Innovation and Impact Awards in honour of Lewis Perinbam

Cooperation Canada in collaboration with WUSC and the trustees of the Lewis Perinbam Award, is pleased to launch the Innovation and Impact Awards in Honour of Lewis Perinbam. Innovation is at the core of Cooperation Canada’s work and is captured in our strategic directions. We aim to inspire and support the growth of a more relevant, responsive and effective global development and humanitarian assistance sector that, through innovation, can create sustainable impact.  As such, Cooperation Canada would like to celebrate and recognize Canadian individuals and civil society organizations (CSOs) that are doing impactful and innovative work.  

Honouring Lewis Perinbam

Lewis Perinbam, O.C, (1925-2007) was a pioneer in building the international development sector in Canada. He was the founding Executive Director of CUSO, the first full time Secretary General of the Canadian National Commission of UNESCO and the CEO of WUSC. He joined a fledging Canadian International Development Agency in 1969 and became the founding director general of the NGO division. He later became the Vice-President of the Canadian Partnership Program where he launched several programs that made Canada a leader in civil society-government collaboration. He led the 2000 Task Force on the Participation of Visible Minorities in the Public Service which generated deep change throughout Government. The awards  recognize his outstanding contributions and provide a reminder and a call for action that ambitious system-wide innovation is always possible.  

How to Apply:

Nomination Process:   

• Nominators must complete the online form to provide rationale for the nomination.   
• Nominators must demonstrate evidence for how the nominee has fit the criteria and has implemented an innovative practice that has resulted in greater impact and/or learning.   
• Nominations can be peer or self-nominated.

The call for nominations: Individual and Organizational is open until December 20, 2024.