Signals tend to reveal emergent phenomena sooner so that changemakers can turn their attention to possible opportunities, disruptions, innovations and developments that affect their missions, programs and work. Signals can become mainstream and evolve into trends — when a signal hits a certain threshold, for example, it might become a trend in the broader society or sector, and begin to diffuse rapidly.
There is still a significant proportion of the Canadian population that expresses “digital hesitancy”, which the Canadian social impact sector needs to keep in mind when developing programs. But data and digital tools are increasingly becoming important mechanisms for organizations to increase the reach of their services, and be transparent about where funding is needed most.
COVID-19 forced charities, non-profits, and communities to roll up their sleeves to adapt digitally the best they could — but without a space to look for resources and learn from each other, a sector-wide digital transformation will remain fragmented.
Over the last 50 years, the number of climate-related disasters has increased five-fold. While this disproportionately impacts Global South countries, Canada is not exempt from these disasters, as demonstrated by the British Columbia floods in 2021. With our country’s rapidly aging population and a declining workforce, Canadians could see overlapping humanitarian crises in the coming years, unless adequate solutions are found.
