City of Toronto supports civic innovation space

The City of Toronto and partners recently launched a space that will bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, providers, professionals and citizens to be able to work together to develop solutions that will improve services to Torontonians. Called Civic Hall Toronto, the innovation space will be located at the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) on Spadina Ave. in downtown Toronto. Aside from being a collaborative space and hub for social innovation, Civic Hall Toronto also offers services, training, networking opportunities and organizes events to promote a culture of innovation. City officials said the initiative will help grow the civic tech sector in the GTA. It was also created to provide a safe place for learning and testing ideas while engaging the community. CSI hosts the space while Code for Canada, a national non-profit that helps government deliver better digital public services, will manage the initiative. Civic Hall Toronto is patterned after similar initiatives in New York and Paris. It is open for membership to both the government and the community.