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 am a strategic design leader working at the intersection of health, social impact, and systems change.
I partner with visionary leaders and organizations to design futures where health, well-being, and sustainability can thrive—especially in contexts shaped by complexity, uncertainty, and competing demands. My work focuses on helping people make sense of complex systems and translate insight into clear, grounded, and actionable strategy.
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.
I work primarily with health and human service organizations, including public health units, hospitals, nonprofits, foundations, governments, and mission-driven companies. Across these contexts, my role often shifts between strategist, educator, evaluator, coach, and facilitator—supporting leaders through moments of transition, growth, and transformation.
Alongside my consulting practice, I am an Adjunct Professor at OCAD University, and an active faculty member in 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.
I am also the founder and lead of The Design Loft, a school of strategic design for health and social impact. The Design Loft is a learning space for leaders, practitioners, and organizations who want to build their design capability—not just learn tools, but develop the mindset, judgment, and practice required to design meaningful change in complex systems. 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.
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.
My Mission
My mission is to design living systems that help organizations and leaders flourish—particularly in health and human services.
I support organizations to:
- Design strategies that are fit for purpose, not performative
- Stay true to their values while adapting to changing conditions
- Build internal capacity for design, learning, and sensemaking
- Use evidence thoughtfully to improve decisions and impact over time
- Translate evaluation into health innovation and back.
Through strategic design, teaching, and evaluation, I help leaders move from aspiration to action—creating strategies that are not only ambitious, but workable, humane, and sustainable.
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) with 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
