University of Manitoba will spotlight business for social impact in new research centre

Author Sharlene Gandhi

A $5.4 million gift to the University of Manitoba will fund the development of a new centre dedicated to businesses’ roles in communities. 

The Chiu Centre for Business Serving Community will be housed within the university’s I.H. Asper School of Business. Students will “benefit from […] research focused on systems thinking, social innovation, and business models for social change,” as well as career opportunities in organizations that “promote progressive and innovative approaches to business, including non-profits [and] Indigenous nations…”. 

The gift comes from Drs. Wayne and Eleanor Chiu, who launched the Trico Charitable Foundation in 2008. The pair also launched construction company Trico Homes.  

The Calgary-based private foundation is focused on growing capacity for social entrepreneurship in Alberta and across Canada. Among other initiatives, the foundation also seeks to collect data from social entrepreneurs to demonstrate the value of their work to policymakers and decision-makers. 

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  • Sharlene Gandhi is the Future of Good editorial fellow on digital transformation.

    Sharlene has been reporting on responsible business, environmental sustainability and technology in the UK and Canada since 2018. She has worked with various organizations during this time, including the Stanford Social Innovation Review, the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University, AIGA Eye on Design, Social Enterprise UK and Nature is a Human Right. Sharlene moved to Toronto in early 2023 to join the Future of Good team, where she has been reporting at the intersections of technology, data and social purpose work. Her reporting has spanned several subject areas, including AI policy, cybersecurity, ethical data collection, and technology partnerships between the private, public and third sectors.

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