Blueprint for Growth: Innovation in Housing

15 episodes

Building Communities in B.C. with Minister Christine Boyle
2026-01-13 | 25 mins.
Season 2 Episode 7 - Building Communities in B.C. with Minister Christine Boyle
In this episode of Blueprint for Growth: Innovation and Housing, host Amy Vilis sits down with the Hon. Christine Boyle.

This conversation explores the innovative approaches to housing development in British Columbia, focusing on the integration of digital technology, partnerships, and streamlined processes to enhance housing delivery. Minister Christine Boyle shares insights from her journey in local government to her current role, emphasizing the importance of community-centered housing solutions and collaboration across sectors. The discussion highlights key initiatives like the Building Permit Hub and DASH, which aim to improve efficiency and affordability in housing construction.
#InnovationInHousing #ModernMethodsOfConstruction #MMC #DigitalHousing #HousingDelivery #WorkforceTransformation #IndigenousLedHousing #PublicPrivateCollaboration #Digitalbackbone
DASH Transforming housing delivery through digital, data and design standards
2026-01-13 | 32 mins.
Season 2 Episode 6 - DASH Transforming housing delivery through digital, data and design standards
In this episode of Blueprint for Growth: Innovation and Housing, host Amy Vilis explores how DASH: Digitally Accelerated Standardized Housing is transforming the Canadian housing lifecycle through digital standards, modular design, and advanced technology.

Joined by Esther de Vos, Executive Director of Research at BC Housing, and Franck Murat, architect and senior advisor at Aliova Consulting, the discussion highlights how DASH unites prefabrication, BIM, open data, regulatory streamlining, and permit-ready workflows to make housing faster, fairer, and more affordable. From connecting regulators and builders through shared digital models to creating long-term data-driven management systems, Esther and Franck show how collaboration, standardized tools, and open frameworks are building a scalable foundation for a more efficient, resilient, and inclusive housing sector across Canada.

Sources:
BC Housing Introducing DASH - Digitally Accelerated Standardized Housing

#InnovationInHousing #ModernMethodsOfConstruction #MMC #DigitalHousing #HousingDelivery #WorkforceTransformation #IndigenousLedHousing #PublicPrivateCollaboration #Digitalbackbone
Indigenous Led Development & The Future of Housing
2026-01-13 | 29 mins.
Season 2 Episode 5 - Indigenous Led Development & The Future of Housing
Innovation in housing isn’t just about new tools — it’s about leadership, partnership, and solutions rooted in community needs. In this episode of Blueprint for Growth: Innovation and Housing, host Amy Vilis speaks with Robin Billy, an Indigenous leader driving transformative approaches to First Nations housing and infrastructure. Next, she speaks with Neil Prakash, Principal at Prakash Architecture, whose climate-resilient, digitally enabled design work is helping communities turn vision into buildable reality. Together, they show how Indigenous-led authority, digital workflows, mass timber, modular construction, and strong cross-sector partnerships can accelerate building, strengthen local economies, and ensure homes truly reflect the people they’re meant for.
Sources:
CBC News: The National - Wilson Williams Squamish Leader Canada’s largest Indigenous-led housing project underway in Vancouver

#InnovationInHousing #ModernMethodsOfConstruction #MMC #DigitalHousing #HousingDelivery #WorkforceTransformation #IndigenousLedHousing #PublicPrivateCollaboration #Digitalbackbone
Tech, Trades & Workforce Transformation in Housing
2026-01-13 | 30 mins.
Season 2 Episode 4 - Tech, Trades & Workforce Transformation in Housing
In this episode of Blueprint for Growth: Innovation and Housing, host Amy Vilis explores how Canada’s construction workforce is evolving as digital tools, new training models, and shifting labour markets reshape how homes get built.

John Reid, co-founder of Faber Technologies, shares how micro-credentials, gig-based hiring platforms, and accessible tech are helping tens of thousands of tradespeople upskill, move between projects, and access better opportunities across North America.
Ellen Hlozan, Director of Strategic Alliances at Trax, brings a regulatory perspective—showing how standardized digital systems and AI-enabled tools can streamline permitting and help officials make faster, more confident decisions. Together, they reveal why the future of housing depends on people just as much as technology—and how collaboration between industry and government can build a more adaptive, tech-ready workforce capable of meeting Canada’s housing demands.
Sources:
How AI Will Transform Construction

#InnovationInHousing #ModernMethodsOfConstruction #MMC #DigitalHousing #HousingDelivery #WorkforceTransformation #IndigenousLedHousing #PublicPrivateCollaboration #Digitalbackbone
Accelerating Digital Adoption & Streamlining Regulations
2026-01-13 | 36 mins.
Season 2 Episode 3 - Accelerating Digital Adoption & Streamlining Regulations
In this episode of Blueprint for Growth: Innovation and Housing, host Amy Vilis explores how cities and tech leaders are modernizing the systems that govern how homes get approved, reviewed, and delivered.

Rene Cravioto shares how Vancouver is shifting from paper-based permitting to standardized, digital workflows—highlighting the real-world complexities of multi-team reviews, digitizing bylaws, and building machine-readable rules that enable faster, more predictable services. Zane Franzen brings a private-sector lens, showing how better data, AI-driven tools, and integrated systems (from BIM to APIs to automation) can increase transparency, reduce friction, and connect long-fragmented workflows across government and industry.

Sources:
Why Digital Integration is KEY to the Future of Social Housing

#InnovationInHousing #ModernMethodsOfConstruction #MMC #DigitalHousing #HousingDelivery #WorkforceTransformation #IndigenousLedHousing #PublicPrivateCollaboration #Digitalbackbone

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About Blueprint for Growth: Innovation in Housing

*Winner - Best Tech Podcast - 2025 Quill Podcast Awards* British Columbia is experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis. While addressing various aspects of the housing supply chain is essential, no single approach can fully solve the challenges we face in scaling housing production. So, what's the blueprint for growth? In November 2023, DIGITAL — Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies — launched its Housing Growth Innovation Program with support from the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs. The program brings together collaborative teams of industry leaders to accelerate technology-driven approaches that are driving real, tangible growth for British Columbia's housing production sector. Amy Vilis, Director of Housing Growth Innovation at DIGITAL, chats with innovators doing groundbreaking work within DIGITAL's Housing Growth Innovation Program to develop and implement technology-based solutions within British Columbia's housing sector across the full scale of end-to-end production. These conversations showcase how ideas are making it into the real world where they can become comprehensive, viable and, best of all, achievable solutions to accelerate housing production for British Columbians.

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