Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN) was a non-profit, non-partisan

socio-economic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their l ...

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

based in

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, with a focus on citizen engagement and policy research and analysis.

History

Founded in 1994, CPRN produced several hundred research documents on a wide variety of public policy issues, including citizenship; diversity and Canadian values; productivity and skills; health and an

aging population Population ageing is an increasing median age in a population because of declining fertility rates and rising life expectancy. Most countries have rising life expectancy and an ageing population, trends that emerged first in developed countries b ...

; and the environment. CPRN also hosted the site JobQuality.ca which provided resources on the quality of jobs in Canada. CPRN produced more than 700 publications which touched on almost all the major socio-economic challenges facing Canada. According to a federal government external evaluation from 2005, CPRN was "somewhat unique among anadianthink tanks" having developed expertise in health, work and social policy "with a special niche in the area of systematic public engagement". In ''Think Tanks Across Nations'', the authors flag CPRN as having had an important interdisciplinary approach to policy research and state that this is "something which...few think tanks ever accomplish." Research from the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina states that CPRN had "a major influence on Canadian social policy decision-makers" and was "responsive to the needs of decision-makers in producing policies capable of implementation within short time frames." They further note that CPRN was once Canada's most influential

social policy Social policy is a plan or action of government or institutional agencies which aim to improve or reform society. Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize soci ...

think tank based on website visibility and influence. In 2003, CPRN won Carleton University's Kroeger College Award in Public Discourse, in recognition of "excellence in contributing to the quality of public debate in Canada." Dr. Sharon Manson Singer was the most recent President of Canadian Policy Research Networks. The Founder and Past-President of CPRN was

Judith Maxwell Judith Maxwell (c. born 1943) is a co-founder of Synapcity. She received her bachelor's degree in commerce from Dalhousie University in 1963. From 1994 to 2006 she was the President of the Canadian Policy Research Network (CPRN). Prior to that, ...

, who was formerly the Chair of the

Economic Council of Canada The Economic Council of Canada (originally the National Productivity Council) is a former Crown corporation that was owned by the Government of Canada and was established in 1963 under the ''Economic Council of Canada Act''. When the Council made ...

. On October 27, 2009 it was announced that CPRN would close its doors on December 23, 2009 after 15 years of public service, due to lack of government, private and other public funding resources. On December 23, 2009, CPRN announced that

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Worl ...

will now house the complete body of CPRN reports and publications in hard copy and all archival materials. The documents will be available for use to the general public, free of charge, at the university library. Carleton University also agreed to host and maintain the CPRN website for seven years after the closure date (to 2017) which will permit electronic access to 15-years of CPRN downloadable reports, free of charge. According to Roseann O'Reilly Runte, President of Carleton University,"Carleton has a long tradition as a leader in groundbreaking public policy research. Serving as the repository of the CPRN archive will guarantee that our students, researchers and the public continue to have access to the significant body of work undertaken by CPRN over the past 15 years."

Services

CPRN had provided original evidence-based research, public policy briefs and recommendations, deliberative dialogues and citizen engagement, stakeholder engagement with business, community and government leaders, and knowledge translation for important public policy issues.

Select publications

*Charting the Course for Youth Civic and Political Participation Series *The Vulnerable Workers Research Series *Pathways to the Youth Labour Market Research Series *Human Resource Issues in Canada's Non-profit Sector Series *''Citizens' Dialogue on the Kind of Canada We Want'' *''What's a Good Job — The Importance of Employment Relationships'' by Graham Lowe and Grant Schellenberg *''Too Many Left Behind'' by Patrice de Broucker *''How Canada Stacks Up: The Quality of Work – An International Perspective'' by Richard Brisbois *''21st Century Job Quality: Achieving What Canadians Want'' by Graham Lowe

References

External links

Job Quality -- affiliated Website

Connecting with Canadians 5-year Research Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Policy Research Networks (Cprn) Business organizations based in Canada Political and economic think tanks based in Canada Charities based in Canada Organizations established in 1994