Event Date: December 1, 2025 - 9:00am to December 2, 2025 - 3:30pm
Location: online

Registration: Google Forms

Presented by CIPS, the Gender, Peace and Development Research Network (GPD-RN), and the Peacebuilding and Local Knowledge Network (PLKN)

On December 1st and 2nd, the Peacebuilding and Local Knowledge Network (PLKN) and CIPS will host a closed workshop on “Local Knowledge(s) in International and Canadian Security Governance.” This workshop is generously funded by the Department of National Defence’s Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) Initiative, as well as CIPS. 

Local knowledges are essential to Canadian governance and international conflict management. Whether in Arctic and border security, intelligence, peace operations, or humanitarian aid, practitioners and policymakers must engage, consult, and partner with local actors to ensure the efficiency of their operations. For operational effectiveness, legitimacy and inclusion, it matters how local knowledges are collected and used. 

Despite their centrality, the concept of local knowledge is under-researched and definitionally under-developed. At a time of rapid change, instability, and great power competition, studying and improving the collection and use of local knowledge offers an opportunity for Canada to lead on increasing the effectiveness, inclusivity, and local participation in governance and conflict management.  

In convening this conference, it is our objective to build a community of scholars and practitioners researching and working on diverse aspects of governance and conflict management domestically and internationally. Day 1 will bring together scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss the role of local knowledge in international security governance. Day 2 will turn the discussion inward toward local knowledges in Canadian domestic security governance.

Please note that public participation is online only.

Agenda:

Day 1

• 9:00am-9:30am – Welcome and introduction by PLKN
• 9:30am-11:00am – Roundtable 1: Local Knowledges, International Security (Production and Acquisition)
  
• 11:00am-12:30pm – Roundtable 2: Who Speaks for the Local in International Security? (Filtering and Sidelining)
• 12:30pm-1:30pm – Lunch
• 1:30pm-3:00pm – Roundtable 3: Knowledge in Translation: Local Insights and International Decision Making
• 3:00pm-3:30pm – Coffee break
• 3:30pm-5:00pm – Public Panel – The End of the Liberal World Order: Implications for the “Local Turn” in Peace and Security – Register here

Day 2

• 9:00am-10:30am – Roundtable 4: “Knowing the Local” in Canadian Security Governance (Production and Acquisition) 
• 10:30am-12:00pm – Roundtable 5: Whose Knowledges? Inclusion and Exclusion in Canadian Security Governance (Filtering and Sidelining) 
• 12:00pm-1:00pm – Lunch
• 1:00pm-2:30pm – Roundtable 6: Local Voices, National Impact: Integrating Local Knowledges in Canadian Security Governance 
• 2:30pm-3:00pm – Plenary, Cross-Cutting Discussion
• 3:00pm-3:30pm – Closing Remarks, Knowledge Mobilization, and Future Collaborations