Knowledge, Learning, and Research

The Canada Centre conducts, coordinates, and funds research as well as the development of evidence-based resources, such as systematic evidence reviews, which collect and examine research studies to help inform best practices and policies. The Canada Centre also collaborates with leading national and international experts. Our focus is on action-oriented research that is practical and can be used by frontline practitioners and policymakers working to counter radicalization to violence in Canada.

Research Networks

The Canada Centre funds, plans, coordinates and participates in research and the mobilization of knowledge to better understand radicalization to violence and how best to prevent and counter it. We work closely with a number of multilateral and civil society networks, including:

Five Country Research and Development (5RD) Countering Violent Extremism Network (CVEN)

The Government of Canada is a member, represented by Public Safety Canada, alongside government representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. This multilateral network coordinates research and development on countering terrorism and violent extremism. The 5RD CVEN helps participating countries to better understand terrorism and violent extremism, and together develop and deliver new knowledge and capabilities on countering radicalization to violence. Through sharing lessons, and identifying common needs and gaps, the 5RD CVEN is designed to support a more connected approach in building a shared, public evidence base.

Campbell Collaboration for Systematic Evidence Reviews

The largest joint initiative under the 5RD CVEN is a multi-year partnership with the Campbell Collaboration. The Campbell Collaboration is an international research network that uses globally recognized standards for assessing state of the art research and evidence to support decision-making by policymakers and practitioners. It publishes systematic reviews, and evidence gap maps, that bring together and assess all relevant, high-quality evidence for a range of social policy and social science domains, including crime and justice, education, and child and youth wellbeing. The Canada Centre co-led the creation of a new dedicated evidence synthesis program under Campbell specifically on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE), with the first set of reviews published in 2020. This CVE program was established in partnership with the United States Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), on behalf of the 5RD CVEN, with support from other Canadian partners, including the Department of Canadian Heritage (PCH) and Defence Research and Development Canada's Centre for Security Science (DRDC CSS).

This international research partnership program produces systematic evidence reviews on countering radicalization to violence to inform policy development and intervention practice in Canada and internationally. The Canada Centre, with financial support from PCH and DRDC CSS, has provided funding to the following studies:

Given its lead role, the Canada Centre also works with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the wider 5RD CVEN to select and help develop a range of other reviews on topics such as risk and protective factors for violent radicalization, and the efficacy of online and narrative-based interventions. More information on publications, reviews and ongoing studies is available on the Campbell Collaboration's website.

Canadian Network for Research on Security, Extremism and Society (CANSES)

CANSES is a national academic research network on security, extremism and society, which fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing between researchers, policymakers, and front-line practitioners from fields like community safety, social services, health, and education, as well as from law enforcement and national security. Launched in 2024, CANSES receives financial support from Public Safety's Community Resilience Fund. CANSES, which is housed at Simon Fraser University and led by an executive team of scholars from universities across Canada, also serves to connect Canada with experts and research centres abroad, including through the International Academic Partnerships for Science and Security (IAPSS). CANSES builds on the legacy of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (TSAS), and is dedicated to creating, supporting, and communicating applied, policy-relevant, and operationally relevant research, including providing assistance and opportunities for early career researchers.

Canadian Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Extremist Violence (CPN-PREV)

Founded in 2017 with support from Public Safety's Community Resilience Fund, CPN-PREV is an evidence-based and practitioner-centered network committed to preventing violent extremism. CPN-PREV serves as a central and vital hub for knowledge mobilization, research, and learning for professionals and organizations working in preventing violent extremism and adjacent sectors. Its framework integrates four inter-related areas relevant to preventing violent extremism:

Through the Virtual Partnering in Practice (VPiP) initiative, CPN-PREV also supports practitioners across Canada who work with individuals or groups at initial stages of radicalization to violence, and/or who have become directly involved in violent extremism. VPiP offers a platform for its participants to share their experiences, develop strong partnerships and rely on each other for support and to improve their practice. In addition to this work, CPN-PREV produces, delivers, and disseminates in-person and online learning materials, trainings and knowledge mobilization, a podcast series as well as e-learning courses offered to professionals from a wide range of sectors and disciplines.

The International Academic Partnerships for Science and Security (IAPSS)

Launched in March 2024 in partnership with the 5RD CVEN, the International Academic Partnerships for Science and Security (IAPSS) initiative serves as an international knowledge exchange hub that brings together academics, government and industry to advance the field of preventing and countering violent extremism.

IAPSS is led by the UK's Centre for Research and Evidence in Security Threats (CREST), and the U.S. National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center (NCITE). This international partnership is designed to bring together academic research centres from across the five countries and beyond to offer a platform to deepen knowledge exchange between countries and develop the next generation of experts, including through a focus on early career researchers. The Canada Centre is working with government and academic leads of the IAPSS initiative to support the involvement of scholars, students and universities from across Canada.

Past Research Networks

The Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (TSAS)

Founded in 2012 through funding from the Kanishka Project, TSAS was an independent, multidisciplinary academic organization that supported research and knowledge sharing through 2023. The Canadian Network for Research on Security, Extremism, and Society launched in 2024 builds directly on foundations created by TSAS, which focused on building domestic capacity to conduct research related to threats from terrorism and violent extremism, security responses including countering violent extremism, and the impact of both terrorism and securitization on Canadian society.

Originally created and housed at the University of British Columbia, TSAS was co-led by the University of Waterloo, which eventually took over as headquarters, including to manage the seven-year Partnership Grant awarded to TSAS from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. More than 400 academics and students contributed to the network from across Canada, as well as from partner countries like the United States, the UK, Sweden, Australia, and the Netherlands. The Canada Centre, following its creation, served as the lead point of contact for Government of Canada partner institutions who engaged with TSAS. Over its more than 10 years of operation, TSAS fostered collaboration between researchers in multiple disciplines, facilitated the interaction of researchers and policy officials, helped cultivate a new and larger generation of scholars working in these fields of study, and inspired the creation of multiple initiatives internationally, including the UK's Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats.

Kanishka Project

Running from 2011 to 2016, the Kanishka Project invested in research on terrorism-related issues affecting Canada, including preventing and countering violent extremism. The Kanishka Project built foundations to better understand what terrorism means in the Canadian context, how it evolved over time, and how to better design policies and programs to counter terrorism and violent extremism. It established a multidisciplinary community of expertise in Canada to improve public understanding of terrorism and counter-terrorism, and also to support deeper dialogue between researchers and government on what knowledge is needed and why. During its time, the Kanishka Project funded close to 70 projects and helped bring together experts to share counter-terrorism knowledge through events and conferences. In addition to supporting the creation of initiatives like TSAS, the Kanishka Project also supported the development and testing of early prevention programs in Canada. These investments were instrumental as foundations for creation of the Canada Centre, and its mission to support policy and programming to prevent and counter violent extremism, as well as to continue building and strengthening the necessary research and evidence, including through Public Safety’s Community Resilience Fund.

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