Жаһандық басқаруды зерттеу орталығы

Think tank on global governance

The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI, pronounced "see jee") is an independent, non partisan think tank on global governance. CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. CIGI's interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world. Until September 2014, CIGI was headquartered in the former Seagram Museum in the uptown district of Waterloo, Ontario. It is now situated in the CIGI Campus, which also houses the CIGI Auditorium and the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA).

CIGI was founded in 2001 by Jim Balsillie, then co CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry). Balsillie made an initial donation of $20 million to establish the New Economy Institute (renamed CIGI in 2002), with Mike Lazaridis, his then co CEO at RIM, contributing an additional $10 million. The combined $30 million in funds was matched by the Government of Canada in 2003. In 2019, CIGI ranked 30th globally out of 8,000+ think tanks in the Global Go To Think Tank Index.

While CIGI's early research focused solely on international relations and the international economy. The centre's research has since evolved and expanded. CIGI's 2020–2025 Strategic Plan defines a new era for the organization focused on one of the most pressing issues of our time: digital governance that crosscuts topics related to big data and platform governance and builds upon existing expertise in the areas of security, trade, law and economics.

CIGI publishes peer reviewed papers, special reports, policy briefs and conference reports that are outputs of its research programs. These publications are available for free download through a Creative Commons license. CIGI also publishes books under its CIGI Press imprint, which are the result of special projects and research by CIGI fellows and scholars. Titles include: Schism: America, China and the Fracturing of the Global Trading System; Laid Low: Inside the Crisis That Overwhelmed Europe and the IMF; Look Who’s Watching: Surveillance, Treachery and Trust Online; Complexity’s Embrace: The International Law Implications of Brexit; Reflections on Canada’s Past, Present and Future in International Law; Tug of War: Negotiating Security in Eurasia; and The Fabric of Peace in Africa: Looking beyond the State. CIGI's books are distributed globally through McGill Queen's University Press, and are available via multiple e book platforms and libraries.

Since its inception, CIGI has partnered with other think tanks and organizations from around the world. Current partnerships include the Institute for New Economic Thinking, an organization founded by George Soros in the wake of the financial crisis of 2007–2008; The Africa Portal, an online resource that seeks to broaden the availability, accessibility and use of policy research on issues critical to the future of Africa; The Balsillie School of International Affairs which is a unique three way partnership among CIGI, Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo; The Canada India Track 1.5 Dialogue on Innovation, Growth and Prosperity, a three year initiative between the Centre and Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations; The Forum on Information and Democracy, an international entity led by Reporters Without Borders to implement the International Partnership on Information and Democracy; and The Lancet & Financial Times Commission, Governing Health Futures 2030: Growing Up in a Digital World.

After purchasing the former Seagram Museum from the City of Waterloo, CIGI moved into the facility in 2003. Designed by Barton Myers Associates, Inc., the Governor General Medal–winning building houses CIGI's main offices for staff and fellows, and provides a number of unique spaces for public events and workshops. Since 2010, the building also contains the CIGI Broadcast Studio, available to news organizations for television and radio interviews of CIGI experts. CIGI also hosts the CIGI Campus Library, featuring the John Holmes Collection, which began as the library of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA) in 1928.