Municipal government may not be the first example that comes to mind when we think of innovation, but across Canada, cities are at the heart of new approaches to urgent problems. The speakers featured in this special edition of Knowledge Café are behind three of the local solutions profiled in our 2025 report Learning From What Works: Leveraging local solutions to make better places. Working on challenges in homelessness prevention, economic development, and transportation operations, these leaders are changing how cities work – and making them work better.
We will explore how great ideas move from concept to execution in government and how leaders can overcome organizational inertia to make change happen. We’ll also examine what it means to take highly visible risks in public service, and how community feedback shapes how ideas are implemented.
This discussion will be moderated by the School of Cities’ Kathryn Exon Smith in conversation with the following municipal leaders from across Canada:
- Caitlin Beaton, Program Manager, Homelessness Prevention | City of Edmonton
- Donna Heslin, Manager, Entrepreneurship and Innovation – Economic Development | City of Mississauga
- Becky Katz, Manager, Operations and Maintenance, City of Toronto
