Research highlights

A book by Paul Born, co-founder of the Tamarack Institute with a wealth of experience in community development, this book shares stories to illustrate the journey of breakthrough community change and the ideas and strategies that can be used to create high-impact change in the community where you live. Click here to access a recording of the virtual book launch and featuring a conversation between Sylvia Born and Paul Born.

A side-by-side methodological approach: Shared experience, informality and adaptation, written by Visiting Assistant Professor and Research Fellow, Eric Lepp dicusses an experiential study guided by conceptual innovations in interview practices relating to community-based research practices.  

"Developped out of fieldwork experiences amongst ice hockey supporters in Northern Ireland, this article presents a side-by-side methodological approach, contributing to a shift in peace and conflict-focused qualitative research methodologies centering on the relationship of the researcher, local voices and the context and spaces in which the research takes place. "

Read the report: A side-by-side methodological approach: Shared experience, informality and adaptatio

On thin ice? Perspectives on Arctic Security, edited by Duncan Depledge and P. Whitney Lackenbauer, is a collection of essays on Arctic security published by the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN). Regehr's contribution is featured as Chapter 6.

"While Russia's conventional military posture in the Arctic is widely acknowledged as being primarily defensive, there are nevertheless growing concerns about its current and potential power projection capabilities. The other Arctic states (all NATO members or partners) still consider it unlikely that they will face state-based military threats in the forseeable future, but they do worry that competition among the major powers inevitably spills into the region, leading them to expand their own military footprints."

See chapter 6 on page 84 for "Soft security responses to hard power competition" (PDF).

This Canadian defence policy briefing paper was written for The Simons Foundation.

"Public awareness of Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) aid to civilian governments and agencies hasonce again come to the fore in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Military assistance to civil authorities is routine in Canada and variously includes emergency help in law enforcement, humanitarian relief, natural disaster recovery, and search and rescue. From the earliest days of the present pandemic, critically important CAF resources have been mobilized. An emerging question is whether these core civilian support roles, for which there is increasing demand, should be elevated for priority attention in military planning, training, and procurement, or whether they should continue to be treated as spin-offs from the primary combat-readiness focus of the Armed Forces."

View "The Pandemic and DND’s Public Service Mandate" on The Simons Foundation website.

This paper by Ernie Regehr was published as chapter 8 of The Arctic and world order, a collection edited by Kristina Spohr, Daniel S. Hamilton, and Jason C. Moyer that explores the "political, legal, social, economic, geostrategic and environmental challenges confronting the Arctic in the face of global warming and a shifting world order."

Regehr analyzes Russia's Arctic defense posture, positing that while the Arctic region has a wealth of environmental resources, "the Arctic should not be drifting towards geostrategic competition and growing tension" because it is "not a lawless frontier" and security challenges "arise mostly within, rather than between, states."

Read Regehr's chapter "Military infrastructure and strategic capabiliteis" (PDF)

This paper is a Tamarack Institution report updating readers on the evolving understanding associated with Collective Impact practices and initiatives.

"Since John Kania and Mark Kramer’s article was published in 2011, understanding of Collective Impact (CI) has evolved beyond being viewed only as a framework for achieving high-impact outcomes on an array of complex social and/or environmental issues. Collective Impact practitioners have experimented with applying the CI framework to an array of issues at a variety of scales.

This paper profiles key milestones in the evolution of Collective Impact and explores examples at the neighbourhood, regional, and national level. We profile lessons gleaned from the use of CI at each of these scales with an emphasis on noting their capacity and contribution to advancing systems level change. Opportunities to further strengthen and/or accelerate systems change efforts with Collective Impact are also explored."

Evolving the practice of collective impact - Full paper (PDF)

This paper was published and distributed as a TODA Peace Institute Policy Brief, and it was written by the Centre for Peace Advancement's Director, Paul Heidebrecht.

"The regulation of emerging technologies is particularly challenging. This policy brief argues that peacebuilders need to devote more attention to engaging the private sector in order to influence the culture and ultimately the norms of the organisations and individuals closest to the development of advanced technologies. Running throughout this analysis are references to two contrasting contexts: the innovation ecosystems in Silicon Valley, California, and what has at times been referred to as “Silicon Valley North” in Waterloo, Ontario (Canada)."

Peacebuilding and the norms of technological change - Policy Brief (PDF)

This paper is a Project Ploughshares Workshop Series Report.

"In November 2020, global space experts were invited to participate in a series of regional online workshops to identify priorities and possible next steps in the development of norms related to space-based military capabilities and activities. These workshops were part of a wider research project to map the normative landscape in outer space that is being undertaken by Dr. Jessica West, a Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, and Mr. Gilles Doucet, President of Spectrum Space Security, Inc."

The report highlights safety and sustainabilty as security issues, shared values, inclusivity and fairness, threatening activities and operating environments, as well as opportunities for good practice going forward.

From safety to security: Extending norms in outer space full report (PDF)

This paper was written in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Given the scale of disruptive forces unleashed by the global pandemic, the social movements which inspired action to respond to racial justice and the economic shockwaves that have followed, the need for effective leadership has risen to the forefrontin profound ways. This paper attempts to draw upon the growing literature around leadership models and applies it to the current context based on what we are observing in communities, states, and provinces across Canada and the United States."

Leadership for Navigating Uncertainty (PDF)

This paper is a Project Ploughshares special report.

"Based on an analysis of Canada’s international obligations, domestic arms controls, and an evaluation of Turkey’s recent conduct during warfare, Canada’s export of WESCAM sensors to Turkey poses a substantial risk of facilitating human suffering, including violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Canadian officials are obligated by international and Canadian law to mitigate the risks of such transfers, including through the denial of export permits, when such risks are apparent from the outset—which appears to be the case with WESCAM exports to Turkey."

Killer Optics: Exports of WESCAM Sensors to Turkey - a litmus test of Canada's compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty (PDF)

This collection of selected writings on Arctic security was distributed by the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN) to advance discussions, that "test assumtions and prompt constructuve policies in support of Arctic peace and security." 

“Arctic ‘security’ is ultimately about the safety and well-being of the people of the Arctic – a human security agenda that necessarily engages a broad range of social and economic conditions and policies.” By focusing on military aspects of this broader security agenda in the Arctic, Regehr poses the overarching question: “What are and should be the roles, and limits, of military forces in supporting human security, in strengthening the rule of law nationally and internationally, and in promoting efforts towards a cooperative security regime within the Arctic region?”

Deterrence, arms control, and cooperative security: Selected writings on Arctic security (PDF)

This paper was written in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Through the lens of Collective Impact, this paper examines three important stages for leaders to consider when navigating our world post-Pandemic: Respond, Recover and Deepening Resilience Capacity. Within these stages, what simple rules might we follow? How will these simple rules create a different future for ourselves so that we can transform our communities at the individual and systems level? While this crisis has already changed us individually, it has also uncovered some of the greatest fragilities and strengths in our systems."

Collective Impact Post-Pandemic: A Framework for Response, Recovery and Resilience (PDF)

Project Ploughshares publishes 2019 report on trends and developments in space, in collaboration with its partner institutions, including The Simons Foundation, McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law, Research Unit for Military Law and Ethics at the University of Adelaide, and George Washington University Space Policy Institute.

"Space Security Index 2019 is the 16th annual report on developments related to safety, sustainability, and security in outer space. It is part of the broader Space Security Index (SSI) project, which aims to improve transparency on space activities and provide a common, comprehensive, objective knowledge base to support the development of dialogue and policies that contribute to the governance of outer space as a shared global commons."

The Index report can be obtained on the project's website.

This paper highlights some of the important enabling conditions for Community Innovation, explores the many roles that changemakers can play in supporting innovation, and provides a framework for identifying where action might be most needed in your community.

"With the current intensity of attention focused on innovation in the private, public, and social sectors, it is important to remember that innovation is an innate human capacity. Our current communities and lifestyles are a testament to this fact. At a scale unlike any other animal on earth we naturally change our environments, organizing structures, and beliefs to suit our needs. However, our communities still face a myriad of challenges and opportunities, so the work of Community Innovation is not (and will never be) complete. As well, though innovation is a natural human, individual, and community activity, it must be cultivated to achieve the types of impacts our communities hope for."

Creating Fertile Soil: Catalyzing community innovation (PDF)

Ernie Regehr reviewed “A Nation of Feminist Arms Dealers? Canada and Military Exports” for the International Security Studies Forum.

“Canadian military export policies came to unusual public attention following Canada’s 2014 agreement to sell $15 billion worth of armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia. The deal was negotiated under the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and was subsequently given official approval, through the granting of export permits, by the Liberal Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was elected in 2015. In the debate that ensued, the greater indignation was reserved for the Liberals, who had come to power on the promise of a return to multilateralism and re-engagement with the United Nations—a posture that raised expectations of a renewed exercise of Pearsonian internationalism rather than of record-breaking arms sales to one of the world’s most egregious violators of global human rights standards.”

Article Review 115 on “A Nation of Feminist Arms Dealers? Canada and Military Exports.” (PDF)

Srdjan Vucetic.  “A Nation of Feminist Arms Dealers?  Canada and Military Exports.” International Journal 72:4 (2017): 503-519.  

Political Illusion and Reality (2018) is a collection of twenty-three essays on Ellul’s political thought edited by David W. Gill and David Lovekin. Veteran as well as younger Ellul scholars, political leaders, activists, and pastors, discuss aspects of Ellul’s thought as they relate to their own fields of study and political experience. As an engineering student, and then in the course of researching seminary and graduate school theses in Christian ethics that focused on the topic of technology, Paul was exposed to both Ellul’s social scientific and theological writings.

This chapter is an attempt to explain why it might makes sense for churches and church agencies in the Canadian context to pay close attention to governmental structures. His thesis is that the pursuit of political engagement is one important way for Christians to act in the midst of a barren moral landscape defined by, as Ellul put it, technique.

Project Ploughshares publishes 2018 report on trends and developments in space, in collaboration with its partner institutions, including The Simons Foundation, McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law, Research Unit for Military Law and Ethics at the University of Adelaide, George Washington University Space Policy Institute, and Xi’ian Jiaotong University School of Law.

"Space Security Index 2018 is the fifteenth annual report on developments related to safety, sustainability, and security in outer space, covering the period January-December 2017. The project seeks to provide a policy-neutral fact base of trends and developments in space security based on primary, open-source research in an annual report."

The Index report can be obtained on the project's website.

This paper was prepared for Tamarack’s Community Change Festival being held in Toronto, Canada from October 1-4, 2018.

"There are so many different approaches to leadership. My bookshelf is full of publications about civic leadership, collaborative leadership, servant leadership, and adaptive leadership. It is so confusing. What are the similarities and differences in these leadership approaches? What leadership approach is most impactful in a community change context? This paper explores the multiple faces of leadership and, drawing from my own experience in both implementing and supporting an array of community change efforts, focuses on two central questions:

• What similarities and differences exist between various approaches to leadership? and,
• Which leadership approaches are best suited to help community changemakers achieve their desired impact?"

Making Sense of the Multiple Faces of Leadership (PDF)

Ernie Regehr, O.C., authors the article as part of the Arctic Security Briefing Papers. He writes the paper series in his work as the Senior Fellow in Arctic Security and Defence at The Simons Foundation.

"Remotely piloted vehicles' get frequent mention in last spring’s Canadian defence policy statement. They are characterized as integral to a range of new capabilities to be acquired by the army, air force, and navy, as bringing new operational sophistication to the armed forces, as enhancing joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities in the Arctic, and as enabling precision strikes. But don’t expect to see prominent military drone operations in Canada’s high north any time soon – it’s a foreboding environment, adapting models to the north’s unique geography and climatic conditions will take time and money, the advantages are not self-evident, and, what should be top of mind, the international community has yet to agree on credible international standards for the responsible transfer and use of drones."

Canada, the Arctic, and the Expanding World of Drones (PDF)

This issue covers the work of the authors at the Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival held June 9-12, 2016 at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. The papers are presented under the theme "Global Mennonite Peacebuilding: Exploring Theology, Culture, and Practice".

"The Conrad Grebel Review (CGR) is a multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal of Christian inquiry devoted to advancing thoughtful, sustained discussions of theology, peace, society, and culture from broadly-based Anabaptist/Mennonite perspectives. It is published three times a year."

The issue can be read on the journal's website.

Project Ploughshares publishes 2017 report on trends and developments in space, in collaboration with its partner institutions, including The Simons Foundation, McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law, Research Unit for Military Law and Ethics at the University of Adelaide, George Washington University Space Policy Institute, and Xi’ian Jiaotong University School of Law.

"The Space Security Index is the first and only annual, comprehensive and integrated assessment of space security. The project seeks to provide a policy-neutral fact base of trends and developments in space security based on primary, open-source research in an annual report."

The Index report can be obtained on the project's website.

"Developing innovation capacity within our communities and the non-profit sector has now become a strategic imperative. With the array of complex challenges now confronting communities, the solutions we need will not be found by simply making incremental changes to our current programs and approaches."

"In this paper, Sylvia Cheuy explores community innovation - a unique form of social innovation that is place-based within the specific geography of a community."

The Community Innovation Imperative Paper (PDF)

A preceding paper for Tamarack’s Community Change Institute "Cities of the Future: Co-Creating Tomorrow" held in Vancouver, Canada from September 25-29, 2017

"Authentic community change moves at the speed of trust. And yet, we spend so little time and focus on intentionally building trust amongst partners. This paper explores the intricacies of trust, how to build it and what to do when trust is broken."

Turf, Trust, Co-creation and Collective Impact Paper (PDF)

The summary report of "War or Peace in Cyberspace: Whither International Cyber Security" Conference held in Waterloo, Ontario, on May 24, 2018. This report prepared by Stephanie MacLellan highlights some of the key themes emerging from the discussions.

The conference was made possible by The Simons Foundation Canada's support, along with other sponsors, including the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Project Ploughshares, the Canadian Pugwash Group, and the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College.

Cyber Security Conference Report (PDF)