Global Futures Office
The Global Futures Office is an institutional enabler facilitating connections between people, ideas, and resources across the University community and beyond. The Global Futures Office supports and propels initiatives advancing the Global Futures through research, education, and service with measurable and scalable impact on the future of humanity and our planet.
The Global Futures focuses on two sets of activities:
CONVENE and CONNECT
Through a variety of events, the Global Futures Office identifies, sparks, and celebrates connections across UW and with external partners to advance collaborative, interdisciplinary, and integrated initiatives in research, education, and service that best advance the Global Futures.
SUPPORT and PROPEL
The Global Futures Office provides and connects expertise and shared services to propel initiatives. This includes funding through the Global Futures Fund. The work of the Global Futures Office supports the University’s ongoing efforts to improve organizational efficiency, effectiveness, collaboration, and revenue generation.
Governance
Deans’ Council serves as the governance body overseeing the strategic direction of Global Futures Office. Deans' Council will also provide final approval for the funding for each cohort of Global Futures Initiatives commencing with the pilot fund launched in April 2025. A Global Futures Steering Committee has been struck to adjudicate the Global Futures Fund, providing recommendations to Deans’ Council.
Meet the Global Futures Office Steering Committee.
Background
In 2020, an Interdisciplinary Task Force Report identified key enablers and barriers to interdisciplinary initiatives at the University of Waterloo. More recently, the Report of the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Building a Resilient University of Waterloo underlined the importance of improving organizational efficiency, coordination, collaboration, processes, and structures if we are to be positioned to realize the strategic vision for Waterloo at 100. The notion of de-siloing and “One University” emerged among other recommendations that resonate strongly with the Global Futures.
In 2023, the strategic vision for Waterloo’s future carried with it guiding principles. These serve to guide the work of the Global Futures: Rediscover Unconventional; Lead Globally, Act Locally; and Coordinate and Collaborate. Reinforcing these principles and emerging from the needs identified above, Waterloo’s Values were endorsed in June 2024: Think Differently, Act with Purpose, and Work Together. These values help underpin the ethos of Global Futures.