LEAP Launches Healthy Futures Accelerator to Address Canada’s Pressing Chronic Health Challenge

TORONTO—LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact today launched a new accelerator to scale initiatives that will help Canadians move more, sit less, eat better, and stop smoking. Called Healthy Futures, the accelerator will support innovative solutions that help to prevent the unhealthy behaviours contributing to chronic diseases affecting Canadians. This work is even more urgent now due to COVID-19. Applications for Healthy Futures can be made today at: www.leap-pecautcentre.ca/healthyfutures

Through Healthy Futures, LEAP will provide in-depth strategic and operational support, coaching and capacity building to accelerate and scale impactful ventures across Canada over the next five years. Funding and pro bono support worth up to $10 million will be made available to 11 social ventures, taking their needs and stages of development into account. This work will be made possible through: a financial contribution from Public Health Agency of Canada, funds to be raised by LEAP from the private sector, and pro bono support from sector partners including Boston Consulting Group (BCG), EY LLP, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, the Offord Group, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada, and Google.org.

According to The Need for Action, a new report authored by LEAP in a research partnership with BCG, chronic diseases are on the rise—increasing at a rate of 14% per year—and have an estimated annual economic burden of $190 billion.

“We urgently need solutions to address the social determinants of health and to change behaviours in today’s world, particularly among underserved populations,” said Joan Dea, Board Chair, LEAP. “A sustained collaboration across the public, private, and social sectors is required to achieve success. If we do not act, the rates of chronic disease will continue to grow—adversely affecting the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of Canadians and their families.”

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the importance of strong underlying health, as individuals with chronic diseases and weaker immune systems are most at risk of serious outcomes due to viruses and infections. This crisis also magnifies the urgency of finding solutions that reach remote, vulnerable, and underserved segments of the Canadian population.

The Need for Action shows that, even before the onset of COVID-19, large numbers of Canadians were engaging in harmful habits that drive the growth of chronic diseases:

• More than 40% of Canadians have failed to meet the physical activity guidelines
• More than 70% of Canadians did not consume adequate fruit and vegetable servings
• And, 16% continued to smoke

“By combining our resources with the thinking of innovative not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, we can have a real impact in promoting healthy behaviours in the new normal arising from the COVID-19 crisis and in addressing the challenges identified in The Need for Action,” said Joe Manget, Board Lead, Healthy Futures at LEAP. “We are inviting applications from promising organizations with significant potential for chronic disease prevention and improving health outcomes for all Canadians.”

“LEAP is launching the Healthy Futures accelerator from a strong foundation of facts and insights," says Kilian Berz, managing director and senior partner, BCG. "BCG is proud to be a founding partner with a role to guide the selection and support of ventures. We will provide our best services to accelerate and scale the carefully selected ventures, ensuring the greatest impact potential.”

Applications from high-impact organizations will be accepted until June 19, 2020 via www.leap-pecautcentre.ca/healthyfutures. 

About LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact

LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact (LEAP) believes in a society where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. We catalyze large scale social impact by selecting, supporting and scaling breakthrough social ventures and unleashing the potential of collaboration. We achieve collective impact by working with our sector partners, all business leaders in their respective industries: Boston Consulting Group, EY LLP, McCarthy Tétrault LLP, the Offord Group, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada, and Google.org. To date, 100,000 lives have been impacted by this work. Visit leap-pecautcentre.ca or follow LEAP on Twitter and LinkedIn.

For more information, please contact:

Susan Hallsworth, Partnership Director, LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact
905-846-5854
susan@leap-pecautcentre.ca