Digital transformation and AI are rapidly reshaping how economies grow, how people work, and how public services are delivered. Yet our core measurement tools—especially GDP—fail to capture much of this change. They don’t reflect whether digital infrastructure is reaching communities, whether AI is boosting productivity or displacing workers, or whether public digital investments are delivering value.
This workshop confronts that gap directly. It brings together experts from national statistical agencies, regulators, academia, and industry to chart a path forward: What new indicators do we need to track digital progress? How should we design them? And how can better measurement improve accountability, policy, and outcomes in the digital age?
Please join us on Wednesday, December 3rd at Ivey's Donald K. Johnson Centre in downtown Toronto for a half-day workshop centered on the digital economy; building upon the conversations, debates and findings of our past workshops:
- May 2025 | Innovation and Telecommunications Policy: Shaping Tech, Markets & Networks
- Oct 2024 | New Frontiers for Broadband and Resilience in Telecommunications: Satellites and Beyond
- May 2024 | Building Resilience in Telecommunications - In Canada and Beyond
- Oct 2023 | Comparative Perspectives on Broadband Regulation and Access
Key Themes:
Why Measurement Matters
GDP remains essential, but it cannot tell us how digital infrastructure is improving public outcomes—or whether we’re meeting national digital goals. This theme explores why complementary indicators are needed to fill critical gaps.
From Metrics to Mandates
Mandate letters increasingly commit governments to digital inclusion, copper switch-off, AI adoption, 5G deployment, and better public service delivery. There are needs to define and prioritize what metrics that should be part of government mandates.
Measuring the Future, Not Just the Past
Rapid advances in AI, platforms, and data infrastructure demand flexible, forward-looking measurement frameworks. This theme explores emerging tools, public-private data sources, and whether digital policy goals call for entirely new statistical models.
Confirmed Speakers
Erik Bohlin
Professor, Ivey Business School, and Ivey Chair in Telecommunication Economics, Policy and Regulation, Canada
Avinash Collis
Professor, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
Patrick Gill
Vice President, Business Data Lab, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Shane Greenstein
Professor, Harvard Business School
Yu-li Liu
Distinguished Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai University
Romel Mostafa
Director, Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management, Ivey Business School
Volker Stocker
Research Group Lead, Weizenbaum Institut Berlin
Viet Vu
Manager, Economic Research, the DAIS, Toronto Metropolitan University
Jennifer Withington
Acting Assistant Chief Statistician, Statistics Canada
This event is funded in part by the Ivey Chair in Telecommunication Economics, Policy and Regulation, as well as the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management at the Ivey Business School.