We exist to reimagine, redesign and rebuild a more equitable, collaborative and regenerative world, one place at a time. We help leaders on the ground to mobilize their organizations and communities for massive change through open and inclusive innovation. We specialize in innovation and transformation practices in culturally, ethically and technically complex environments.
TRANSFORMATION IS UNCOMFORTABLE
Are you a leader who is driven to make a massive impact? At Synthetikos, we truly understand the unique challenges you face as a positive disrupter within your organization and the communities you serve.
To bring your vision to life, you need to win over colleagues and powerbrokers, even the skeptics. You must bridge the gaps within divided and disconnected communities, uniting them as part of a collective movement for change. You live in the tension between the scale and urgency of the current crisis, and the truth that lasting change only happens when we move together at the speed of trust.
YOUR SYSTEMS CHANGE CO-PILOT
Unlike others, we don't believe in quick fixes or cookie-cutter processes. We recognize innovation can't be scripted. We approach each situation with a deep commitment to understanding your unique context. We listen intently to you, your colleagues, stakeholders, and communities, appreciating the many unique factors at play. We will challenge you with what you don't know to accelerate learning and growth.
Our experience spans dozens of sectors. We bring multiple frameworks and perspectives to the table, enabling us to see possibilities that others may overlook. Our expertise in many advanced innovation practices, including as global pioneers in strategic foresight, systemic design and social innovation, empowers us to co-create tailored solutions that are as unique as your context. We thrive in the messiness of complex multistakeholder collaborations.
If you need a co-pilot for your transformation journey, Synthetikos will be your reliable and resourceful guide. Let's have an authentic conversation about how we can work together to create alignment, traction and momentum.
WHY WHAT WE DO WORKS
A lot of people talk about systems change. Few have done it.
Dr. Alex Ryan, CEO of Synthetikos, has a track record that speaks for itself. He was at the centre of the biggest effort in a generation to transform the U.S. Army — an organization of 1 million people — the middle of fighting two wars. He co-founded Alberta CoLab, the first social innovation lab in a provincial government in Canada, where he helped accelerate energy transition and developed lab methodologies that have been adopted globally. He was an executive leader at MaRS Discovery District — North America's largest urban innovation hub — where he led multiple systems change initiatives, including the MyStartr program that helped 23,500 unemployed youth find meaningful work.
Systems change efforts fail when groups polarize into irreconcilable camps. Our approach works because we are able to dynamically mediate the tensions inherent in the work of shifting systems. It means avoiding either/or dichotomies and embracing the AND:
- Purpose and Emergence. We articulate clear intentions and remain open to emergence.
- Power and Equity. We work with existing power structures and centre equity.
- Theory and Practice. We are informed by theory and guided by what works in practice.
- Persistence and Humility. We have the determination to overcome obstacles and the humility to recognize we could be wrong.
- Action and Reflection. We have a bias to action and a practice of reflection.
- Results and Reform. We demonstrate tangible results that build momentum and do the deep work to reform systems at their roots.