In 2025, we joined the 2023 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholars, Mentors, and invited guests in Toronto for a dynamic and interdisciplinary workshop focused on health systems transformation. The day brought together diverse perspectives — from public health professionals and community organizers to researchers and policymakers — all committed to reshaping how health systems function and serve people across Canada and beyond.
While our work spans a wide range of health and systems issues, several key themes emerged throughout the day. These common threads point to both shared challenges and collective possibilities for the future of health systems.
Common Challenges, Shared Insights
One of the most prominent takeaways was the recognition that many of us, regardless of our specific focus areas, encounter similar roadblocks. These include:
- The “Pilot Project” Trap: Too often, promising initiatives remain stuck in small-scale, temporary phases, without the support or momentum to scale into long-term system change.
- Centralized Responses: While centralized systems can be efficient in some contexts, they often lack the flexibility to respond effectively to local needs and lived realities.
- Funding Constraints: Inconsistent or limited funding remains a significant barrier, especially when working toward innovative or community-driven approaches.
These patterns suggest a deeper need to rethink how systems are structured and who they are designed to serve.
The Power of Community-Led Transformation
A resounding message throughout the workshop was the importance of enabling communities to take the lead in transforming health systems. Scholars, practitioners, and institutional leaders must be prepared to follow the lead of those with lived experience, cultural knowledge, and community-rooted expertise.
This means embracing:
- Radical ways of knowing and doing, including Indigenous and non-Western knowledge systems;
- Shifts in discourse, where language, values, and narratives better reflect community realities;
- New approaches to change, starting from the grassroots rather than being imposed top-down.
Transformation does not come from replication alone—it comes from reimagination.
Storytelling as a Tool and a Responsibility
The day also highlighted the power of storytelling in advancing change. Personal stories can bring systems issues to life, challenge dominant narratives, and mobilize communities. However, there is also an ethical imperative to protect both the storytellers and the knowledge they share.
Participants emphasized the importance of:
- Seeking consent and honoring the intent behind shared experiences;
- Avoiding the extraction or commodification of stories;
- Ensuring that stories are not only heard but acted upon in meaningful ways.
Looking Ahead
The Poverty Task Force continues this journey, we remain committed to fostering collaboration, challenging norms, and co-creating more equitable and responsive health systems.
We are excited about our upcoming RentSafe Owen Sound Collaboration gathering which will center the grounded expertise of our Community Voices and the work in collaboration with the Community Impact Lab and RentSafe Ontario on Climate Resilience in Low-Income Rental Housing.
