The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) launched a new seven-year research project, the Partnership on AI and Quality of Work (PAIQ). PAIQ is a pan-Canadian project that aims to address how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect the quality of working lives in Canada by producing evidence that can inform strategies. It includes a multidisciplinary team of 40 researchers and 34 partner organizations.

To kick-off the project, IWH wanted to host an in-person meeting with all researchers and partners, with the intent to co-design the research and knowledge mobilization plan. IWH engaged Creative Futures to design a meeting experience that would strengthen connections and ignite energy and creativity. 

Approach:

Creative Futures designed and facilitated a full-day meeting (December 3, 2025) for the ~80 researchers and partners involved in the project. Key activities included:

• Facilitated a kick-off meeting with the IWH team to confirm meeting objectives and assumptions; 

• Developed the detailed agenda including a series of participatory activities, that involved action planning, identifying priorities and discussing collaboration, to engage the group of researchers and partners;

• Designed all facilitation materials, including large scale posters to discuss action planning and collaboration; and,

• Actively facilitated the in-person meeting, along with the IWH research team Chairs.

Results:

At the end of day, the majority of participants shared that they were “energized”, and “excited and hopeful”. They also shared their biggest takeaways: “this project will be seeking answers no one has really dug into yet”, “a sense of clarity with respect to how my organization can provide support and insight in a meaningful way”, and that convening is important and demonstrates the power of partnerships. Overall, the in-person meeting was an excellent way to kick-off the project and allow opportunities for all participants to engage in the discussion.

Through a feedback survey after the event, all respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the overall flow and pacing of the day, felt they could fully contribute to the breakout activities, connected with various PAIQ researchers and partners during the event, and left with a clear understanding of PAIQ’s objectives.