Leadership and Vision

Institutional Change: Turning a Ship… it takes time!

Alok Mukherjee

Published on September 18, 2007

Everyone’s heard the refrain: ‘Institutional change takes time. Be patient.’ This notion is perhaps one of the greatest sources of conflict and mistrust between organizations and seekers of change. While it is true that real, lasting change is time-consuming, there is no formula or model to quantify or predict the time required for an institutional change process. At the same, the issue of time and patience poses a challenge for volunteer boards that typically have a limited period of office and are anxious not to be dismissed as ineffectual or irrelevant.

Alok Mukherjee identifies and explores concrete ways in which a volunteer board committed to genuine institutional change can achieve significant results within its finite term of office.

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Alok Mukherjee

Distinguished Visiting Professor, Ryerson University (2015-2018) and Chair, Toronto Police Services Board (2004-2015)

Alok Mukherjee holds a PhD from York University, MAs from University of Waterloo and University of Saugar (India), and BA from Agra University (India). He has taught at Ryerson University (now renamed Toronto Metropolitan University) and York University. Prior to his appointment as a Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Arts at Ryerson, Alok served as Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board for ten years. He has held several other public appointments, including Vice Chair and Acting Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Commission (1992-1994) and Member, Ontario Civilian Police Commission (1994-1997). In addition, he managed an independent consulting practice in the field of organization change within a framework of human rights, equity and inclusion. Located within this framework, Alok’s research and writing reflect his interest in examining and understanding the dynamics of power in the institutional spaces of the hierarchical societies of Canada and India, with a view to developing strategies for transforming those spaces so that are truly reflective of and accountable to the interests of all members of the communities they serve. The particular focus of his interest has been on policing and education.

Alok is the author, with Tim Harper, of Excessive Force: Toronto’s Fight to Reform City Policing (2018). The book was short listed for the 2018 Donner Prize for the best book on public policy by a Canadian.