The MaRS and CIBC Inclusive Design Challenge: Career Advancement
The third innovation challenge seeks solutions to support inclusive work environments and career advancement for persons with disabilities.
Challenge description
The third innovation challenge in the Inclusive Design Challenge Series seeks solutions that improve career advancement for persons with disabilities. Priority areas identified by the disability community include attitudinal bias, support networks, workplace disclosure and workplace structure.
Who Should Participate?
We’re looking for individuals, groups and organizations with a solution to make career advancement more accessible and inclusive. We welcome solutions from people with lived experience across the disability spectrum, startups, non-profits, academics and students, private and public sector organizations and the general public.
Opportunity
Five winners will be awarded the following prizes:
- A first place prize of $50,000
- Two runners-up prizes of $20,000
- Two honourable mention prizes of $5,000
- Post-challenge support provided by MaRS and CIBC to help expand the impact of their solutions
Click here for challenge rules.
What’s Happening Now?
Congratulations to the winners of this Challenge: Skill Squirrel, Breen and Associates Consulting, Fig Daily Media, SignAble Vi5ion Inc and Fable Tech Labs Inc. Read more about their innovative solutions here.
The Problem
Persons with disabilities are a largely untapped source of high-capacity labour that can help Canadian private, public and non-profit sector organizations meet their current and future human capital needs. Despite this reality, Canadian society, generally, and persons with disabilities, specifically, have yet to experience large breakthroughs in the Canadian labour market.
In 2020, MaRS and CIBC released a research report that profiled a range of barriers persons with disabilities face throughout their employment journey. The research prompted MaRS and CIBC to launch the Inclusive Design Challenge Series, a set of four distinct innovation challenges designed to seek solutions to help overcome many of these employment barriers. The third installment of these innovation challenges is focused on career advancement.
Why address this problem now?
This is the third installment in a set of four distinct innovation challenges designed to seek solutions to employment barriers faced by persons with disabilities. According to our research, persons with disabilities are typically overlooked for career advancement opportunities and their full potential often goes unrecognized. Findings showed that 29% of persons with disabilities experience a lack of career growth mainly due to their employer’s perception of their limitations. Further, 75% of our research participants reported that they were overqualified for their current or past jobs, and 84% of participants mentioned that they applied for positions for which they knew they were overqualified. The report provided two main reasons for persons with disabilities’ inadequate career progression: lack of recognition for the skills they possess and disability-based stigma.
In addition, COVID-19 has transformed the way Canadians work, with some of these changes creating meaningful steps forward for disability inclusion. But along with this progress comes room for improvement.
Sign up for our mailing list to receive updates about this challenge. E-mail challenges@marsdd.com with any questions.
What are we asking for?
MaRS and CIBC are calling for solutions that contribute to career advancement for persons with disabilities. Submissions will be evaluated (evaluation criteria can be found on the challenge rules) on their potential to help persons with disabilities advance their career, their impact on people with different types of disabilities and identities, their inclusion of people with lived experience and their long-term benefits.
We welcome solutions that have been applied to improve career advancement in other contexts. However, it is critical that the perspectives of persons with disabilities are considered and that they inform your solution to this challenge.
At the outset of the Inclusive Design Challenge in early 2021, MaRS and CIBC interviewed those with lived experience and supporting community organizations to tell us about employment barriers they had seen, heard or experienced themselves. Key areas of focus related to career advancement are highlighted below:
- Attitudinal Bias: Pervasive myths that people have about persons with disabilities that result in negative attitudes or assumptions about their ability to work.
- Support Networks: Individuals or groups that help an individual achieve their professional goals by providing advice and support.
- Workplace Disclosure: The process in which individuals decide when and if they will disclose their disability to their employer, and the implications of this decision.
- Workplace Structure: The organizational culture, norms and processes of a workplace that impacts the extent to which one can feel welcomed and advance professionally.
For more information on barriers to employment identified by the disability community, please consult these resources:
Prizes
Five winners will be awarded the following prizes:
- A first place prize of $50,000
- Two runners-up prizes of $20,000
- Two honourable mention prizes of $5,000
Beyond the financial prize , winners will receive post-challenge support from MaRS and CIBC to help expand the impact of their solutions.
Please consult the Challenge Rules for further information about the challenge prizes.
How to Apply
Participants must submit their application using one of the following three options before the deadline of March 1, 2023:
- Submit your application online via our challenge portal: Inclusive Design Challenge: Career Advancement.
- Send an email to challenges@marsdd.com with an attached audio or video file answering the submission questions.
- Mail your answers to the submission questions to:
MaRS Discovery District
101 College Street Suite 100
Toronto ON M5G 1L7
ATTN: Shilpa Sharma – Inclusive Design Challenge
Contact us at challenges@marsdd.com or (647) 255-1452 if you have questions or require another submission format.
Timeline
Challenge Launch: (28/11/2022)
This post is also available in: Français
Submission Deadline (01/03/2023)
Be sure to submit before 11:59 p.m.
This post is also available in: Français
Required for Submission
Additional Resources
FAQ
You may only enter the Challenge if you meet one of the following three eligibility requirements, as outlined in the Challenge Rules:
A) You are an individual and, at the time of entry:
- you are a legal resident of Canada, and
- you are at least the age of majority in your resident province or between 13 years old and the age of majority, with your parent/guardian agreeing to these Official Rules on your behalf.
B) You are a group of individuals entering the Challenge as a team and:
- each of you, at the time of entry, is (i) a legal resident of Canada, (ii) at least the age of majority in your resident province or (iii) between 13 years old and the age of majority, with your parent/guardian agreeing to these Official Rules on your behalf; and
- you designate one (1) member of your team as your eligible Authorized Representative (defined in the “Eligibility Criteria” section of the Challenge Rules) to enter the Challenge and signify your agreement to be legally bound by these Official Rules on your behalf.
C) You are a company or organization which:
- at the time of entry, is either (i) incorporated under the laws of Canada; or (ii) operating in Canada; and
- you designate one (1) eligible Authorized Representative (defined in the “Eligibility Criteria” section of the Challenge Rules) to enter the Challenge and agree to be legally bound by these Official Rules on your behalf.
Participants must submit their application using one of the following three options before the deadline of March 1, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time):
A) Submit your application online via the Inclusive Design Challenge: Career Advancement website:
- Create a profile on https://challenges.marsdd.com/
- Read and agree to the Challenge Rules by clicking the “Accept Challenge” button on the Inclusive Design Challenge: Career Advancement website.
- Complete this Submission Form, following word limits, and save in PDF format with your team/applicant name and date listed in the file name (e.g. Team-MaRS_Mar2023_ Submission-Form).
- Click “Submit Application” on the Inclusive Design Challenge: Career Advancement webpage and upload your saved Submission Form.
B) Send an email to challenges@marsdd.com with an attached audio or video file of your answers to the submission questions.
C) Mail your answers to questions in the Submission Form the submission questions to:
MaRS Discovery District
101 College St, Suite 100
Toronto ON M5G 1L7
ATTN: Shilpa Sharma
Inclusive Design Challenge
Contact us at challenges@marsdd.com or (647) 255-1452 if you have questions or require another submission format.
You may participate in this challenge as an individual, a team, or an organization. Please ensure that you indicate who you represent in your submission form.
Winners will be selected by a panel of judges based on the Challenge Evaluation Criteria. Judges have lived experience and expertise in key areas related to the challenge, such as disability inclusion, innovation, technology and evaluation.
Please contact us if you require a different submission format or have questions about the accessibility of the submission process.
Yes, please contact the MaRS team for help submitting your idea in one of the formats available.
You may submit a maximum of ONE (1) entry per individual, team or organization.
No. Other participants cannot view submissions.
Please contact the MaRS team, we are happy to help!
Jessica Rotolo – Model and Self-advocate
Jessica is a 24-year-old role model and self-advocate who was born with Down syndrome, with a passion for being a public speaker, model, actor, dancer, and artist. She is honored to be an ambassador for Best Buddies Canada and DramaWay, a Toronto drama company serving the All-Abilities community. She has also been a global ambassador for Best Buddies International. She co-founded and is the co-president of the Best Buddies Humber College Toronto Chapter and the co-president of Best Buddies Toronto Metropolitan University Chapter. Through a documentary called “Employable Me Canada, Season 2 Episode 3”, she became an entrepreneur and created her own line of silk-screened greeting cards and posters using her signature art styles. In 2018, she was a panel member for the Defense for Children International-Canada’s Annual Grant Lowry Lecture on Children’s Rights discussion on the United Nations “Conventions: Real Promises or Just Words” in Toronto Canada. She has appeared in several public service campaigns for the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. Many Canadian news and talk show stations have had her as a guest promoting Down syndrome Inclusion and awareness.
Dr. William Cowie – Executive Director at Every Canadian Counts
Dr. Cowie has been a social justice advocate throughout his career both as an international development professional and in his volunteer work with persons with disabilities. As an evaluation and training specialist with more than 25 years of experience, he has undertaken meta-evaluations linked to the strategic planning and implementation process, notably for the International Trade Centre in Geneva, in addition to his over 10 years of experience as an RBM and Performance Management trainer including for ICAO, CIDA, and other Canadian government departments, and other Departments, Agencies, and Universities in Canada and overseas (Indonesia, Kuwait, Iraq). Dr. Cowie has also conducted project evaluations in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, China, and the Caribbean and for Middle East programs.
Dr. Cowie is the past President of the Canadian Association of Development Professionals and the Society for International Development (Ottawa) and was President of a major social service organization for persons with disabilities. He has overseen and driven organizational strategic and policy initiatives of national significance while as President of a development-oriented NGO helping it to gain a reputation as a forward-looking and imaginative contributor to development policy discourse.
Dr. Cowie holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics, London UK, in Development Economics and Geography (1982). He has been a lecturer at the University of Toronto, Ottawa, and Carleton Universities specializing in global economics, and has been a professional trainer for the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University.
In recent years as head of Every Canadian Counts, Dr. Cowie has focused on addressing the needs of people with disabilities through his advocacy for a national disability insurance program.
Maria Gregory – Senior Director of Client Experience at CIBC
Maria is a Senior Director of Client Experience at CIBC and leads the Centre of Excellence for Accessibility. Maria is responsible for enhancing the employee and client experience for persons with disabilities. Maria is a proven business leader and brand builder in the healthcare, financial services, and not-for-profit sectors, including the Canadian Hearing Services. She is an enthusiastic and inspirational leader who knows how to build high-performance teams. Before joining CIBC, Maria led healthcare portfolios at Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. Maria has extensive experience in marketing communications, building brands, and launching new products, technologies, and claims based on research, analytics, and consumer insights. She holds an MBA from Concordia University and a BA from the University of Western Ontario. Maria has a Chartered Marketer designation from the Canadian Marketing Association and was a silver medalist in women’s 8+ rowing at the 1996 Olympic Games.
Janet Dodge – Vice President People and Culture at MaRS Discovery District
Janet leads the People and Culture team for MaRS Discovery District. She is an accomplished, dynamic, and results-oriented people and culture leader with experience in a variety of industries, including financial services, retail, and start-up organizations. Throughout her career, she has fostered trusted and impactful relationships with senior leaders, developed best-in-class talent programs, and built efficiency and effectiveness in HR operations. She is a capable leader with a proven ability to develop mission-aligned people strategies and cultures where employees thrive. Her expertise in emerging trends and best practices and her ability to understand the people’s implications of business strategies enables her to successfully drive organizational impact. Janet has a Master of Industrial Relations from the University of Toronto and enjoys giving back to the community by mentoring young people and volunteering on boards.
Belinda Deenik – Director of Learning and Development at the Canadian Association for Supported Employment
Belinda Deenik is the Director of Learning and Development at the Canadian Association for Supported Employment. Her current portfolio focuses largely around nurturing learning partnerships and overseeing the development of both in-person and E-Learning programs/courses in relation to employment supports for persons who experience a disability. Her previous experience involved serving as a Autism Spectrum Disorder Consultant at a regional pediatric centre and a Manager of Independent Facilitation Supports (person-centred planning). She has nurtured a vision for the CASE learning community that focuses on leveraging the power of social learning, fostering resilience, harnessing innovation and amplifying the voices of persons who experience disability.