Ben Weinlick
Ben Weinlick is the founder of Think Jar Collective.
Currently Ben is also the Executive Director of Skills Society. Skills Society is one of largest and most innovative social service organizations in Canada. Stewarding an amazing collective of 500 employee, and a 25 million a year budget, Skills Society has a long and unique history related to social innovation and systems change around the rights and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. Ben and colleagues of Skills are known internationally for quality human centered services and creating tangible social innovations. Before becoming Executive Director in 2019, Ben stewarded Social Innovation Research & Development through an innovation lab he helped launch in 2015 called the Action Lab. The Action Lab focuses on systems change and innovation around some of the most wicked and entangled problems that humans are facing today. He is also the co-founder of MyCompass Planning which is on a mission to humanize social service case management systems where people served are centered in shaping their support services.
As the founder of Think Jar Collective and his expertise in disciplined innovation culture and methods, he regularly is asked by Universities, Businesses, Governments, and Non-Profits to help grow capacity to problem solve better and in more holistic ways. He offers keynotes on human centered service design thinking, social innovation labs and the tools and culture of disciplined innovation. Along the way striving to nudge positive systems change over the last 20+ years, he has had stellar mentors and colleagues that he shares credit with for accomplishments and awards.
He is deeply driven by the desire to help people, organizations and community to get better at navigating complex challenges together.
LinkedIN Profile for Ben Weinlick
Awards & Accomplishments
2013 awarded both the MacEwan University distinguished alumni award and the Avenue Magazine Top 40 under 40 award.
2014 awarded the Community Disability Service Sector Leadership award by the Alberta Government for leading innovative approaches to improve the quality of life of some of Alberta's most vulnerable.
2017 - MyCompass Planning innovation award through Alberta Council of Disability Services
2018 - Featured in the 12 Lessons Shared On Social Innovation - J.W. McConnell Foundation
2020- Collisions for Creativity -Royal Roads University Alumni Interview with Ben
2023 - Action Lab- What do we really mean when we say innovation and social innovation
Graduate Thesis
Humour and serious play enhancing creativity in disability service design Explored ways to enhance creative thinking in order to increase quality in human service design and delivery.
Projects
Action Lab: Space to Think Differently and Make Ideas Happen - Run-of-the-mill, rigid, and hierarchical approaches to problem solving are too often inadequate for addressing complex challenges faced by organizations, and our world today. That’s why we created Action Lab. Webpage with more info here
MyCompass - Revolutionizing Social Service Case Management - Putting Systemic Design Thinking to use for social good. After 5 years of R&D, Ben Weinlick, Skills Society, Lift Interactive and Southern Alberta Community Living Association built and rolled out a game changing social innovation that uses new technology to improve, and humanize the case management experience of how social services are designed, and delivered. More Info here
CommuniTEA Infusion Project- Think Jar Collective colleagues, Ben, Debbie and Brooks were the designers and developers of this community building project. The CommuniTEA Infusion project creates a pop up town square for community members to connect, share ideas and strengthen connections. CommuniTEA Infusion Project
Project Citizenship - Exploring ways to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities through story telling. Powerful social change initiative that Ben leads through his work with Skills Society. Featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review
Ben's weird and fun art and music creative projects
Articles by Ben:
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Projects by Ben:
Think Jar Collective founder Ben Weinlick shares some insights on parallels between the wild Buddhist Yogis of old and Creative Provocations in innovation and systems change work for good.