Launch Date: Friday, February 14,2025
A Collaborative Hub for Innovation and Social 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. 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).
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 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.
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.
Join Us
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.
