What is the Energy Futures Lab?

The Energy Futures Lab (EFL) is an Alberta-based, multi-interest collaboration designed to accelerate the development of a “fit for the future” energy system. The EFL will bring together a cohort of influential leaders to address current and emerging energy challenges, and generate opportunities to identify, test and scale new initiatives and collaborations. It will serve as a:

• Platform for ongoing experimentation, innovation, and collaboration
• Network to share lessons and knowledge among participating organizations and their stakeholders
• Channel to spark a new energy future narrative that inspires dialogue and action on key issues and challenges

What are the timeframes and process for the EFL?

The first 3 day Fellowship workshop will be at the Banff Centre, early November 2015. Including this initial workshop, we expect the commitment to be 12-15 days over the 12-14 months, as well as some degree of engagement required between meetings (e.g. meeting preparation, communications/liaison with EFL Fellows, work on collaborative initiatives, etc). Workshop information, dates (where available) and commitments are available here.

What is the fellowship?

The EFL Fellowship is a group of 30-40 of Alberta’s innovators and influencers who share the EFL’s overarching premise that to remain a successful and prosperous society, Alberta will need to create an energy future that is aligned with the emerging social, economic and environmental demands of the 21st Century.

Through a shared learning journey, the Fellows will deepen their understanding of diverse stakeholder perspectives and the energy system, build trust and shared knowledge and work together to address energy challenges. Fellows will co-create and prototype programs and projects that support transition towards a resilient energy system in Alberta.

Why a fellowship?

Tackling the complexity and polarization of today’s energy challenges requires a diversity of perspectives and abilities. No single person or organization has the knowledge or capacity to create the energy system that the future requires of us. It requires a mix of perspectives (e.g. government, First Nations, industry, non-profit, community group interests, etc) and the ability to learn and experiment together on innovative practices that can act as stepping-stones towards this future.

What is the benefit in being a fellow?

Through a series of high-calibre workshops and learning journeys built upon the latest practices in social innovation and collaboration, fellows will receive the following benefits:

• Develop leading-edge knowledge and skills to collaborate, lead and manage in an increasingly dynamic and complex energy environment.
• Glean strategic intelligence and insights about the energy space from peers and system-sensing research.
• Build a strategic and systems-level understanding of the energy field, its players and inter-relationships.
• Be part of an influential and supportive network of dynamic change-makers committed to creating positive impact and tangible outcomes.
• Develop and enhance important relationships in an age of increased expectations for transparency and collaboration.
• Play a major role in a high profile initiative that will contribute to Alberta’s energy future.

How much time is involved? What is the full commitment?

Expect Fellowship meetings/workshops to require approximately 12-15 days commitment over the first year. There will be some degree of engagement required between meetings, which may include meeting preparation, communications/liaison with EFL Fellows, work on collaborative initiatives, etc. Workshop information, timing and commitments are available here.

Fellowship membership is not transferable.

How is EFL building diversity into the program?

The Energy Futures Lab Fellowship forms the nucleus of the Lab, comprising 30 to 40 of Alberta’s innovators and influencers from industry, government, non-profit organizations, First Nations, academia and community interest groups. Fellows will be selected based on their merit as compared to the selection criteria, as well as consideration for the overall diversity of the group as a whole. The fellowship is intended to reflect a broad diversity of actors and voices that play a vital role in the future of Alberta’s energy system.

How will the selection of fellows be made?

Online applications close by 5pm MT on Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

Applications will be reviewed by a subset of the EFL design team, with input from the steering committee. Selection of Fellows is based on the merit of each potential fellow as compared to the selection criteria, while ensuring that the Energy Futures Lab Fellows as a whole reflects a broad diversity of actors and voices that play a vital role in the future of Alberta’s energy system.

Formal invitations to selected fellows will be made by August 10, 2015. Fellows have two weeks to accept.

What is an intrapreneur? systempreneur?

Intrapreneurs are change agents who work from inside organizations to develop entrepreneurial solutions that change the nature of their organizations.

Systempreneurs mobilize resources and gather stakeholders to innovate and discover solutions to wicked system-level challenges. They drive system-level change by being connectors and master collaborators.