The Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families is a unique collaboration among the University of Alberta, community agencies, and organizations in and around Edmonton and across Alberta. We are committed to improving the development of children, youth, families and communities by:

generating, sharing and mobilizing new knowledge about child and family development
identifying and promoting the use of evidence based policies and practices for optimizing child and family development
nurturing a culture both in the community and the university, in which rigorous research, evaluation, and practice are valued highly as critical components in efforts to understand and optimize development

A Message from the Director of CUP

Welcome to CUP’s website! As the new director of CUP, I am delighted and excited to share the passion and commitment CUP has for community-engaging research with our children, youth, and families. Going on our 12^th year, CUP continues to build and strengthen our partnerships with diverse expertise across all sectors and many disciplines.

In Projects and Initiatives, you will find exciting and meaningful work being done in the areas of early childhood development, measurement, and mapping; women and children’s health; as well as innovative work on how improvement in service delivery can strengthen children and families.

Our collaborative research is evolving and we continue to grow and make a difference in our community in a sustainable and culturally meaningful way. A grass-roots, community-based approach is integral to what we do at CUP because practice informs research and vice versa. This approach involves giving voices to diverse groups of people and mobilizing these voices to make positive changes in our community, system, and society.

Community-based research and evaluation (CBRE) is at the core of our approach. CUP is committed to grow and develop knowledge-sharing activities and creates opportunities for people in Edmonton, in Alberta, on campus, and beyond to learn about and apply CBRE principles to practice. The Lifelong Learning portfolio is dedicated to providing capacity-building opportunities on collaborative research in support of child, youth, and family development. We are very proud to offer the CBRE Graduate Certificate – a program unique to North America that formally recognizes and supports the study of CBRE – and a six-part CBRE Workshop Series.

I believe in the foundation of CUP – the coming together of committed people from the community and university for the common good of children, youth, and families in our diverse communities. Bringing together all of our expertise, ideas, and resources generates a tremendous power to build collective capacities and influence positive social changes.

Look around our site and check back often to keep up to date with project news, events, and our progress. And make sure to stay in touch!

Sincerely,

Yoshitaka (Yoshi) Iwasaki, Professor & Director
Community-University Partnership for the Study of Children, Youth, and Families (CUP)
Faculty of Extension
University of Alberta

A Message from the Director of CUP

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