For two decades, Actua has been building programs and partnerships providing STEM literacy to traditionally underrepresented populations, including girls and young women, indigenous youth, new Canadians, at-risk youth and rural Canadians in communities across Canada. Today, with over 30 partner universities and colleges and representation in over 500 communities nationally (including over 200 indigenous communities), Actua is well aligned with the new Federal Government’s priorities and ambitions for an inclusive society, supporting: the redesign of its national innovation agenda; a review of federal support for “fundamental science”; providing $800M to develop innovation networks and economic clusters; a focus on inclusive growth and innovation; and $8.4B to improve the socio-economic conditions of indigenous peoples.
We have worked with Actua to design and develop an Ecosystem Map of Actua’s national network of university and college members, government and industry partners, youth instructors, volunteers and outreach teams that support its four key programs: InSTEM; National Girls Program; Go Where Kids Are Program; and Codemakers.
This map will demonstrate Actua’s unique infrastructure and network across the country that provides a broad platform to deliver a full range of STEM and coding skills to millions of Canadian youth. In addition, the map will support the review and reframing of Actua’s budget ask for 2017, increasing the value of the ask from $15M over 5 years to a conditional proposal highlighting pros and cons of both a $30M contribution and a $45M contribution.
