INACThe Network has a mandate to inform the debate on public policy issues that affect Métis, non-status Indians and Aboriginal people residing off-reserve through the production and dissemination of timely research. The Institute On Governance is a non-profit think tank that provides an independent source of knowledge, research and advice on governance issues. Our shared interests are in the areas of:

• Demographic trends and shifts and their implications for public policy

• Governance and administration (including implications of equality rights for federal/provincial/territorial/First Nations governments, citizen engagement in governance, fostering coordination in governmental responses to Aboriginal peoples)

• Economic and community development (including effective community/strategic planning, consultation practices for governments and businesses, access to resources and capital, developing business partnerships, business administration, education and skills training, support for entrepreneurship, role of women and youth in economic and community development)

• Social policy (including education, poverty reduction, housing, physical and mental health, criminal justice and policing)

• Environmental policy (including use of traditional knowledge in environmental decision-making, effective consultation practices for governments and businesses, integrating environmental considerations in community and strategic planning, Aboriginal involvement in environmental monitoring, management and reclamation in traditional territories)

Proposals outlining the intended research should be approximately 450 words (1.5 pages, 1.5 lines spaced). Proposals selected must result in policy relevant papers of 4,500 to 9,000 words (15 to 30 pages, 1.5 lines spaced) meeting the standards of university-level scholarship as well as a summary policy brief of approximately 2,000 words. Submissions from community practitioners and policy-oriented think tanks are welcome. Once completed, the papers will be subject to a double-blind peer review. Successful contributions will be compensated with an honorarium. The papers will be published on the Institute On Governance website and may also be published in edited volumes addressing common themes. Authors may be invited to present their work at colloquia and conferences organized by the Network.

The papers are due three months after proposal selection and will be published throughout the 2008/09 fiscal year. Proposals should be submitted by April 30, 2008 for publication in summer/fall 2008 and by September 30, 2008 for publication in winter/spring 2009. Please direct proposals to Jodi Bruhn of the Institute On Governance at jbruhn@iog.ca.