Â鶹ÊÓƵ us
Our mission
The Institute for Sustainable Practices in Research and Enterprise (INSPIRE) is dedicated to advancing sustainability through the power of human insight and organizational innovation. We focus on understanding and influencing behaviour—whether of consumers, employees, businesses or governments—to create a more sustainable and equitable future. Our work bridges rigorous academic research with real-world application.
What we do
At INSPIRE, we tackle the behavioural side of sustainability. We investigate how people make decisions about the environment, consumption, health and social responsibility—and how those decisions are shaped by culture, values, marketing and institutional structures. Our research supports the development of:
- Responsible business practices
- Sustainable consumption habits
- Inclusive and ethical public policy
- Equitable transitions to low-carbon economies
How we work
INSPIRE brings together interdisciplinary scholars from marketing, behavioral science, public policy, sustainability studies and beyond. We collaborate with:
- Government agencies working to shape sustainable policies
- Private sector partners interested in responsible innovation and ethical branding
- Nonprofits and community groups that serve as changemakers in local contexts
We co-develop research, pilot interventions and share insights through workshops, publications and policy engagement.
Our focus areas
Consumer Behaviour and Sustainability
Responsible Branding and Marketing
Behavioural Interventions for Climate Action
Organizational Change and Employee Engagement
Sustainable Economic Systems and Equity
Dr. Sui Sui
Director, INSPIRE
Professor, Global Management Studies, Ted Rogers School of Management
Sui Sui is an expert in international business, entrepreneurship and sustainability. Her research focuses on how firms—both small and medium enterprises and large corporations—engage in sustainable practices across global markets. She has published extensively on topics such as Corporate Social Responsibility, international expansion and sustainable entrepreneurship, with particular attention to how immigrant, female and Indigenous leadership shape firm performance, internationalization and environmental responsibility.
At INSPIRE, Sui serves as Director and leads partnerships with government and industry, using data-driven insights to inform sustainable business strategy and inclusive economic development. She has collaborated with international institutions and government agencies on policy-relevant research.
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Dr. Vik Singh
Co-Director, INSPIRE
Associate Professor, Global Management Studies, Ted Rogers School of Management
Dr. Vik Singh holds the position of Associate Professor within the Global Management Studies program at the Ted Rogers School of Management. His research focuses on exploring the profound influence of culture on global connections, with a particular emphasis on understanding the complexities countries encounter in managing geopolitical risk amidst a rapidly globalizing world. Additionally, Dr. Singh explores the intricate relationship between ethnicity and housing purchasing behaviours while investigating the impact of board diversity and tenure on environmental performance within a global context. He earned his Ph.D. in Business from Griffith University, complemented by an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University and an MA in Economics from the University of Regina.
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Dr. Rishad Habib
Associate Member, INSPIRE
Associate Professor, Marketing Management, Ted Rogers School of Management
Rishad is an Associate Professor of Marketing Management at the Ted Rogers School of Management specializing in consumer behaviour. Her research focuses on the intersection of novel marketing practices, social norms, and prosocial behaviour. She investigates how consumers make decisions when they encounter novel marketing practices such as crowdfunding, prosocial gift-giving, and the sharing economy. In particular, she explores strategies to encourage positive behaviours such as charitable giving, organ donation, and sustainability.
She completed an MSc in Marketing and Consumer Studies from the University of Guelph and a PhD in Marketing and Behavioural Science from the Sauder School of Business, at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Vess Stamenova
Associate Member, INSPIRE
Assistant Professor, Information Technology Management, Ted Rogers School of Management
Dr. Vess Stamenova is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Technology Management at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Â鶹ÊÓƵ.
She studies how technology is used in the healthcare system with a focus on virtual care (e.g. patient-provider video, phone or messaging), remote patient monitoring, patient portals or self-management apps. She is interested in understanding how the use of technology impacts patients and healthcare providers experience, patient outcomes, cost to the healthcare system, and access to care across various vulnerable patient populations.
Dr. Stamenova uses various research methods. She studies barriers and facilitators to technology adoption through qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research. She in turn uses these findings to develop new models of technology enabled care using methods such as value proposition design. She also conducts population-based cohort studies using health administrative data to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of technologies on patients, providers and the healthcare system. Her research ultimately feeds back into supporting organizational and policy decisions around the use of virtual care.
Prior to this, she was working as a Research Lead at the at . There, she was conducting large program evaluations of various eHealth and digital health provincial programs implemented across Ontario. Her evaluations were supported by funding from the Ministry of Health, Ontario Health and Health Canada.
Dr. Stamenova also has a strong clinically applied research experience, having worked in the field of cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology. She has a PhD in and and has completed Postdoctoral Fellowships in the field of Cognitive Rehabilitation at the and .