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The Development Impact Lab (DIL), headquartered at UC Berkeley and funded by USAID, has developed a new approach to innovation in the context of global development. The approach – called “Development Engineering (Dev Eng)”–merges advances in engineering with insights from the behavioural and social sciences. In addition to providing a robust, interdisciplinary framework for designing and testing new technologies in the field, DIL encourages researchers to build scale into the R&D process, from the beginning.

Yet the precise barriers to scale are often ill-defined. There are few generalizable mechanisms for scaling evidence-based interventions in emerging markets. To learn from ongoing efforts, DIL hosted their annual State of the Science conference on "The Science of Scaling".

The conference brought together academic researchers, development practitioners, technology developers, and investors to review the evidence on scaling successful anti-poverty innovations–particularly those developed at universities. Are there proven methods for technology transfer from universities to government agencies and non-governmental organizations? Why do some products and interventions scale quicker than others? What facilitates the adoption of new technologies by end-users? This event explored these questions and helped articulate a research agenda for the “Science of Scaling”.

The international character of this conference and exhibition brought together academia, practitioners, industry and development institutions with the aim of sharing experiences and the latest technology developments, learning from each other and networking.

The objective of the event was to :

• Consolidate the knowledge around solutions that have proven to work and their enabling factors,
• Present different models of financing, business models and technologies that enable the fast uptake of such solutions and
• Provide new roads for research and innovation;

The 10th Toronto Global Forum (TGF) took place from September 12–14, 2016 in Toronto, Canada. The forum's theme was "Leading in uncertain times".

Executive Director WISE, Dr. Jatin Nathwani participated in the event. 

In consideration of his achievements in low-carbon development and reputation, Dr. Roydon Fraser was invited to the Taiyuan Energy Low-Carbon Development Forum 2016. Prof. Roydon Fraser, was invited to present his research relating to low-carbon energy development and the applications in the area of transportation. Prof. Fraser also presented the role and vision of WISE to help transform our energy future through partnership.

The forum was jointly sponsored by the People's Government of Shanxi Province, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China and National Energy Administration and was held from Sept 7^th to 9^th, 2016 in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.

The University of Waterloo's third annual Eco-Summit was titled "Building Networks."  This event celebrated our sustainability progress, with a particular emphasis on the connections that are continuing to strengthen Waterloo's momentum.

Hosted by Sustainable Campus Initiative and the Sustainability Coordinator, this event brought together students, staff, and faculty to form new partnerships, celebrate successes, and be inspired.

The seventh ACM International Conference on Future Energy Systems (ACM e-Energy) aimed to be the premier venue for researchers working in the broad areas of computing and communication for smart energy systems, and in energy-efficient computing and communication systems.

By bringing together researchers in a high-quality single-track conference with significant opportunities for individual and small-group interaction, this event served as a major forum for presentations and discussions to shape the future of this area. It was hosted by Lukasz Golab and Srinivasan Keshav et al.

The Minister of Energy's Emerging Trends Energy Leaders Roundtable was held at the Campbell Conference Facility at the University of Toronto on May 31, 2016. The event was a forum for experts to provide advice to the Ministry of Energy on Ontario's Long Term Energy Plan. Dr. Jatin Nathwani, Executive Director of WISE, was one of the invited speakers. 

A Call to Think Globally and Act Locally. Held at Hart House in Toronto with leaders from the government, community, academic and private sectors. The day included an exhibit of local art and environmental initiatives, a keynote, and two panel discussions. The public was invited to learn about ideas on how to act locally on climate change. WISE participated with a booth at the event.

The Executive Director of WISE participated in this invitation-only gathering that brought together leaders in the energy industry for discussions on issues that are important for today and tomorrow. Each session was introduced by brief presentations from a few thought leaders but dominated by open discussions among participants. A candid exchange of views was facilitated by limiting the number of invitees and having a single “round” table.

The objective of this two-day event was a multi-faceted examination of the challenges, issues, and potential future directions affecting energy infrastructure in Canada. Through the generous support of the Energy Council of Canada, ten Waterloo students, including Energy Council of Canada (ECC) Fellows were able to attend the two-day event.

A closing keynote lecture was given by Jatin Nathwani on ‘Energy Infrastructure: Issues, Opportunities and Implications’.  The discussions at the meeting helped bring into a sharp focus the challenges of investment in energy infrastructure.