Conference Board of Canada

The Conference Board of Canada is the country's leading independent, applied research organization. The not-for-profit organization delivers unique, objective and actionable insights to help Canada's leaders make informed, evidence-based decisions.

The Conference Board of Canada
AbbreviationCBoC
Formation1954
TypeNonprofit applied research organization
Legal statusNonprofit with charitable status
PurposeMission to provide Canada's leaders with research insights to inform evidence-based decision-making
HeadquartersOttawa, Ontario, Canada
Region served
Canada
Official language
  • English
  • French
President and chief executive officer
Dr. Susan Black
Staff
200
Websitewww.conferenceboard.ca

The Conference Board of Canada is dedicated to solving Canada's most challenging and critical issues, and is renowned for providing high quality analysis as a trusted, sought-after resource for insights that are neutral, non-partisan and non-ideological.

The organization conducts research and hosts Executive Councils across eight Knowledge Areas that are of critical importance to Canada's strength and prosperity. The Conference Board of Canada has a depth of expertise across Canadian economics, human capital, innovation and technology, education and skills, health, sustainability, Indigenous and Northern Communities, and immigration and produces more than 400 research outputs annually.

As an economics forecasting powerhouse, The Conference Board of Canada has the country's largest private economic analysis and forecasting unit with sophisticated modeling analyses that are amongst the most detailed and comprehensive outside the federal government. This work includes medium- and long-term outlooks on the national, provincial/territorial, metropolitan and industrial economies, as well as proprietary economic indicators and custom economic analyses.

As a nonprofit in service to Canadians, The Conference Board of Canada publishes more than 50% of its work and makes it available to the public at no charge. Revenues are largely generated through subscription-based recurring research products, Executive Council membership fees, project-and centre-based funders, and custom work for individual clients. The organization has 17 executive councils, which are composed of some of Canada's largest companies, non-profits and government bodies. These councils provide peer-to-peer learning opportunities and networking communities and support leaders by providing them with the insights they need to make more informed decisions.

The Conference Board of Canada was established in 1954 as a division of the American National Industrial Conference Board, now simply known as The Conference Board. The Conference Board of Canada acquired a separate legal identity in 1981, The organization is headquartered in Ottawa, but moved to being fully remote during the pandemic, and has employees located across the country.

Dr. Susan Black is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Conference Board of Canada

Past Presidents

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Honorary Associate Award (discontinued)

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The Honorary Associate Award was The Conference Board of Canada's highest Award and was conferred upon individuals who served both their organization and their country with distinction during their working career. This office, the term of which is life, is the only honour conferred by The Conference Board of Canada. The Award was given on the occasion of the Conference Board's Annual Meeting.

Recipients

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Select research publications

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Sample of recurring research

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  • Compensation Planning Outlook
  • Benefits Outlook
  • HR Trends and Metrics
  • Industrial Relations Outlook
  • Canadian Economic Outlook
  • Provincial Economic Outlook
  • Metropolitan Economic Outlook
  • U.S. Outlook
  • World Outlook
  • Index of Consumer Confidence
  • Index of Business Confidence

Plagiarism controversy

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In May 2009, The Conference Board of Canada was criticised over its claim to be objective and non-partisan. It released a report related to copyright regulations in Canada, which plagiarised papers published by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (the primary movie, music, and software lobby in the US).[1][2] The Conference Board responded, standing by its report,[3] which drew further criticism, claiming they ignored a commissioned report, for partisan reasons.[4][5] The Conference Board recalled the reports after conducting an internal review, which determined that there was undue reliance on feedback from a funder of the report.[6] The Conference Board hosted a roundtable discussion on intellectual property in September 2009 and published a new report, Intellectual Property in the 21st Century, in February 2010.

Stereotyping controversy

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In November 2016, a recording surfaced of Michael Bloom, the Vice-President of The Conference Board, which contained a number of generalizing statements about indigenous peoples, people of Caribbean, Asian, and middle-eastern descent. The statements were made in the presence of an employee that is of indigenous heritage. Upon learning of the recording, The Conference Board of Canada placed the Vice-President on immediate leave of absence and initiated an internal investigation.[7]

Shortly after the recording was made public, it was further revealed that a former employee commenced legal action against The Conference Board of Canada. This employee had worked under Michael Bloom and alleged a "toxic work environment". The former employee was also of indigenous heritage. A lawsuit was filed in Ontario and sought $175,000 in damages.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Michael Geist - The Conference Board of Canada's Deceptive, Plagiarized Digital Economy Report. Retrieved on 2009-05-26
  2. ^ Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - Conference Board report on copyright draws criticism. Retrieved on 2009-05-26.
  3. ^ Conference Board Press Release. Retrieved on 2009-05-26.
  4. ^ Jeremy deBeer - Research on Copyright and Innovation Archived 2009-05-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 2009-05-26.
  5. ^ Michael Geist - Conference Board Ignored Independent Study Commissioned For Digital Economy Report. Retrieved on 2009-05-26.
  6. ^ "500 - Error".
  7. ^ Jorge Barrera - Top think tank VP facing probe over racially prejudiced remarks about Indigenous peoples, Asians. Retrieved on 2016-11-18
  8. ^ Jorge Barrera - Indigenous scholar alleges 'toxic' workplace at think tank investigating Vice-President over 'racially prejudiced' remarks. Retrieved on 2016-11-18
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