- Provides hands-on learning opportunities, equipping students with skills that translate into real-world impact.
A True Community-Driven Partnership
This initiative has been built in collaboration with Georgian College's Social Innovation Department and the YMCA Simcoe Muskoka who launched the Community Innovation Network as part of the Future of Belonging Project (https://futureofbelonging.ca/). The Barrie Chamber of Commerce is proud to join as a partner of the Community Innovation Network and play a key role in connecting students with business leaders, to work on projects and new ideas that build value for both social and economic impact. Together with other Network partner, we stewarding our Community Impact Lab as space where innovation meets experience, creating lasting benefits for future generations and beyond.
Why the Flourishing Business Model?
Traditional business models focus primarily on profit. The Flourishing Business Model helps businesses balance financial success with social and environmental sustainability. It provides a practical, structured approach to integrating innovation, resilience, and long-term prosperity into business strategy.
