Policy Research

Policy Research is a key underlying requirement for each of the CEE pillars. There is a significant lack of planning capacity and training province-wide has had several consequences at the municipal level. For example, a large percentage of NL municipalities have not adopted formal land use plans, which, in most other jurisdictions, are a basic premise for local government decision-making. Having this core competency at the CEE will form a precursor to establishing an actual graduate level planning school in Newfoundland and Labrador, building overall planning capacity in the Province and transferring it to the municipal sector. Supportive policy is a foundation requirement of successful industrial ecology initiatives at the regional, municipal and even site-specific scales. With both industrial ecology and policy research forming core competencies at the CEE, Newfoundland and Labrador is in a good position to become a leader in industrial ecology policy.