Welcome. I’m Cameron Norman. Thanks for visiting.
I wish we were at a cafe right now, because meeting over a coffee is how I like to get to know people. For now, this website will have to suffice.
Who I Am
I’m a curious nerd who loves learning and building things that matter to people’s health and wellbeing. That’s translated into a life’s mission to help others discover, learn, and create things that matter to them in the service of health and wellbeing. If it can be done with coffee, all the better, because I love coffee and the cafe culture around it.
I’ve always been interested in building things and have done this throughout my career. It’s because of that that I can relate to many of those I work with: leaders who are seeking to build things, too.
My clients are the people who said yes when it mattered.
They lead organizations and teams working at the edge of what health and human services can do:
- Clinical programs and health services
- Community supports, housing, and mental health initiatives
- Policy systems that shape the conditions for people to flourish
- Education and innovation that connect people’s aspirations to health and wellbeing
The stakes in their work are not abstract. They are measured in people’s lives, dignity, and wellbeing for individuals, caregivers, and professionals.
These are leaders who feel the weight of that, recognize the privilege of that responsibility, and want their organizations to be worthy of it.
My students are those who want to step into those shoes and to say yes.
This requires a designer’s mindset, skillset, and toolset that are fit for purpose. It needs its own level of support, empathy, and kindness — along with encouragement, knowledge, and skill-development. That’s what I do as a trusted advisor, coach, service and system designer, evaluator, and educator.
I serve these leaders in doing the work that has a positive impact on the people in their care, their caregivers, and communities.
Strategic Design is What I Do
I trained as a psychologist and have worked in health systems and social innovation for over 25 years. I bring a design and a systems lens to what I do. Design is the act of innovation, and systems are the space in which we create health and healthcare.
At the core of my practice is strategic design: using design methods, systems thinking, behavioural science, and evidence to align organizational purpose, identity, and action. I help organizations see what they are really designed to do, understand who they are designing for, and intentionally shape strategies that fit the realities they face—rather than relying on generic plans or short-term fixes.
Alongside my consulting practice, I serve as an Adjunct Professor at OCAD University, and am on the faculty of the Strategic Foresight and Innovation and the Design for Health graduate programs. My teaching focuses on strategic design, systems thinking, research for innovation, and designing for real-world health and social challenges. I bring practice directly into the classroom, helping students learn how design operates in complex, high-stakes environments.
Across all of my work, I am motivated by a simple belief: better-designed systems create better conditions for people and communities to flourish. Creativity, when grounded in evidence and guided by purpose, becomes a powerful force for learning, healing, and transformation.
I am also the publisher of The Design Loft, a virtual school of strategic design for health and social impact. I provide instruction, coaching, and support to health leadership teams, healthcare workers, researchers, and social impact leaders looking to design and evaluate their programs for impact.
My Mission
My mission is to support leaders in designing living systems for health, wellbeing, and care.
I draw on complexity science, strategic foresight, and developmental evaluation (learning with evidence). I help builders create organizations by:
- Designing strategies that are fit for purpose.
- Staying true to their values while adapting to changing conditions
- Building internal capacity for design, learning, and sensemaking
- Using evidence thoughtfully to improve decisions and impact over time
- Translating insights into health innovations.
My Approach
As the Principal of Cense, I share insights on innovation, design, and systems transformation through www.censemaking.com and The Design Loft newsletter. My work blends multiple disciplines:
- My doctorate in behavioural science from the University of Toronto focused on multilevel behaviour change
- My Master’s degree in Strategic Foresight and Innovation from OCADU grounds my design practice
- Post-doctoral training in health systems and systems thinking shapes my human-centred, systems-oriented approach
Professional Affiliations
I maintain active membership in the Canadian Psychological Association and the Canadian Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (CSIOP). As a Credentialed Evaluator (CE), I contribute to both the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES) and the American Evaluation Association (AEA). I’m also a member (and past award winner) of the Canadian Public Health Association and the Systemic Design Association.
Academic Engagement
I remain connected to academic life through several roles:
- Adjunct Professor with the Design for Health and Strategic Foresight and Innovation graduate programs at OCADU
- Adjunct Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
- Adjunct Faculty Fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, York University, contributing to the Wellness Impact Lab
I also co-created the eHealth Literacy Scale with Dr. Harvey Skinner—basically a tool that helps figure out how well people can navigate health information online. It has become the go-to resource worldwide for this kind of assessment, ranking in the top 1% of most-cited health research and having been translated into more than 40 languages, which still amazes me.
Personal Inspiration
Coffee culture is basically my blueprint for innovation—those cozy spaces where good energy, great conversations, bouncing ideas around, and quiet thinking time all come together to spark something new. Coffee shops were the first innovation hubs, you know? Places where all kinds of people would gather to create, argue, share stories, and really listen to each other.
Connect With Me
I’m up to meet for coffee and conversation. You can also:
Follow my work here: https://linktr.ee/censemaking or book an appointment with me to discuss the challenges you’re facing and if I can be of help to your organization: https://bit.ly/talkcense
Explore Cense www.cense.ca
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Learn more about my work by reading Censemaking or view my curriculum vitae or resume
