Research-to-Practice
Translate international research and best practices into innovation strategies, member resources, and system-level solutions that work in your context.
the gap
Excellent Research.
Rare Implementation.
After 20 years in the pension sector, I kept seeing the same gap everywhere: excellent research and global best practices that rarely translate into real change.
Pension organizations know what good innovation looks like. They've seen:
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Expanded member services in Denmark
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Auto-enrolment in Australia and the UK
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Engagement strategies in the Netherlands
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Micro-savings in Kenya and Ghana
The knowledge exists. The research is solid. The case studies are compelling.
Ideas stall in committees
What should take 6 months takes 18. By the time you're ready to move, the opportunity has passed.
Global best practices don't translate.
What worked in Denmark doesn't fit Canadian regulatory constraints. Australian approaches assume different member behaviors.
Innovation stays theoretical.
Pilots get discussed but never launched. Research sits in papers. Innovations remain overseas.
The gap isn't knowledge. It's implementation.
services
From Global Best Practices to Launched Solutions
Innovation Strategies
Build innovation roadmaps that actually ship — identifying opportunities, prioritizing ruthlessly, sequencing for success, aligning stakeholders, navigating governance approval.
What you get:
Clear 12-24 month plan with ownership, milestones, and implementation pathways. From "everything's a priority" to "here's what we're building and when."
Member Resources
Design and launch tools, calculators, resources that members actually use — retirement income projectors, decumulation calculators, decision support tools, financial literacy resources, personalized guidance.
What you get:
Member-facing resources designed with behavioral insights, tested with members, integrated with systems, and launched to your member base.
Decumulation Framework Design
Navigate the hardest challenge in pensions — analyzing global models (CDC, variable annuities, programmed withdrawal), modeling scenarios, designing frameworks, planning implementation.
What you get:
Decumulation approach grounded in global evidence, tailored to your regulatory context, designed for your members, with clear path to launch.
System-Level Solutions
Tackle challenges too big for any single plan — coverage expansion, portability, workforce participation. Synthesize global evidence, facilitate stakeholder alignment, design implementation pathways.
What you get:
Collaborative frameworks, stakeholder buy-in, implementation roadmaps that navigate political and regulatory complexity.
Global Networks, Local Expertise
I bring deep connections across leading pension systems — Nordic countries, Australia, UK, Netherlands, Asia-Pacific. But I don't just report what they're doing. I translate it into approaches that work in your regulatory and cultural context.
Implementation Focus
I've been on both sides — designing innovation strategies AND navigating the governance, stakeholder, and execution challenges to actually ship them. I know the gap between "great idea" and "launched product" because I've lived it.
Research-Informed
I synthesize academic research, industry reports, and international case studies into practical frameworks. You get evidence-based approaches, not consultant opinions or untested theories.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
Translation, Not Just Information
OUR CLIENTS
Organizations Building Tomorrow's Capabilities
I work with pension plans, industry bodies, policymakers, and international organizations committed to innovation.
Typical engagements
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Pension plans building innovation roadmaps
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Plans launching member-facing tools
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Industry bodies tackling system-level challenges
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Policymakers translating international evidence
Common challenges
"We know we need to innovate but don't know where to start"
"We've seen what Australia does — how do we adapt it for Canada?"
"Our pilots never get to launch — we need help shipping"
"We need to implement decumulation options our members will use"
"We're stuck between what research says and what's possible here"
OUR APPROACH
From Research to Reality
We start by understanding what's working globally — scanning international research, connecting with practitioners, synthesizing best practices.
01
Scan Global Evidence
We adapt global approaches to your regulatory constraints, organizational culture, member population, and stakeholder landscape. Not copy-paste. Translation.
02
Translate to Your Context
We work collaboratively to design solutions — prototyping, testing with stakeholders, piloting with members, iterating based on learning.
03
Build & Test Together
We help you ship — governance approval, stakeholder alignment, regulatory navigation, communications, execution. From idea to launched product.
04
Navigate to Launch
case study
Research-to-Practice in Action
OMERS Retirement Income Sources Hub
The Challenge:
Members struggled to understand how different retirement income sources (CPP, OAS, employer pension, personal savings) fit together, leading to poor planning and retirement anxiety.
The Approach:
Leveraged National Institute on Ageing research on retirement income adequacy to design a member-facing tool showing personalized projections across all income sources. Collaborated with member experience, IT, communications, and external researchers to build a solution grounded in behavioral economics.
The Outcome:
Launched tool improved member financial literacy, increased engagement with retirement planning, and provided actionable guidance. Research became reality. Knowledge became action.