Partners: Government of Canada, Minister of Finance, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Royal Canadian Mint, Canadian Bank Note Company, Civil Society.
TANGIBLY is a social innovation non profit national community organization established in Montreal in 2016 with a mission to enhance the social, cultural, territorial, economic and environmental well-being of communities around Canada through a nation wide Design Lab. It is specifically dedicated to taking immediate, positive and passionate action to pursue the goal of improving the social and psychological experience of the use of currency by citizens throughout the country with projects focused on exploring the potential of current and future conceptions, designs and productions of tangible money.
Money is generally known as a medium that can be exchanged for goods and services and is also used as a measure of value. Money can be divided into two types: tangible and intangible. Tangible is something that is real, capable of being touched, substantial and material. It is safe to assume that many things in our world revolve around money but now, it is time for money to revolve around every day citizens, and make changes in regular circulation currency that generates real and actual tangible benefits, rather than imaginary ones. Tangibly's mission is to empower Canadians, both men and women, to become civically engaged members of society and to participate in social innovation processes related to projects of enhanced collaborative conception and design of tangible money.
The Theory of Citizen Participation is at the core of our mission and it is to put citizens' input and participation, both men and women, and especially the youth of Canada, at the heart of ideas, designs and alternative practices for printed bank notes and minted coinage. The projects aim to unleash the human potential of the minds and hands of all citizens to enhance the experience of commerce and exchange when it comes to tangible money.
It also aims to accelerate and optimize the use of high technology innovations in tangible money production processes with a purpose of exploring ways to foster social transformation. This reflects our desire to build a more meaningful and effective Canadian economy with definite impacts; not a vague or elusive proposition.
The main strategy is to enable the implementation of a pioneering design lab and social platform (Tangibly Design Lab) for national interactive dialogue and creation processes: from idea promotion to artistic contributions in the conception and design of printed bank notes and minted coinage. We work towards building a collaborative community in a decentralized, non-hierarchical way of working together that facilitates project-specific teamwork within a larger, ongoing and permanent national community. This socially innovative on-going national platform for the empowerment and achievement of individual contributors ( idea generators, artists, graphic designers, etc.) will allow us to empower citizens to seek the right information that will allow them to pursue innovative research and designs into the conception and design of tangible money. We also strive to build an equitable and inclusive social economy to ensure all Canadians, both men and women, have the opportunity to work and thrive.
We believe the social economy of Canada needs to be recognized worldwide for its ability to foster innovative solutions to economic disparity. We aim for a more just, prosperous and caring society through excellent research, effective networked collaboration and knowledge dissemination, and provide a valued neutral space within which an open dialogue among all interested parties can take place. We believe in using art for social change, to contribute significantly to the progress of a healthy democracy, by creating a sustainable sense of belonging to Canada and the power to produce tangible impacts. We are working on multi-sectoral partnerships that will allow for the tangible money of Canada to look like the innovations and new realities Canadians work so hard for, in order for these same Canadians to benefit from an immense increase in personal and psychological well-being. Improving the lives of Canadians—and contributing to a more resilient society—requires breakthrough ideas and approaches, game changing strategies and collaborations, and continuous innovation.To bring these values and projects into actual physical existence, we envision multiple possible futures for tangible currency. This includes Provincial and Territorial Empowerment Initiatives, and increased and complete knowledge diffusion on the principles of bank note and minted currency conceptions, designs and productions processes. While focusing on identifying innovations that are scaleable and have deep impact to create a more financially resilient society, and a thriving more beautiful Canadian economy, our aim is to create the future of tangible money that will reflect Canadian society and innovations, along side values of economic rights and financial inclusion.