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When InnovED began in 2019 at the 91ֱ�� (OISE), it grew from a practical question: how is educational innovation supported within the University?

“We were hearing from colleagues, students, and faculty who were having different experiences,” says Dr. Elisabeth Rees-Johnstone, executive director of OISE Continuing and Professional Learning and InnovED co-founder. “I wanted to better understand what constitutes the entrepreneurship space for education and the University.”

Those conversations highlighted a structural reality. Educational innovation operates within systems that differ from many other sectors.

Ideas in education move through school boards, ministries, research processes, and institutional structures. They require partnership-building, ethical review, pilot testing, and system-level credibility. Progress is often incremental and relational.

InnovED was structured with those conditions in mind.

A Model Designed for Educational Context

From the outset, InnovED was built to emphasize sustained development.

“Pitch formats have value in many innovation environments,” Rees-Johnstone explains. “We wanted a structure that supports ideas as they evolve within educational systems.”

In education, ideas are often closely tied to research programs or professional practice. They move through stages of refinement, contextual testing, validation, and implementation before broader adoption.

“When your professional identity is tied to an idea, context matters,” Rees-Johnstone says. “Feedback grounded in educational realities allows innovators to move forward constructively.”

Because educational innovation frequently unfolds over extended timelines, InnovED emphasizes continuity, relationships, and system awareness.

The focus is on building capacity alongside developing ideas.

Entrepreneurship Within a Research and Professional Learning Framework

A defining feature of InnovED is its location within OISE Continuing and Professional Learning (CPL), which is part of OISE’s Research, Partnership, and Innovation (RPI) portfolio.

This structure is significant.

In many institutions, entrepreneurship initiatives are separated from professional learning and research mobilization. At OISE, these areas are aligned within a shared portfolio focused on research, partnership, and innovation.

InnovED operates within that integrated environment.

“For us, entrepreneurship in education is about developing people,” Rees-Johnstone says. “It’s about building the ability to navigate complex systems, mobilize research, and work effectively with partners over time.”

Because InnovED sits within a professional learning unit embedded in RPI, innovation is approached as both research-informed and partnership-oriented. Members engage in structured dialogue, mentorship, and skill-building that strengthen their ability to translate ideas into applied educational settings.

The integration of entrepreneurship, professional learning, and research mobilization is central to the model.

“There are well-established models like Communities of Practice, where a group works together around a shared area of focus,” says Rees-Johnstone. 

InnovED uses a different structure. “This isn’t a community organized around one theme. It’s a network. We pay attention to who is working on what, and we facilitate introductions,” she added.

This network approach connects researchers, graduate students, educators, and emerging entrepreneurs whose work intersects across different areas of education.

“We’re here to support the development of people and whatever their professional trajectories may be,” says Dr. Todd Cunningham, Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development and co-founder of InnovED.

The emphasis is on strengthening individuals as well as initiatives — and on aligning research, partnerships, and applied work.

From Research to Application

Knowledge mobilization — moving research into practice — is a core priority within OISE’s Research, Partnership, and Innovation mandate, and central to InnovED’s work.

Cunningham experienced this directly while building , a research-based venture translating lab-based insights into practical tools for schools.

Through the InnovED network, he accessed strategic input and technical collaboration that helped refine his service model and pilot it in smaller contexts.

“It’s about understanding the system you’re entering,” Cunningham says. “And building accordingly.”

Those pilots allowed his team to build credibility and operational capacity before expanding into larger school systems.

For researchers interested in extending their work beyond publication into applied impact, that infrastructure is significant.

How InnovED Defines Success

InnovED defines success in terms aligned with the realities of educational innovation.

“Our focus is on depth of engagement, sustained partnerships, and long-term impact,” Cunningham says.

Educational innovation is often cumulative. It involves refining models, establishing trust, and building system-level credibility over time.

These indicators reflect progress in ways that correspond to how educational change develops in practice.

For the OISE Community

InnovED is not a traditional business incubator, nor is it an informal networking group.

It is a structured environment within OISE’s Research, Partnership, and Innovation portfolio designed to support education-focused innovators — particularly those working at the intersection of research, professional practice, and system change.

By situating entrepreneurship within a professional learning framework connected to research and partnership development, InnovED offers an approach aligned with how educational innovation advances.

As Rees-Johnstone notes, the field continues to evolve.

“We’re building iteratively. We learn alongside our members.”

For faculty and researchers considering how their work might extend into applied contexts, InnovED represents one pathway grounded in system awareness, research mobilization, and long-term development.

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