Allyson has assisted hundreds of social ventures to become economically sustainable and increase their social impact. She is a leader in the field of social innovation and has established many programs at MaRS to take its impact work from theory to action, including the national Social Innovation Generation (SiG) program and Mission from MaRS. 

She helped develop a social-innovation and social-finance strategy for the federal government; was a Thinker in Residence in South Australia; and Social Entrepreneur in Residence and lecturer at the University of Waterloo.