Frances Abele is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy and Administration, Research Fellow at the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, and Research Fellow at the Institute for Research on Public Policy. During 1992-96, she was seconded to the research directorate at the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, where she was responsible for research and policy on the North and governance. A political scientist born in Alberta, Dr. Abele has worked with Indigenous peoples all over Canada for most of her career. Her research has focused on northern economic and political development, self-government, policy and programs important to Aboriginal people living in cities, policy and program evaluation, qualitative research and citizen engagement.