Canadian Urban Institute

Support tomorrow's urban leaders, identify best practices and encourage professional development for all urbanists

How many of today’s top decision makers set out the goal of “being a leader” early on in their careers? For the majority, the literature suggests, the notion of taking on a leadership position emerges slowly over time, fueled by a combination of academic learning, experience and opportunity. At the Canadian Urban Institute, providing student interns from a variety of disciplines – ranging from planning, geography, economics and communications to law and engineering – with their first taste of multi-disciplinary, collaborative work experience has been central to our mission as an applied policy institute. Students at local universities typically spend a day a week for the course of a semester at the CUI in return for academic credit, and are able to add significant work experiance to their resume as a result. These internships are made possible through the sponsorship support from the annual Urban Leadershhip Awards fundraiser.  Sponsor and event attendees help to directly fund the opportunites offered to young people at the CUI. As well, through funding from CIDA and in cooperation with York University International, CUI interns spend up to six months working on our projects in places as far afield as Jamaica, Ethiopia or the Philippines.

We find evidence that our commitment to supporting the professional development of tomorrow’s leaders is a worthwhile endeavour every working day: former interns who are now teaching at universities in Europe who bring their students on study visits or who are carrying out research for foundations in the US; writing policy for government departments and ministries; running thriving consulting practices; or even running for political office. Getting hired to do research by former interns is also high on our list of favourite activities!

Donations made to the Canadian Urban Institute are eligible for a tax receipt: the proceeds support our internship programs and help us do the work to improve our cities. For more information, contact Glenn Miller at gmiller@canurb.org.

Promote excellence in city building via sponsorship and philanthropic support for city building

The CUI undertakes applied research projects on behalf of a variety of clients from the private, public and not for profit sectors, including foundations. In a number of instances, funding can only be directed to registered charities like the Canadian Urban Institute. Receipts can also be issued to private citizens or organizations in return for donations.

Equally important, however, is the role of corporate sponsorship, particularly in terms of our educational practice. Sponsorship makes it possible for us to present education conferences, workshops and seminars at affordable prices and to reach out to students and members of citizens groups. The CUI is placing increasing emphasis on developing longer term relationships with our sponsors, who share our commitment to city building. Both the CUI’s signature awards programs rely heavily on sponsorship, for example. The Urban Leadership Awards take place on June 3 at the Liberty Grand in Toronto. The CUI Brownie Awards celebrate their 10th anniversary at the Canadian Brownfields conference in November. The CUI Brownies, which last year received nominations from six provinces, have been supported from the outset by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Our corporate supporters for the Urban Leadership Awards include Loblaws, Toronto Dominion, Scotiabank, CUPE, GE Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.

For information about sponsorship of Canadian Brownfields, contact Todd Latham at todd@renew.net. For the Urban Leadership Awards, please contact Joseph Guzzi at jguzzi@canurb.org.