Changemaker Education Research Forum (CERF)
About the Changemaker Education Research Forum (CERF)
The Changemaker Education Research Forum (CERF) brings together practitioners and scholars from around the world to enhance the knowledge base of social innovation and changemaking.
Our focus is to create the conditions for deeper collaboration and knowledge-sharing amongst the Changemaker network and beyond tapping into valuable insights from Ashoka Fellows, academics, researchers, Change Leaders, university staff and students.
CERF was initially launched by Ashoka Canada in 2020, previously the Canadian Changemaker Education Research Forum (C-CERF) and has now grown into a global gathering hosted by Ashoka U and Ashoka Canada. Learn more.
2024 Changemaker Education Research Forum
The New Horizons of Social Innovation in Changemaker Education and Research
Ashoka Canada and Ashoka U hosted the virtual 2024 Changemaker Education Research Forum (CERF) February 29-March 1, 2024. In a rapidly changing world, the ways in which changemaking and social innovation are taught, researched and measured in post-secondary education are shifting and adapting. Academics and practitioners are forging innovative new paths forward in changemaker education. The 2024 CERF explored and highlighted research on these new horizons and their impacts.
►Read a special issue of Social Innovations Journal (SIJ) featuring research shared at the 2024 CERF (Vol. 27 2024).
2022 Changemaker Education Research Forum
Ashoka Canada and Ashoka U co-convened the third biennial Changemaker Education Research Forum (CERF), held in conjunction with the International Social Innovation Research Conference (ISIRC) in Halifax, Nova Scotia (and virtually) in September 2022.
The theme for 2022 fell across two core streams; Impact of Changemaker (Social Innovation) Education and Cultural, Geopolitical and Structural Barriers to Social Innovation.
A special issue of Social Innovations Journal (SIJ) featured research developed out of the 2022 CERF.
Previous Changemaker Education Research Forum (CERF) Events
2021 CERF
The 2021 CERF was held virtually from March 15-18 alongside the Ashoka U Exchange. The theme was Changemaking Research and included two events: the Changemaking Research Showcase, through which researchers shared their insights, findings, and learnings with other participants, and the Research Connector Workshop, a space for collaborations that link the research capacity of Changemaker Campuses with the research needs of Ashoka Fellows, Ashoka Staff, and other Changemakers.
2020 CERF
The 2020 CERF was held at the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto, Ontario on January 15. As the inaugural CERF, this Forum focused generally on bringing together researchers, practitioners, and theorists to discuss changemaking practice and theory.
Special thanks to RBC Future Launch for its generous support of these events.
