Centre of Excellence

At NC-CIPSeR, we recognize that safeguarding Canada’s critical infrastructure requires more than individual risk assessments — it requires a coordinated, standardized approach that ensures risks are understood, compared, and acted upon across sectors and jurisdictions.

The Centre of Excellence for Critical Infrastructure Risk Assessments serves as the national hub for developing risk assessment standards, building research capacity, and equipping the next generation of critical infrastructure professionals.The CoE synergizes NC-CIPSeR’s foundational work.

A Layered Approach to Risk Assessment and Intelligence

Foundational Level: Data Repository

At the heart of the Centre of Excellence is NC-CIPSeR’s National Data Repository — a secure, centralized resource for collecting, storing, and sharing anonymized risk data from critical infrastructure operators, municipalities, Indigenous communities, and federal and provincial governments. This foundational layer provides the raw material that fuels:

Cross-sector and cross-jurisdictional risk analysis.
Pattern and trend identification.
Evidence-based policy and investment decisions.
Applied research and academic studies.

The Intelligence Layer: From Data, and Information into Actionable Insight

Data alone does not drive resilience — information churned into intelligence does. NC-CIPSeR synergizes data and information, churning it into intelligence.

This Intelligence layer is essential becuase it:

Ingests data from the Intelligence Hub Repository and CANVAS.
Applies advanced analytics, expert interpretation, and scenario modeling.
Identifies cascading interdependencies and cross-sector vulnerabilities.
Provides decision-ready intelligence to critical infrastructure operators, emergency managers, and policymakers.

Project CANVAS: Threat & Hazard Library

Project CANVAS (Canadian Assessment and Vulnerability Analysis System) plays a central role in the Centre of Excellence. The CANVAS Threat Library offers detailed profiles of hazards and threats affecting Canada’s critical infrastructure.

Continuously updated with data from the repository, research projects, and real-world incidents.
Provides sector-specific threat and vulnerability insights.
Visualizes threat data with geospatial mapping tools to highlight regional variations and emerging risks.

Learn more about Project CANVAS here.

Pulse & Praxis Journal: Turning Insights into Action

Pulse & Praxis Journal serves as NC-CIPSeR’s official knowledge-sharing platform, helping bridge research and practice.

Publishes applied research, case studies, and analysis from Canadian and international experts.
Showcases findings from the Centre of Excellence, ensuring lessons learned from real-world risk assessments are shared widely.
Provides a forum for collaborative knowledge exchange between government, industry, and academia.

Explore Pulse & Praxis here.

Advancing Risk Methodologies

The Centre of Excellence works to develop, refine, and standardize risk assessment methodologies specifically tailored to Canada’s critical infrastructure sectors.

Building on ISO 31000, Harmonized Threat and Risk Assessment (HTRA), and All-Hazards Risk Assessment (AHRA) methodologies.
Developing sector-specific risk tools to reflect unique vulnerabilities in energy, water, transportation, health, and other critical sectors.
Ensuring risk methodologies are adaptable to emerging threats — from climate change to cyberattacks and economic coercion.

International Collaboration: Learning from Global Best Practices

Canada’s risk environment is interconnected with global supply chains, geopolitical pressures, and international risks. The Centre of Excellence fosters ongoing collaboration with international partners, including:

U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
United Kingdom Cabinet Office (National Risk Register).
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (Sendai Framework).
Allied academic and policy institutions working on critical infrastructure resilience.

By incorporating international standards and practices, we ensure Canada’s approach is globally aligned and locally relevant.

The Top Tier: The Centre of Excellence for Critical Infrastructure Risk Assessments

Bringing all these components together, the Centre of Excellence for Critical Infrastructure Risk Assessments serves as the national leader for:

Developing Standards

Establishing nationally consistent risk assessment processes.
Ensuring sectoral and jurisdictional comparability.
Providing guidance for incorporating emerging threats (cyber, economic, geopolitical).

Building Research and Data Capacity

Aggregating and analyzing data through Project CANVAS and the repository.
Producing annual National Risk Insights Reports.
Supporting academic research through data access and collaborative projects.

Training the Next Generation

The Centre flows directly into NC-CIPSeR’s Certificate Program, ensuring that future leaders in critical infrastructure protection:

Are trained in the latest risk assessment methodologies.
Learn to apply data-driven decision-making tools.
Contribute directly to building the national risk repository.
Graduate with practical experience analyzing real-world critical infrastructure risks.

The Centre also supports the development of NC-CIPSeR’s Critical Infrastructure Security Series Training Documents, providing free, accessible resources for practitioners across Canada.

Why This Matters

A fragmented risk assessment landscape limits Canada’s ability to see the big picture, anticipate cascading failures, and coordinate effective risk reduction strategies across jurisdictions and sectors. By combining standardized methodologies, a shared data platform, intelligence tools, and practitioner training, NC-CIPSeR’s Centre of Excellence will:

Break down silos between sectors.
Accelerate evidence-based decision-making.
Improve Canada’s overall resilience to both known hazards and emerging threats.
Ensure a consistent pipeline of trained professionals ready to meet future challenges.

Get Involved

We invite:

Critical infrastructure owners/operators.
Emergency managers and risk practitioners.
Researchers and policy experts.
Indigenous communities and municipalities.

Join us in building a safer, more resilient Canada.

Contact us at NC-CIPSeR@carleton.ca to learn how to contribute data, collaborate on research, or join the training program.

Learn More

Project CANVAS
Pulse & Praxis
Certificate Program
Intelligence Hub (Repository)

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