TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The CanInfra Challenge announced yesterday 20 teams that will advance to the next round of the Ideas Contest. The group was selected by a panel of judges including BCG Senior Advisor George Stalk, former Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Drew Fagan, and Drew Buchanan, Co-Head of Debevoise & Plimpton's Global Infrastructure and Finance Group and Robert Steiner, Director of the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affair's Fellowship in Global Journalism and Professor of Global Practice. The teams will receive coaching from executives from Torys LLP, Deloitte, Brookfield Asset Management, and BCG, as well as BCG Alumni, to refine their pitches ahead of online voting by the public.
The Challenge, sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management (founding sponsor), CIBC, Torys LLP, RBC and Deloitte, with The Globe and Mail as a media partner, presented by BCG in Canada, crowdsourced proposals from across Canada to tackle the country’s biggest infrastructure challenges.
“A wide range of ideas came in from universities, think tanks, and the general public from sea to sea to sea. Inspiring entries from outside the traditional definitions of infrastructure, including data infrastructure, electrification and energy, intercity transport, urban transit, and trade corridors and platforms, are defining this exciting contest,” says Keith Halliday, Director, BCG’s Centre for Canada’s Future. “Applicants tackled the diverse challenges we face as a nation, offering some exciting ideas with a national impact as well as city-focused solutions, with over half of the ideas with a significant digital element.”
The CanInfra Challenge aims to reignite the drive for the future by recognizing ideas that will have an economic and social impact, spark dialogue among leaders in government and the private sector, and advance the national conversation on infrastructure.
“Canada is too big to think small, and we need transformational infrastructure ideas to position ourselves for the next century,” says Kilian Berz, a Toronto-based senior partner and chair of the Centre for Canada’s Future. “Canada has an enviable quality of life and strong economy, but our infrastructure is often not keeping up with our growth. We hope that Canadians will check out the top 20 concepts, talk about where they want Canada to go, and join the online voting in April.”
The final ten contenders will be announced on April 23 and the winner of the $50,000 grand prize will be named at the Canadian Transformational Infrastructure Summit in May. There will also be runner-up prizes, including a People’s Choice Award chosen by the public via online voting.
To learn about the Top-20 submissions and for more details about the CanInfra Challenge and the Canadian Transformational Infrastructure Summit, visit www.CanInfra.ca.
About the CanInfra Challenge
The CanInfra Challenge is organized to encourage the development of transformational infrastructure ideas by a private sector consortium led by The Boston Consulting Group in Canada, supported by media partner The Globe and Mail, and founding sponsor Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a global alternative asset manager with over US$250 billion in assets under management. Private sector sponsors provide the prize funds and executive coaching, and include Deloitte Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Torys LLP. Visit the CanInfra Challenge and Transformational Infrastructure Summit website for more information, including details on rules and regulations at www.CanInfra.ca.
About The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail, founded in 1844, is Canada’s foremost news media company. Each day, The Globe leads the national discussion by engaging Canadians through its award-winning coverage of news, politics, business, investing, and lifestyle topics, across multiple platforms. The Globe and Mail print and digital formats reach 6.4 million readers every week, with Report on Business magazine reaching 1.7 million readers every issue in print and digital. The Globe and Mail is owned by Woodbridge, the investment arm of the Thomson family.
About The Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world’s leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with more than 90 offices in 50 countries. For more information, please visit bcg.com.
The Boston Consulting Group
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