We are experiencing unprecedented levels of change and uncertainty. Organizations in all sectors are grappling with how to continue to run their core business, while also maintaining momentum on long-term objectives in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. In our conversations with leaders and teams over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a monumental shift from: “how do we operate in the face of COVID-19” to “what can we contribute to solving COVID-19?”. There is no playbook.

For nearly 150 years, OCAD University has educated creative thinkers, designers, and educators – helping build skillsets, mindsets, and behaviours to navigate ambiguity and create new futures. These capabilities include imagining and planning for a range of plausible scenarios; anticipate and understanding changing needs and trends; challenging assumptions about the way things work; rapidly and iteratively creating new solutions; and quickly configuring scarce resources to respond to challenges.

As the executive studio of OCAD University, we want to put these capabilities in the hands of teams who need them now. We believe that to design is to serve. And to serve in these times, when our society, economy, and institutions need creative thinking the most, is our responsibility.