The UNESCO-PREV Chair is leading PREV-IMPACT, a new research project to develop evaluation models for PVE programs adapted to the Canadian context.
A worldwide rise in extremism and terrorism-related violence and the subsequent limits of the security response, have led to an increase in prevention and intervention programs in recent years. However, this boom has lacked a clearly defined and rigorously delineated conceptual and empirical base. In response to the need for urgent action, frontline workers have adapted their intervention experiences from other fields, with negligible evidence of their effectiveness to date. PVE-CVE actors thus lack evidence-based or promising practices to guide their actions. In this context, program assessment is now a major issue given the real risks associated with counterproductive actions in this field.
Through action research, the PREV-IMPACT project aims to develop and implement Canadian models for evaluating practices in primary, secondary and tertiary PVE programs by documenting and comparing PVE assessment strategies and tools in Canada and elsewhere, developing innovative and distinctive evaluation models and testing these on three Canadian PVE programs. To strengthen the capacities of key stakeholders in PVE in Canada, the project will also support mutual exchanges, training and academic and professional development in schools and communities.
This project is funded by the Community Resilience Funds of the Canadian Centre for Community Engagement and Violence Prevention and Public Safety Canada.
For more information on this research project, please click here.
