Programs & Services

Centre for Public Involvement

What is the Centre for Public Involvement?

CPI Logo The Centre for Public Involvement is a centre of excellence to advance the practice and scholarship of public engagement. CPI was founded through a partnership between the City of Edmonton and the University of Alberta.

CPI draws on a broad network of researchers, citizens, policy makers, public servants, industry workers and students through partnerships and projects that explore a wide range of issues. Through this community collaboration, CPI tests innovative processes and gathers evidence about public engagement.

What does the Centre for Public Involvement do?

Research

As a community-university partnership, CPI seeks to ground its research in identifying and addressing concerns, problems, and opportunities related to public engagement. CPI is the only centre in Canada that combines the capacities of a research-intensive university with the "living laboratory" of a municipal government for the purpose of improving knowledge and practice of public engagement.

CPI research is interdisciplinary and is conducted in collaboration with the centre's research fellows. The findings are shared publicly in many different ways including reports and publications in peer reviewed journals. The research helps to enhance citizen engagement by providing evidence of what is effective and continual examination of emerging and best practices in the field.

Partnership and Innovation

CPI has worked with numerous partners, within the City of Edmonton and beyond, to implement innovative engagement pilot projects and gather evidence of the impacts of new processes. CPI has led some of the first projects—Citizen Panels, Citizens' Juries and Citizens' Planning Circles—to have a direct connection to policy.

CPI's completed projects include:

Capacity Building

CPI is committed to promoting public engagement through collaborative learning and capacity building. This includes working with community partners to support skill and knowledge development. CPI staff and collaborators regularly attend conferences and hosts public events.

Partner with us!

CPI's expertise in research and practice in public engagement can enhance decision making and planning for many organizations. Some of the partners we have worked with in the past include: