Centre for Public Involvement
Status Update
On October 7, 2009, Council’s Executive Committee passed the following motion:
“That Administration continue to work with the University of Alberta to develop a Centre for Public Involvement, based on the Prospectus as outlined in Attachment 1 of the September 10, 2009, Deputy City Manager’s Office report 2009DCM060.”
A request for approval of the Centre moving forward is now before the University of Alberta’s Board of Governors with a decision expected by mid-November.
Additionally, a draft implementation plan is being developed with a targeted completion date in early December.
The Project
The University of Alberta and the City of Edmonton propose to establish a Centre for Public Involvement. The two partners have a background and a track-record in public involvement.
The Centre will provide an organizational and governance framework through which the partners can achieve public involvement results which are better than possible by each of them working separately.
The international centre would bring together scholarship, policy and practice, to attract expertise from government, community and academia that can explore and test alternative public involvement practices, based on activities and research from around the world.
The centre will deepen and broaden the concept of “citizenry” through:
- better research;
- better identification of different methodologies;
- better practices and application; and
- better evaluation.
Synergy between university and city is what it takes to build great universities and great cities.
