What’s the story
TEDucation is about thinking together. Innovation happens when ideas come together, and when people are ready to make them real. At TEDucation sessions, we beam in a TED Talk (or some other online talk) from some of the best speakers on the planet, and follow it with a frank discussion about how the ideas presented apply to City of Toronto work.These events are intended for the Toronto Public Service, but we welcome all participants interested in discussing public sector innovation.
2011-2012 saw the Innovation Lab’s first forays into TEDucation lunch-and-learns, where we experimented with this method. We had solid turnouts and quality discussions each time. In 2013, we expanded to host a series of seven TEDucation sessions covering a wide variety of topics. See our list of past events. (Link) It was a huge success: We had over 230 turnout. Of the 99 feedback questionnaire respondents:
- 92% felt a part of the conversation
- 55% met someone new at the event
- 94% talked about the event and its topics to colleagues and friends afterwards
- 82% of open ended comments were overwhelmingly positive, like this one we received, “It was a very encouraging discussion. We do care about the City, our coworkers and the way the system operates. I feel inspired to take new approaches in my work. Thanks!”
All told, we’ve had more than 15 TEDucation sessions so far, and we’re planning several others in the upcoming months.
Status:
Ongoing with events happening several times per year.
Call to action:
This event style is effective because it’s relatively easy to pull-off, and gets a good conversation going. It can be done in as little as 4.5 hours of preparation. We’re open to partnering with you on a topic you’re passionate about and that you want to bring to the attention of the Toronto Public Service. We’ve made it easy to take the lead. Read through the “how to” doc and contact us for more info.
Resources:
Visit our past TEDucation events pages
How to pull off a successful TEDucation session at the City of Toronto
Contact:
The Innovation Lab 