September 26, 2023
The launch event included a Ribbon Cutting (Left-Right): Clayton Sissons (BSF Board Chair), Roxanne Sissons (Strafford family representative and BSF Board Member), Tony Weeks (BSF President and CEO), Catherine Laing (Executive Director, Dr. Barrie Strafford Centre for Learning, Innovation & Quality), and Dr. Luanne Metz (MLA Calgary-Varsity).
The Brenda Strafford Foundation (BSF) is thrilled to launch the Dr. Barrie Strafford Centre for Learning, Innovation, and Quality. This new BSF Centre brings together various roles within the organization dedicated to innovation, organizational learning, quality improvement and research to further BSF's mission 'to be an innovative force in optimizing wellbeing and enriching lives.'
The purpose of this new centre is to drive continuous innovation, learning and quality improvement within BSF. The centre will form alliances and craft innovative solutions that promise far-reaching impact on the future of work, aging, and community support systems, solving challenges from the inside, out. The role of the centre will also be focussed on extending the value of our findings and solutions to other organizations and, most crucially, effecting a meaningful social impact.
The Dr. Barrie Strafford Centre for Learning, Innovation & Quality was launched on the anniversary of the birthday of our founder, Dr. Barrie Strafford. It commemorates his entrepreneurial spirit and the passion he had for Innovation, Quality, and Learning. The Brenda Strafford Foundation dedicating this new centre in Dr. Strafford's name memorializes his significant personal contribution to the legacy of the foundation.
At BSF, we believe in the power of collective problem-solving, targeting solutions that bring about tangible, positive changes. The centre is not a standalone unit within our organization. Rather, it is a dynamic and fully integrated team committed to collaboratively solving challenges. A case in point is our ongoing research at the Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging in partnership with the University of Calgary (read more). Located together in a collaborative space with BSF's Cambridge Manor, the Dr. Barrie Strafford Centre for Learning, Innovation & Quality will work closely with the Brenda Strafford Centre on Aging at the vanguard of where research meets practice.
