Under Cragg’s leadership, in the Schulich School of Business, CBERN will mobilize Canada’s rich pool of business expertise by engaging university researchers in dialogue with leaders and researchers in business, government and the voluntary sector.

”CBERN creates opportunities for sharing and engaging in research across academic disciplines and faculties,” says Cragg. “The network will weave together the currently fragmented ethical insights and themes in corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, corporate governance, environmental sustainability, sustainable development and triple bottom line reporting. Our intent is to encourage effective community engagement, community development and public dialogue.”

Cragg’s team includes co-applicant Professor Mark Schwartz in the School of Administrative Studies and five other York University professors. Representatives from more than 45 Canadian and international universities, government departments and non-governmental organizations will take part in the project. CBERN will also encourage francophone and anglophone research and research clusters to develop, both regionally and nationally, while welcoming First Nations learning and perspectives.

Over 57 research teams competed for funding in the rigorous peer-reviewed competition. CBERN was one of only seven proposed networks to receive a share of the $14.7 million earmarked by SSHRC to synthesize research on a diversity of issues addressing Canadians’ quality of life. The national networks will intensify and broaden the impact of Canadian research in the social sciences and humanities across the nation and around the world.

“These networks provide unique opportunities for scholars, in partnership with non-academic stakeholders, to mobilize research knowledge to issues of social, economic, political and cultural importance,” says Stan Shapson, vice-president research and innovation. “These initiatives align well with York University’s commitment to building community partnerships and with the priorities outlined in the new Federal S&T (science and technology) strategy.”

York professors are co-applicants for two other research networks: Professor Bernard Lightman is a member of a network focused on Canadian humanist and social studies of science, while Professor Colin Coates is a member of NiCHE: Network in Canadian History and Environment. The University is a partner institution in both research networks.

For more information about the CBERN project, visit http://www.businessethicscanada.ca.

For a complete list of strategic knowledge clusters and other SSHRC awards given across the country, visit the SSHRC Web site at: http://www.sshrc.ca.

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

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Media Contact

Elizabeth Monier-Williams, Research Communications, York University, 416 736 2100 x21069 / eamw@yorku.ca