The Social Impact Lab
From Serving to Solving
Launched in 2018 through a collaboration between United Way of Calgary and Area and J5 Design, The Social Impact Lab (SIL) set out to transform how communities tackle their toughest challenges. Instead of simply meeting urgent needs, The SIL asked: what if we could solve the root problems? This vision of shifting the social sector from serving to solving, shared by Karen Young (CEO of United Way) and John Vardalos, (CEO of J5) transformed The SIL into a launchpad for change on issues including food insecurity, youth mental health, and the sustainability of Calgary’s most impactful non-profits.
INDUSTRY
Non-Profit
CLIENT
United Way of Calgary and Area
WHY IT MATTERS
For six years, The SIL was a hub for experimentation, bringing together agency partners, donors, businesses, community members, government, and corporate volunteers to test new ideas, technologies, and ways of working. By uniting passionate people across sectors, The SIL didn’t just respond to problems, it created pathways toward lasting solutions.
PROCESS HIGHLIGHTS
The SIL demonstrated the power of design-driven approaches in the social sector, securing multi-year government investment to expand across Alberta.
The processes developed guided hundreds of projects that focused on tackling complex community issues.
The design methodology used in The SIL was honoured nationally and internationally, including the Aspen Hope Award (2019) and recognition from the Global Service Design Network (2022) for elevating Indigenous youth voices in shaping the future.
Impact
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User Level
Engaged thousands of Calgarians, enabling them to directly shape the services they rely on.
Launched four digital platforms to improve education, mental health, relationships, and youth wellbeing.
Launched a pay-what-you-want market that provided over 7,000 community members with access to fresh, high-quality food.
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Employee Level
Equipped United Way teams with new design skillsets.
Provided design capacity through direct support from J5 team members.
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Organizational Level
Attracted significant provincial investment.
Created a replicable model for scaling innovation in the non-profit sector.
Built trust across the community and supported an idea that is fundamental to United Way’s mission: that lasting social change is possible when diverse voices come together.
