Community Enhancement & Social Innovation
The Centre for Community Enhancement and Social Innovation (CCESI) at NWP recognizes the contributions of NWP faculty and researchers to community-based research in the Peace Region. In our commitment to social innovation research, our goal is to facilitate effective approaches to address complex social issues.
With a close connection to the community, researchers and faculty at NWP are well-positioned to develop strong partnerships with community agencies and organizations. These meaningful relationships are central to facilitating in-depth applied research projects that solve issues within our community. Faculty and researchers with CCESI are experts with rigorous academic training. Through impactful collaboration, they can offer practical solutions to ongoing challenges faced by our community members.
Meet our Lead Researcher
Dr. Connie Korpan is a Psychology Instructor in NWP’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. In recent years, Dr. Korpan’s research has focused on the needs of the Grande Prairie community through two major community enhancement research projects. After securing competitive Tri-Council funding, Dr. Korpan worked in partnership with numerous community stakeholders, leading an investigation into the evaluation of Grande Prairie’s PACT (Police and Crisis) Team. She also oversaw a project addressing low community connection and engagement among youth, using the innovative methodology of Youth Participatory Action Research.
Within the NWP community, Dr. Korpan mentors the next generation of community-based researchers. She has mentored student-led, community-engaged research projects that have been presented in Ottawa and Calgary. Outside of NWP, Dr. Korpan currently serves as Vice-President of the Pace Board of Directors in Grande Prairie and is also a long-time member of the Sunrise Rotary Club.