Atkinson Field Notes

Learning in Action

News, presentations and reflections from Atkinson’s Chief Executive Officer Colette Murphy and the rest of the Atkinson team.


23 Nov 17
Opening remarks for a panel discussion on "making economies work for everyone" at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Global Conference of Young Parliamentarians on Friday, November 17, 2017 in Ottawa by Atkinson’s Executive Director Colette Murphy. Read more >
4 Nov 17
We’re here tonight to celebrate the good fight. The fight for a better world. No one can reach the age of 75 without having to think about what makes some fights good and others not. The Atkinson Foundation is no exception. We’ve had our fair share of both. Read more >
4 Nov 17
If you know the history of the Toronto Star, you’ll know Joseph Atkinson expected his reporters to “Get the news first, sew it up, pursue every detail, and play it big.” The fight for decent work benefits from the Star’s passion for investigating, reporting and effecting change in countless ways. One way stands out tonight. News gatherers are fighting for the future of journalism these days. Read more >
4 Nov 17
When my grandfather established the Atkinson Foundation in 1942, he had been a journalist and the publisher of the Toronto Star for over 40 years. There are signs, however, that he might have been an architect at heart. Not only did he envision the Toronto Star’s first home on King Street in the late 1920s Read more >
4 Nov 17
I’d like to start by thanking you for the opportunity to advocate for “humanity above all” in a world that is too often inhumane. In preparation for this night, we set out to learn more about this phrase, this timeless mission that Mr. Atkinson placed at the centre of his life and his foundation. We discovered that it has all the characteristics of what’s called a “meme.” Read more >
12 Apr 17
These places where we live and work matter to us – or we wouldn’t be here. Nor would we put our names on ballots, put our savings on the line to start businesses, or put countless hours into our communities to make them even more vibrant than they already are. But the people with whom we live and work matter to us even more... Read more >
9 Nov 16
Like most of you, this is my first convocation. I’ve earned two university degrees but I’ve never walked across a stage like this one. Back in 1987, I dreamed about walking the landscape of my textbooks and meeting the people whose lives I studied. Before the ink was dry on my undergraduate diploma Read more >
19 Sep 16
Anchor strategies mobilize resources, deliberately and strategically, to improve the lives and livelihoods people who are not benefiting from traditional approaches to economic development. Anchor strategists are not necessarily motivated by the charity impulse.  Generally, they simply want better results for their institutions... Read more >
20 Nov 15
The Atkinson Foundation’s first foray into the public policy development process was to advocate for its own existence. In 1949, the Ontario legislature passed the Charitable Gifts Act to prohibit charities from owning more than 10% of a business Read more >
20 Oct 15
I’m one of the 26 Torontonians asked to provide advice to the Deputy Mayor and City staff as they assembled the elements of this strategy over the past nine months. I’m also the Executive Director of the Atkinson Foundation, your partner Read more >
2 of 3